Best way and Fast way to get rid of this

[gorgio1]

ok i have been working on my pool for about a week now and it was not doing anything the algae would just be in the water and i kept my pump on almost this whole summer i finally turned it off last night and my local pool guys told me to add BAQUACIL Liquid Flocculant to it and leave the pump off for 2 days i woke up today to find my pool looking like the picture below. I wonder what it was was it the fact that i used the BAQUACIL Liquid Flocculant or the fact that i turned off my pump and let the algae settle. and now what is the quickest way to get rid of this stuff off the ground:

should i turn my pump on and vac to waste , should i turn my robotic cleaner on and let it mix it in the water, or should i brush it off and mix it in?

i have a 16x32, 18,000 vinyl pool

Thanks

 

[kenmar]

Welcome,

Vacuum to waste to get rid of what has settled.
Post full test results so we can advise next steps.
enter your pool specs in your profile.

 

[gorgio1]

Thank you i will get on that right away

 

[gorgio1]

ok i just did a test i dont know how accurate these things are i have test strips and the 6 way walmart kit im trying to pass by this season with these as it is almost over, next year tho i will be upgrading my test kit. Here are my results:

Test Strips:

FC: 3
PH:7.2
TA:80
TH:400
CYA:30-50

On my 6way i get a constant FC of 5 or more ppm.


Thanks

 

[kenmar]

With a CYA of ~50, your shock level is ~20ppm. You need to hold at that shock level until you measure .5 (or less) of CC or until an overnight FC loss test shows a FC drop of 1ppm or less. This is why a good test kit is important, if you cant measure these levels accurately, you are either wasting money or not killing algae.

 

[257WbyMag]

kenmar is correct in that you need a better test kit. Strips are woefully inaccurate. Drop-based test kits are the most dependable and accurate. I would recommend either a TF-100 (link in my sig line) or a Taylor K-2006. Both kits are comprehensive.

For reading FC (and CC) levels above 5 ppm, you will need a FAS-DPD type chlorine test. This test is available in the aforementioned kits.

Until you can accurately test your water, it will be impossible for you to know where to go or where you are, for that matter.

 

[DWSPool]

ok i just did a test i dont know how accurate these things are i have test strips and the 6 way walmart kit im trying to pass by this season with these as it is almost over, next year tho i will be upgrading my test kit.

Gorgio1: My advice would be to go ahead and get the TF-100 test kit even though it's late in the season - it will help you finish out the year with a clean pool and the reagents should be good through next season, I believe (duraleigh, check me on that - will the reagents keep through next summer??). Ending the season with a clean pool will also make next year's opening with very little work.

 

[DWSPool]

ok, don't know how that happened but in my last post, the quote was from gorgio1, not Kenmar; sorry.

 

[teapot]

Obviously thats one pool shop to avoid, selling you something knowing it will mess you up so you have to return.
Get some chlorine in there fast or the algae will just keep multiplying. Study Pool school on defeating algae.

On another point what size is your filter as you state your pump is only 1/4 hp which IMO is way to small for your pool so you are probably not turning your water over very well so you are always going to stuggle.

 

[gorgio1]

ya im thinking about purchasing a test kit now, is the tf-100 the best choice?


and sorry i actually have a 1/2 hp motor i typed the wrong thing there, but is even 1/2 hp enough for my pool? also i have a Hayward s220t filter.


today i managed to vac all the algae to waste, and i added more bleach,i have my pump on now, later should i leave my pump on or should i turn it off over night to let the algae settle and repeat the same process over 2mar morning?

Thanks for the help guys

 

[257WbyMag]

The TF-100 is the best value for the money. You get more test reagent with it than you do with the K-2006.

 

[teapot]

and sorry i actually have a 1/2 hp motor i typed the wrong thing there, but is even 1/2 hp enough for my pool? also i have a Hayward s220t filter.
Thanks for the help guys

Well 1/2hp is a whole lot better but in order to turnover your water in a reasonable time you could use a bigger filter and pump.
Personally a 1hp pump and a 30" dia filter would be my choice but it all comes down to budget at the end of the day.

Fitting the 1hp and 30" filter would mean you would turnover your pool water in around 4 hours so each day you would filter all the water at least once. Whereas at the moment I doubt you are turning over the water once in 11 hours.

Before making any changes though how many skimmers/returns and flloor drains have you also your pipe sizes?

 

[gorgio1]

thats true, if it was my choice i would have a de filter and a 1.5 pump but i am soon to be selling and moving so that will be my next house set up but for now this is fine.

i have 2 returns and 1 skimmer and 1 drain, i believe my piping is either an inch or inch and a half. why?

 

[teapot]

Hi Georgio1

Because you have quite a large pool in order to get the water turnover rates to a reasonable time you need to be able to get sufficient water out of the pool and back into the pool whilst maintaining a good flow rate for filtration (i.e. not too fast) with your current setup it simply wouldn't do just to slap on a big pump and filter as the flow rate through your plumbing would mean a fast flow through the filter and that doesn't give good filtration.

For a pool your size you really need two skimmers and four returns and larger pipework 2". So best left alone on this one but keep your chlorine on the higher side because of the pump and filter size.

 

[gorgio1]

ok i opened my filter today just to see what was going on and i open it to find big clumps of dirt and algae gathered up all around is this normal ... i don't think it should be i then dug my hand deeper into the sand to see if there was more and there sure was.. also today i noticed that when i am vacuuming and i have just my skimmer valve open that the water pressure is below 10 but when i turn both of the valves to the open position it is above 10psi and when i open just the main drain line it is still above 10 does that mean there is a problem with my piping?

thanks