- May 10, 2011
- 7
I need some help getting my pool balanced properly. I have an above ground 18 foot round pool, which poolcalculator estimates as 7600 gallons. Here are last night's readings:
FC - 0
TC - 10 (probably higher in actuality)
ALK - 180
CYA - 0
PH - 7.8
TH - 450
I uncovered the pool last weekend, it was pretty clear on top/middle, but had some green algae on the bottom. No leaves or other solid objects. I went to the pool store (didn't know any better), and asked for my usual startup kit - the snide sales boy said they don't carry them - told him I've bought one there every summer for the past 6 yrs! He said to bring water sample in and they'd tell me what to buy - I don't trust them (which led me here)!
After that I went home, tested the water, then added 2 bags of shock, algaecide (according to directions), and clarifier. I also have 2 chlorine pucks in the floater. I'm using a Hayward cartridge filter, which I bought new last year. It's running 24/7. Once the filter was going, everything got cloudy. It was slightly green at first, but is now blue (still cloudy). I vaccummed the bottom best I could without being able to see, and have been brushing the bottom & sides... looking a little better, but still cloudy and still off-balance. I've cleaned the filter cartridge once, but PSI was high this morning so I'm going to put a new one in this afternoon and soak the old one in cleaner overnight.
Went to Wal-Mart last night and picked up a bottle of stabilizer. It comes as granules. Poured them through the skimmer as stated on bottle. I also bought a bottle of 6% regular bleach, but didn't add that yet - I know I need it to raise the FC, but thought I need to raise the CYA first??
I've had the pool for 6 years now, inherited from previous homeowner, and never really had any problems with it until last year when it turned SWAMP green and full of tadpoles. I ended up draining it, scrubbing the liner and restarting from scratch. Ever since then I have problems getting everything balanced just right, mostly because I didn't have such an awesome resource like this website...
FC - 0
TC - 10 (probably higher in actuality)
ALK - 180
CYA - 0
PH - 7.8
TH - 450
I uncovered the pool last weekend, it was pretty clear on top/middle, but had some green algae on the bottom. No leaves or other solid objects. I went to the pool store (didn't know any better), and asked for my usual startup kit - the snide sales boy said they don't carry them - told him I've bought one there every summer for the past 6 yrs! He said to bring water sample in and they'd tell me what to buy - I don't trust them (which led me here)!
After that I went home, tested the water, then added 2 bags of shock, algaecide (according to directions), and clarifier. I also have 2 chlorine pucks in the floater. I'm using a Hayward cartridge filter, which I bought new last year. It's running 24/7. Once the filter was going, everything got cloudy. It was slightly green at first, but is now blue (still cloudy). I vaccummed the bottom best I could without being able to see, and have been brushing the bottom & sides... looking a little better, but still cloudy and still off-balance. I've cleaned the filter cartridge once, but PSI was high this morning so I'm going to put a new one in this afternoon and soak the old one in cleaner overnight.
Went to Wal-Mart last night and picked up a bottle of stabilizer. It comes as granules. Poured them through the skimmer as stated on bottle. I also bought a bottle of 6% regular bleach, but didn't add that yet - I know I need it to raise the FC, but thought I need to raise the CYA first??
I've had the pool for 6 years now, inherited from previous homeowner, and never really had any problems with it until last year when it turned SWAMP green and full of tadpoles. I ended up draining it, scrubbing the liner and restarting from scratch. Ever since then I have problems getting everything balanced just right, mostly because I didn't have such an awesome resource like this website...