Almost there.....need some advice

[aharper10]

This is my 2nd summer employing the BBB method so I'm still knocking the dust off my knowledge from last year I opened the pool a few weeks ago (April 21st) and it had a green tint to it. I shocked immediately and checked all my levels and they were:

FC - 12.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.5
T/A - 70
CYA -30

I kept it at shock level, 12, for the next week and a half but wasn't very diligent about keeping the walls scrubbed. There wasn't much change in the clarity over that time period so I bumped it up to 16 and since has gotten much clearer. As with last summer I have some kind of sand/silt that is always in the pool. I have yet to figure out what it is. I have been running my polaris pretty continuous for the last few days and that is probably contributing to the cloudiness. It just doesn't have the sparkle that it had last year. I checked my pH this morning and it is still 7.5. I was thinking of putting some Borax in it to get the sparkle back but was scared of the pH rising. Could I put some borax in and aerate? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Borax and aerating do the same thing -raise PH. I wouldn't touch it it's good where it is.

The tests above were from the 21st? Had the water been circulating for several hours before you tested? Wondering if the CYA was higher than you think....that might explain why 16 worked better than 12.

Keep up the shock until the FC holds overnight, the CC is .5 or less and the water is sparkling. What you are probably seeing is either dead algae or pollen - which is very heavy right now, I have a ton in my pool too.

 

[aharper10]

Ok, I guess I got confused about the aerating

Yes the water had been circulating. I was curious about the CYA level being higher and I checked it two other times and it was 30.

Oh I the FC did hold last night at 11.