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[bryanw9]

Hello Everyone. I'm Bryan and I live in Pittsburgh. I am another classic example of "had enough of the pool store". Here is my situation.

I have been using SUSTAIN products for the last few years. I have had decent water but have spent a fortune, especially when a problem arises (now) .

This year: I opened the pool about four weeks ago. The water was still cloudy after a week, which is when it usually clears up. Every sample I took to the pool store they said my numbers were "excellent". The pool would not clear. In the process, I have added 2 bottles of blue clarifier, 1 bottle of pool first aid, and probably 11 bags of sustain shock. In addition to my pucks and pellets. I cleaned and soaked my filters which are newer. I pressure washed the cartridges ( I now know that I am not supposed to do that). It was still not clear. The pool store suprisingly mentioned dumping 5 gallons of muriatic acid in the pool (although ph was "good"). That cleared it up about 80%. They then had me add a little ph and alk increaser. Then it got cloudy again instantly. The last thing they suggested was a product that basically clogs the filters and makes it able to "grab much smaller particles" This was like $30 and they said you need to clean your filters every hour or two for a day. I passed on that option. Thats where I am today. I can see the shallow end and about half of the deep end. The water is blue not green but it has a milky white cloudiness.

I got a TF-100 test kit today and here are my results: I am reasonably confident in my results, although I am a newbie.

FC: 1.5
CC: 2
TC: 3.5
ph: Between 7.5 and 7.8
Alk: 120
CYA: 30

I am looking for advice on how to proceed please. Do I go buy a ton of bleach and start shocking? (Am I better with liquid chlorine?) Do you think its possible that I messed up my filters by pressure washing them, and that why they are not filtering everything ($300 for new cartridges)?

Also...I have $200-300 worth of shock, tabs and stabilizer pellets in my garage. Will this stuff go to waste? I dont really care so long as I can get my pool clear consistently. I am not that worried about total cost but I am tired of the people at the store being clueless and wasting my time and money. I want control of my pool.

Thank you in advance for all of your help!

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

Good thing that you have a good test kit. Because of this, your life will be much easier.

You need to shock your pool since you have >0.5 CC. Follow the directions here: pool-school/shocking_your_pool

I don't know what condition your cartridges are in. You should never pressure wash them. They are delicate and easily damaged.

 

[woodyp]

Get to shock level for your CYA level (pool school)..............and HOLD it there. Welcome!

 

[Butterfly]

The water is blue not green but it has a milky white cloudiness.

I got a TF-100 test kit today and here are my results: I am reasonably confident in my results, although I am a newbie.

FC: 1.5
CC: 2
TC: 3.5
ph: Between 7.5 and 7.8
Alk: 120
CYA: 30

Congratulations on your TF100 test kit. You are now ready to do what you want, take control of your pool. What is your CH #?
I am looking for advice on how to proceed please. Do I go buy a ton of bleach and start shocking? (Am I better with liquid chlorine?)
Yes, start shocking and liquid chlorine is best to use. But, before you start, confirm/adjust your pH closer to the 7.4ish.
Do you think its possible that I messed up my filters by pressure washing them, and that why they are not filtering everything ($300 for new cartridges)?
I don't know. Others will chime in here.

Also...I have $200-300 worth of shock, tabs and stabilizer pellets in my garage. Will this stuff go to waste? I dont really care so long as I can get my pool clear consistently. I am not that worried about total cost but I am tired of the people at the store being clueless and wasting my time and money. I want control of my pool.
You may be able to use some of it from time to time. Long shelf life.
Welcome to TFP

Thank you in advance for all of your help!

 

[duraleigh]

Hey, Brian,

Welcome to the forum :lol: Just chiming in with the already good advice.

First, bring your pH down to around 7.4 as BF said. Use muriatic acid and the Pool Calculator to do it. Let us know if you need help....it'll only take about a half hour and you can likely do it in one dose.

Then......shock the pool! Bring the FC up to around 14 and HOLD IT THERE (I'm repeating the above posts for emphasis)

Follow the procedure in Pool School and post here often with questions.

Vitually EVERYONE who fails at this fails because they didn't hold the FC up high enough, long enough. Make sure you understand how to test and dose before you start. :lol:

You won't waste ANY of your old stuff but don't use it for now.

 

[bryanw9]

Thanks for the replies. To answer the questions and add some more of my own:

Ph is closer to 7.8 than it is to 7.5 I will add some acid to bring that back down. How long after making adjustments can I re-test? Is there a way to get a more exact number form the tf-100 kit than the chlorine/ph color strips?

I checked the hardness. I added 80 (yes 80) drops and it was still not changing to blue. I figures that it was pointless to keep going. I suppose there is a hardness issue. Could this be causing my cloudiness problem? What caused this and how do I rectify it?

Should fixing the hardness be done before I dump all the chlorine into the pool for shocking?

I have a few questions regarding the shocking process:
When I get the amount from the calculator to add into the pool, do I put it all in at one time?
Should it be done at night?
How soon after adding it do I check it again and
how often do I re-check it?

Thanks again

 

[RobbieH]

You said you have a bunch of shock. Could you post what it is? If you have a hardness issue, I'm guessing it's Cal Hypo.

 

[bryanw9]

"You said you have a bunch of shock. Could you post what it is? If you have a hardness issue, I'm guessing it's Cal Hypo."

1-1 lb bag Of Sustain Shock treatment has 68% calcium hypochlorite

In addition all the pucks pellets are made of calcium hypochlorite as well

I guess that explains it

What should I do? If I have to drain it (hopefully there is a better way) I can get a truck of water with 6,000 gallons. My pool is 26,000 gallons approx . How much of my pool can I drain and have it still be safe? It is a vinyl liner pool

Thanks

 

[joshs2000ss]

I have a few questions regarding the shocking process:
When I get the amount from the calculator to add into the pool, do I put it all in at one time?
You add the amount to bring to the suggested shock level, so yes, you add it all at one time, but you do so by pouring the bleach in front of a return, very slowly.
Should it be done at night?
You need to re-check, up to every hour at first and maintain the shock level. The longer you can keep it there, the quicker the process will go.
How soon after adding it do I check it again and
how often do I re-check it?
Answered above. Keep going until you are starting to see more steady numbers and then perform the overnight drop test, which is highlighted in the pool school article.

 

[joshs2000ss]

I don't know much about it, but the CH level is reduced with water replacement. Since you are getting such high numbers, you may want to try replacing some water and see if you can at least get a reading. I'm not sure on how CH is affected by other levels being off though, so I'll let someone else chime in on that.