Just moved, have pool, need HELP!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Stabilizer is CYA. CYA has lots of names. Some people call it stabilizer, others conditioner, and technically it is actually cyanuric acid.

You need to get some chlorine in the water. With CYA around say 40 you need to keep FC at 3 or higher at all times. If you are adding chlorine once a day, you probably need to raise FC up to 7 or so to be sure FC will be at least 3 the next day.
 
First thing is to bring the chlorine levels up to a good shock value and keep it there until it stops dropping off overnight by more than about 1 ppm, you will need a better testing method to know when you have reached the end of shocking. Alternatively raise the shock level up until the water is looking clear plus at least 24 hours. For your size pool and a CYA level of 50ppm (worst case) shock level is anything over 20 ppm (it would be 12 ppm for a CYA level of 30ppm). The pool calculator projects will take about 6.5 gallons of 5.25% bleach to raise it initially , depending on how bad your water looks will tell you how much it will take to keep it there. If it is just slightly cloudy you can start with a plan of about another 6 or so gallons over the next 48 hours. The big thing with shocking is to keep the level up and not to let it drop below 20 ppm, once clear don't swim until below the low end shock level of 12 to be safe. Then keep FC level at 6 or higher until you get a better number on your CYA, worry about everything else once this is done, don't use the chlorine tablets you bought until you know your CYA level better if they are stabilized tablets, you don't want it much over 40-50.

Ike

p.s. if it were me I would start ASAP as the longer you go with low chlorine levels with the top off the better the chance for an algae bloom which you seem to already be on the way to, every hour of sunlight will make it that much worse

p.p.s. I just caught the bit about you buying liquid chlorine shock, if it is 10-12% then you will need about half as much as the bleach numbers above.
 
Should I vacuum before shocking?

If not, we started off buying 3 gallons of Liquid Chlorine. Should I pour all 3 gallons in to start? Also if I get the go ahead to pour the liquid chlorine in, then is it ok to do now (it is 8:30 am) or should I wait until the evening?
 
You need chlorine in there the sooner the better, If you want to add a gallon first then vacuum and add the rest, but you will need more than you have on hand to shock (bleach and liquid chlorine are the same stuff just one is stronger so compatible to mix, don't mix liquid and dry chlorine compounds at the same time though), you will need to test your chlorine level every few hours and add as needed to maintain shock level.

Ike
 
I just wanted to add one more update... WE HAVE ORDERED THE TEST KIT! :) So we are on our way to a clear and pretty sparkley pool! :)

Gonna wait until my husband gets home from work. We will vacuum and then start the process. Is there any reason I should test the water again with the test strips I have right now? And if I should re-test again (posted my numbers last night the results are on bottom of page 1) when should I re-test? Before or after vacuuming?
 
You do realize every hour of daylight your pool is exposed the algae will be feeding on anything they consider to be food in there if there is no chlorine to stop them. If there is a lot of potential food, you could be well on your way to having a swamp by evening.

Ike

p.s. the next retest you need to do is once you start the shock process to make sure your chlorine level is high enough, be prepared to add more bleach/liquid chlorine if it is not over the 20 ppm range I mentioned and maintain it there for at least 48 hours (or 24 hours after the water looks clear) if your are going to be blindly shocking with no way to accurately measure your FC and CC numbers. This way you know your starting off with a clean slate, not something you will find yourself fighting all summer just to be almost rid of it time and time again.
 
Hi there! Just letting you know I'm still here and watching.

Isaac is correct about the daylight adding to the algae. You really need to stock up. I've been shocking all weekend. (thanks again isaac for your suggestions). I've gone through...roughly 18 big bottles of bleach and almost 8 gallons of 10% liquid shock. Check out my recent thread to get an idea of the process, specifically the summaries that show all day tests and adds...it is a process. The only reason I'm not hitting it hourly is because I have no CCs and my water is clear. I'm shocking because my overnight chlorine loss is 2...double what shows shocking isn't necessary or is complete. We can't figure out what the mystery consumer is at night... If I had green, I'd be on it every hour on the hour using the highest shock value for my CYA.

My suggestion is he/she who is home most is the chief of the pool. The other is an Indian so to speak. It's great that you and hubby are doing this together, but if I waited for him to be home when I did things, I'd have the greenest pool on the block. As it is...the guy down the street has it..and I'd rather keep it that way. :mrgreen: Luckily, you have other things to keep you busy in between additions getting the house in order, kiddo, etc. I, on the other hand, just keep searching for an answer..

Use the pool calculator. If you need help, we're all here. And you know my number. :mrgreen:
 
The thing is, the reason why I am waiting for my husband to get home, is because I am not sure how to set up the vacuum or any of that. He got some tips from the neighbor so he knows how to hook it all up.

And like poolgirl22 said, I've got boxes to unpack and a 3 year old to chase around after. I do plan on being the one taking care of the pool once we've got it all up and running and just get through this Darn "first year experience/process"

We also don't have the test kit, so I can only go by those test strips, so I am not even sure how much we can do.

The liquid chlorine I have is 12.5%. If you all think I should go ahead and just pour some in right now, please let me know.

Do I just kind of pour it in as I go around the pool?

Then we'll have one jug in...I will be vacuuming in a few hours and we can throw another jug in and see what it looks like in the AM?
 
Pour it slowly in front of a return while the pump is running. You can pour a thin stream while walking around the pool if you wish, just be sure and wear something you don't mind getting bleach splashed on just in case.
 
The short answer is yes, go ahead and add some liquid shock but you'll either need more shock soon or go to wally and get about 12 large jugs of bleach. The GValue brand is usually hard to beat in price but you can decide that yourself. :wink:

As for more detail:
Lets assume a CYA of 50 for now.
Using the CYA Chart recommended shock level (its a bit more aggressive than pool calculator) your shock level is 20.
This means you have to add enough liquid chlorine to get you to 20ppm. According to pool calculator, to get there the first time you'll need to add 2 gallons 3 quarts or 2.7 (128 oz) jugs of 12.5% assuming your FC is 0, which it likely is. Heck, I'd just pour all three in cuz some of it will immediately get consumed.

Keep the pump running and add it in front of the return jet. If you have a brush you can put on the pole and brush the sides (takes about 10 minutes) and bottom to at least loosen the existing algae. What is going to happen is the liquid chlorine you add is going to rapidly get consumed by the organics at work.

About 30 minutes after you add the chlorine, take a test strip and dip it in the water. See what reading you get. (No its not ideal, but it's something) If you get zero, then add to 20 again. If you get say 5, then put 5 in the current section of the pool calculator and target 20 again. Repeat hourly if possible. Brush when you can. Keep doing this process until you go to bed tonight if you can. When hubs gets home do the sweeping or what not. In between, go about your regular business with the other stuff. If you can get a picture posted it may help so we know what you are dealing with and it will help you see progress.

Basically, you are somewhat doing this blind but at least gaining headway and possibly doing some damage control.

:goodjob:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
esim13 said:
Just wondering.. is that a current picture? If so, you'll need to continue adding water until it's halfway up the skimmer box.

and Poolgirl is right! that'll take no time.. You'll be sparkling before you know it. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

It was as it was filling up. So no worries. It is over the skimmer box (or halfway). :)

But the bottom still looks the same.
 
I agree with everyone else, it is not too bad, it will probably take at least another 3-4 gallons of liquid chlorine or 10-12 gallons of 5.25% bleach.

Ike

p.s. expect to need to add another half gallon to gallon every couple of hours if using bleach (or half that for liquid chlorine) when you start the shocking, demand will drop off as you go along. Either way your safe in buying extra as you will need a couple of gallons per week or more to keep the chlorine levels up, since your already borderline high on your CYA don't use stabilized tablets until your CYA level comes down (which is done through water replacement as you backwash, splash out, rain, etc).
 
Even if you don't post it, take a picture a day while you're getting it cleaned up. You'll be amazed at how it changes from day to day or even in a matter of hours.
Clear is one thing..I've been clear for almost two months. And I've been shocking for 4 days because I can't pass the overnight FC loss test now. So really, it's impossible to predict how much you'll need. Buy more than you think. lol.
 
To follow up on that last post, don't expect it to necessarily look "better" as you go through the shock process, the green you have now may well turn to brown as the algae dies off and is waiting to be removed by the filter, the clearish water you have now may cloud up as you scrub and stir things up and the chlorine does it stuff. Also remember your filter will need cleaning frequently until all the gunk is gone from the pool.

Ike
 
glitter_girl said:
Ok....pool has been vacuumed. (water got a little cloudy).

Poured in 3 jugs of liquid chlorine.

How long should we let the filter run? Overnight?

I will post my test results tomorrow AM.
Click to expand...

You are shocking so the filter should run continuously until shocking is complete. Shocking is a process. Read pool-school/shocking_your_pool Get either more liquid chlorine or bleach. You'll need to dip strip test like I explained above until you get your good kit, estimate best you can what the strip tells you, enter that number in pool calculator as the now, then target...what did I say? 20? and add more. Repeat repeat until you go to bed, then test, enter value, and add again to 20 starting all over in the morning.

Brush as much as you can when you add. Sweep debris up regularly, backwash and rinse the filter. It may get worse before it gets better. Right now FC will be consumed pretty quickly.

I'm day 4 right now...so we're in the same boat.

Call me if you need help or verbal run through, K? I'm also around FB chat. :mrgreen:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply