Well i closed on this house last november and the pool was closed when i moved in. It wasopen and beautiful the first time i came to see the house. This is my first time maintaining a pool and its a big one. Its 20'x40' 3' deep at the shallow end and 10' at the deep end. I figure around 39,000 gallons.
It was covered with a tarp that had a LOT of water and crud in it. I pumped off as much water as i could and pulled the tarp towards one end to gather the rest of the water in one spot so i could pump off some more. It got down to where my small sump pump screen was getting instantly clogged or the tarp was sucking to it. So we decided to man handle the tarp out with the last of the "stuff" in it. Well the tarp ripped and sent around 20 gallons of the foulest smelling rotted leaf sewage into the pool. Durn the bad luck.
The water really diddnt look too bad. i could see the bottom in the shallow end and some of the ramp down to the deep end. Layer of fine brown stuff all over the bottom. Spent the next 3 hours trying to figure out how to get the pump to run. Suction hose leak fixed and the pump runs good at 20psi. It has been running since and i have been backflushing at 25psi.
I have been lurking here on and off since i moved in because i am a little anxious about the pool and the pressure is on from a VERRY excited 8 yr old. Theres a question comming,promise.
A real test kit is on the way but for now i have strips. I took 2 initial readings in a row and they matched.
CYA30-50
Total alkalinity 80
PH 6.8 -- this one is hard to read
Total hardness 250
Total and free chlorine 0
I just got the majority of the sludge vacumed off the bottom that is visible so i figure its time to wage war on the living nasties. After dark i added 3 gallons of bleach (6%) and waited 2 hours and tested again.
My total and free chlorine were both at .5 So i added another 1.5 gallons.
I dont really know what to expect as far as level increases per gallon added but i am sure disapointed at a .5 increase after adding 3 gallons. Will the algae and bacteria eat the bleach that fast since this is the first time since last year its had any in it? Or does a pool of this size just need chlorine by the truckload?
I plan to test in the morning before work but im not planning to add any more bleach untill the sun goes over tomorrow.
It was covered with a tarp that had a LOT of water and crud in it. I pumped off as much water as i could and pulled the tarp towards one end to gather the rest of the water in one spot so i could pump off some more. It got down to where my small sump pump screen was getting instantly clogged or the tarp was sucking to it. So we decided to man handle the tarp out with the last of the "stuff" in it. Well the tarp ripped and sent around 20 gallons of the foulest smelling rotted leaf sewage into the pool. Durn the bad luck.
The water really diddnt look too bad. i could see the bottom in the shallow end and some of the ramp down to the deep end. Layer of fine brown stuff all over the bottom. Spent the next 3 hours trying to figure out how to get the pump to run. Suction hose leak fixed and the pump runs good at 20psi. It has been running since and i have been backflushing at 25psi.
I have been lurking here on and off since i moved in because i am a little anxious about the pool and the pressure is on from a VERRY excited 8 yr old. Theres a question comming,promise.
A real test kit is on the way but for now i have strips. I took 2 initial readings in a row and they matched.
CYA30-50
Total alkalinity 80
PH 6.8 -- this one is hard to read
Total hardness 250
Total and free chlorine 0
I just got the majority of the sludge vacumed off the bottom that is visible so i figure its time to wage war on the living nasties. After dark i added 3 gallons of bleach (6%) and waited 2 hours and tested again.
My total and free chlorine were both at .5 So i added another 1.5 gallons.
I dont really know what to expect as far as level increases per gallon added but i am sure disapointed at a .5 increase after adding 3 gallons. Will the algae and bacteria eat the bleach that fast since this is the first time since last year its had any in it? Or does a pool of this size just need chlorine by the truckload?
I plan to test in the morning before work but im not planning to add any more bleach untill the sun goes over tomorrow.