Am I on right track?

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G

gdeboor

0
Sep 3, 2010
23
Indianapolis, IN
Looking for a little guidance on whether or not I'm on the right track at this point. Must admit I'm starting to get a little dizzy from walking around the pool so much from pouring bleach in. Seriously I am a little frustrated this has not taken hold yet. Was hoping the FC would hold a little more steady. Maybe I'm doing something not quite right. Also. getting a little nervous as tomorrow I will be away most of the day and fear I will have just wasted two days of effort and money.

Here is my log. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks.

9/09 Thursday
Pool is crystal clear
FC .5
CC .5
TC 1
pH 7.0
TA 160
CH ~350
CYA 20
Turned chlorinator (w/trichlor tabs) up to high (about 5)
Added soda ash (50 oz volume)

9/10 Friday (first day available to focus on pool)
6:40P Pool is still crystal clear
pH 7.2
FC at about 1, FC Target 10
Added 3 jugs of 96 oz 6% bleach
Brushed walls.
7:15P FC of 5 Added 2 jugs (96 oz 6% bleach)
Brushed walls again
8:15P FC of 4.5 Added 2 jugs.
9:15P FC of 4 Added 2 jugs
10:15 FC of 5.5 Added 1.5 jugs

9/11 Saturday
12:05A FC of 2 Added 2.5 jugs
4:25A FC of 1.5 Added 3 jugs
9:20A FC of 3 Added 2 jugs
10:00A Checked CYA. Now at 40
FC Target now 16
Turned chlorinator off
10:40A FC of 6.5 Added 3 jugs
12:05P FC of 10 Added 2 jugs
2:30P FC of 11 Added 1 jug
Pool covered for first time since starting process yesterday.
7:15P FC of 5 Added 3 jugs
8:40P FC of 10 Added 2 jugs
 
Let's start with the easy part......apply the bleach either directly in front of a return or slowly into the skimmer....there's no need to walk around the pool.

Secondly, you have certainly applied a lot of chlorine and kep VERY good records so your work is EASY to follow....thanks!

Help us understand why you are shocking the pool. If you had crystal clear water, I can't quite figure out why you knew to shock.

Never mind. I found you had started another thread. Please keep your info on one thread so we can all follow your story. One of the Mods will move this thread and tag it onto your other.

OK, in your other thread, your pool was cloudy and now it's crystal clear....help us understand when (and how?) that occurred
 
Sorry for the confusion:
For how it got from cloudy to clear, after 4 days and 8 bags of shock (about 10 days ago), the water again looked clear but FC reading according to strips each time was around zero.

At that point I found this forum and decided this was a better way to go. Ordered a TF100 and read the Pool School articles. Based on CYA table I figured the FC level where I needed to get to. So since FC has not been holding I figured I must have some sort of algae problem. Especially since free chlorine levels had been fine all summer. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions or need clarification.
Thanks again.
 
You have the test kit, so you're certainly headed the right way.

CYA is up to 40. Time to stop adding it via pucks.

You just need to blast whatever it is with megadoses of Chlorine, and keep it up until you can get ahead of it. Sounds like you're close since it's clearing. There is probably a lot of stuff inside the filter, maybe hiding under/beneath steps, behind the light. Just because it's not visible in the water doesn't mean it's not in the system; you need to kill that, too. How long since you cleaned your filter?
 
I gotcha' now. Richard's post above is exactly how I would've responded. Keep the faith and keep pouring in the chlorine.

I can suggest you can go to twice daily now (however that fits best into your schedule) and it won't hurt to bring your FC to up around 20 each time until the FC loss starts to slow down. I think you're pretty close.

Just saw your post. Check the filters again. they probably need cleaning. Are you monitoring your filter pressure?
 
Pressure is only about 1-2 above where it starts after cleaning. But then again it has never gone higher than that ever. Always wondered about that.
However, I will try to clean filters again as soon as I can.
Thanks for the replies. Hopefully can report back again late Sunday or Monday.
 
gdeboor said:
Been about 2 weeks since filters were cleaned.
Click to expand...
The pool was cloudy then, filter may be full of stuff now. My other thought is to check the strength of the bleach you're adding. 2 jugs, even the weak 5.25%stuff, should raise FC in your pool by 8! Yet 2 hours later it's only 1 ppm higher. That doesn't compute. You have something voracious eating that chlorine, or it's not as strong as you think. My wife picked up some cheap stuff at Smart & Final to do laundry - it's only 2.75%. When it's fresh.

You'd think with that kind of consumption your pool would be green and murky. And with that thought...have you ever used Bacquacil?

I'm running out of ideas, here.
 
Here's the latest log update to add on to my first entry

9/11/10 Saturday
8:40P FC of 10 Added 2 jugs
10:25P FC of 15.5 Yes! then added 1 jug for good measure

9/12/10 Sunday
8:15A FC of 8 added 2 jugs
Cleaned filters at this time also.
8:15P FC of 5

It was good to see my FC get up to around my target of 16 late last night. However, really bummed when it dropped to 8 this morning. Further I really hoped cleaning the filters this morning would make a difference. However reading tonight shows drop to FC of 5. Only got 4 more jugs of bleach so I will dump those in tonight. But I feel like I'm losing this battle.
 

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Here is where you are losing the battle...at 8am, you should have brought the FC back up to 16ppm....you need to hold it at shock level until you are done shocking. :goodjob:
 
Maybe I misinterpreted but the pool calculator said to add 2.3 96oz jugs when going from 8 to a target of 16. So I added 2. Maybe should have went a little more? Would like to have monitored thru the day but other commitments left me gone until 8 tonight. Appreciate the advice. Will try to hit it hard again tomorrow evening.
Thanks.
 
ah OK...got it...yes, it wouldn't hurt to overdose if you know you can't be around to monitor FC. With CYA at 20 you're likely losing FC to both organics and sunlight. Keep at it :goodjob:
 
Here's the latest update:
9/13 Monday
6:10A FC of 12 Added 3 at 9:30A
4:20P FC of 10 Added 3 jugs
6:25P FC of 17.5 Added 1 jug
7:30P Brushed walls
8:25P FC of 14.5 Added 2 jugs
10:10P FC of 18 Added 1 jug

Targeting for level of around FC 20. Hopefully it will hold tomorrow.
 
For sanity sake...try testing 30 mins after you add chlorine as well to ensure you are reaching your target of 20ppm. It could be that your pool is slightly larger than you think. :goodjob:
 
Here's the log for today:
9/14 Tuesday
5:50A FC of 12 Added 3 jugs
9:40A FC of 21.5
11:30A FC of 21
2:00P FC of 22
4:30P FC of 18
6:35P FC of 18
9:25P FC of 11.5

FC held great today at my 18-20 target until the evening reading. Really strange why it would drop that much in 3 hours. Pool was uncovered from 9:30 yesterday until 4:30 today.
Since pool is crystal clear and I've been at this awhile, I'm now leaning toward backing off the bleach for awhile and seeing what happens.
Thanks.
 
gdeboor, do not stop adding bleach! Your drop rate is indicating that you still have organics in the water... well maybe. A drop of around 7ppm in three hours is pretty dramatic, especially close to evening time when the sun is dropping. Do the overnight FC test FIRST before you decide to stop adding bleach. Once you pass the overnight FC test THEN you can back off. Otherwise, you may have to start all over again and spend alot more money.
 
What is the experience of the others on this board for length of time taken to complete the shock process, especially when starting with a clear pool?

I am still at it after almost a week. Re-tested CYA a few times and now feel more comfortable that I am reading it correctly at 45+- instead of the lower reading before. Consequently, the last 2 days I have targeted for FC of 20 to 25 instead of 16 in hopes of speeding the process. A few additional bits of info:
• Pool is crystal clear
• Pump running continuous
• No visible signs of any kind of algae
• Pool is covered (except during a hour or so after adding bleach)
• Walls brushed daily

As of 10PM last night FC was 21. I added 1.5 jugs of 96oz 6% bleach then and 1 jug at 2AM. At 5:45 this morning reading was still FC 21. Prior postings show the rate of applied bleach. Past few days the FC has been kept above 20.

At this point of the season we have no swimmers and don’t anticipate any either. Maybe just go ahead and close it and fight the battle in spring? Again interested in others experience in length of time taken to complete the shock process for a clear pools.
 

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