Hi everyone..Sept 1st. purchased a house with a pool , spent way too much $$ that first week getting the chemicals from the local pool store to balance the water as the previous owners had only shocked the pool once a week since July. Was able to enjoy the pool through Sept , maintained water balance..and was educating myself via pool school about the BBB method for next year. I had to go out of town for a week which was extended to an additional week and came home last Friday to a green swamp. Read in school about shocking the pool with liquid bleach so on Friday night we treated the pool with 8 bottles of clorox and had the pump running 24/7. late Saturday afternoon was still a deep green..hubby wasn't putting much faith in the liquid clorox so he purchased 5 lbs of Aquachem Shock with algae killer.
I swept the pool down Sunday morning, added the shock and swept the pool again. After reading here all weekend I have ordered the TF-100 test kit but Sunday test strips was all I had on hand.
Before adding Aquachem shock my FC was 5 and TC was 10, TA 240 , PH 8.4 , TH 500. Aquachek calculator prescription was to add shock..which is what convinced hubby to use something besides liquid bleach...Anyway..Sunday evening water was a much lighter shade of green and test strip results were TC 10 , FC 10, ..everything else was the same , I imagine TA and PH are too high to test accurately with the strip. This morning water is a cloudy light blue.. test strip had the same readings.
My question is what should I do now ? Just leave the pump running and wait for my TF 100 kit arrives to properly test to know what I am dealing with or take a sample to the pool store and start dealing with bringing the PH and TA in line ?
yes, we have stumbled in our pool maintenance but after finding pool school I have scrapped the idea of shutting the pool down for the winter , so this novice can gain experience testing and maintaining the water for next year..
any advise is greatly appreciated
I swept the pool down Sunday morning, added the shock and swept the pool again. After reading here all weekend I have ordered the TF-100 test kit but Sunday test strips was all I had on hand.
Before adding Aquachem shock my FC was 5 and TC was 10, TA 240 , PH 8.4 , TH 500. Aquachek calculator prescription was to add shock..which is what convinced hubby to use something besides liquid bleach...Anyway..Sunday evening water was a much lighter shade of green and test strip results were TC 10 , FC 10, ..everything else was the same , I imagine TA and PH are too high to test accurately with the strip. This morning water is a cloudy light blue.. test strip had the same readings.
My question is what should I do now ? Just leave the pump running and wait for my TF 100 kit arrives to properly test to know what I am dealing with or take a sample to the pool store and start dealing with bringing the PH and TA in line ?
yes, we have stumbled in our pool maintenance but after finding pool school I have scrapped the idea of shutting the pool down for the winter , so this novice can gain experience testing and maintaining the water for next year..
any advise is greatly appreciated