Algae is gone, now stains remain

Jump to latest Follow Reply
robl45 said:
so CC will drop when I keep FC up long enough then? Yes Shouldn't the CYA be more like 60-80 with the SWG? Yes, but follow manufacuterer's advice first and don't be in a huge hurry to get it up there....you'll overshoot which is much worse than where you are now

I was thinking of getting some granules with the stabilizer in it and using that to keep the FC up and move the CYA up. I just don't want to move the CYA up too high. But the bleach uses an incredible amount of bleach to keep the FC up, the granules seem to keep it up much easier.
Click to expand...

Be careful what "granules" you use. Cal Hypo will add calcium which, as Jason already said, you are a little too high now. Dichlor will add a bunch of CYA....perhaps too fast. Trichlor (the tabs) will probably not keep your FC high enough so not a good choice either.

You will find the bleach consumption will start to diminish a lot if you will keep the FC way up there. It is being consumed by killing the organics in your pool. Once they are all gone or dimished significantly, your bleach usage will drop.

PS - be patient with the forum.. The Cable Guy or Phone Guy will not show up for 1/2 a day (if then) and still charge you hundreds. That makes the free (and accurate) advice here seem pretty punctual.
 
Yes, with consistant shocking CC should fall to 0 (however 0.5 counts as close enough).

Yes, CYA between 60 and 80 is better for a SWG. However, 50 is alright and won't cause any immediate problems.

Right now you need to focus on shocking the pool and not worry too much about the little things. All of your other numbers are reasonable, even if not perfect, and don't need to be touched right away. It is usually much simpler if you focus on one thing at a time.
 
I got the bleach from home depot and 3 lbs of dichlor. according to the pool calculator, the 3lbs will pop my cya to 60 which is perfect and thenI can use the bleach and hopefully the situation will be resolved.
 
I tested my FC again and it was 27.5 with 0 CC but I still have one green looking stain near the main drain.

I also have rust looking stains all over the pool but I figure thats a separate issue.

How long do I keep going with the high shock levels?
 
I'd shock with the bleach first and take care of the algae issue. Then raise the CYA level (using the Dichlor) after you've gotten rid of the algae. The reason is that it will take less bleach to kill the algae when the CYA is lower. Figure on a shock level FC of 40% of the CYA level for regular green algae and an FC of 60% of the CYA level for mustard/yellow algae. So a lower CYA level needs a lower FC level for the same effective killing power. Also, you can lower the pH to 7.2 before shocking as that will also help improve chlorine's effectiveness since the pH will rise when you add the bleach (and will drop back down when the chlorine eventually gets used up -- but keep the FC high until the algae is gone, you measure < 0.5 ppm CC, and have low overnight demand (<< 1 ppm FC drop).

Richard
 
Since you got your test kit it seems that the frequency of posts has decreased. Guess you actually know what is going on in your water instead of guessing now so following the advice you have been given is much easier, is it not?
 
well last test CC was zero but I still have a green/brownish stain around part of the main drain that hasn't gone away like the rest of the stains. So I'm keeping the FC up till it hpoefully goes away. At least my SWG decided to break now while I'm shocking so I can have it swapped today before I'm done shocking.
 
Keep your FC up until these three things occur:

1) can hold FC overnight (<0.5ppm loss)
2) have 0 cc's (<0.5ppm
3 water is sparkling, or in your case, algae is dead (no longer green!)

ALL three things! Sounds like you are well on your way to a clean pool!

You mention rust/brownish stains... what is your fill water? (Or, have you had the water tested for metals?) But that is troubleshooting for a different day!!
 
The Mermaid Queen said:
Keep your FC up until these three things occur:

1) can hold FC overnight (<0.5ppm loss)
2) have 0 cc's (<0.5ppm
3 water is sparkling, or in your case, algae is dead (no longer green!)

ALL three things! Sounds like you are well on your way to a clean pool!

You mention rust/brownish stains... what is your fill water? (Or, have you had the water tested for metals?) But that is troubleshooting for a different day!!
Click to expand...

The Queen is right on the money, as usual! :-D
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
how do I know if FC holds overnight if I'm adding more chlorine every day?

I believe the brown stains come from tree stuff falling into the pool or stuff like that. There are alot of them now, but I'd like to get the algae taken care of first and do one step at a time.
 
To check if chlorine holds overnight you need to turn the SWG off, allow the water to circulate with the pump on for a little while after the final chlorine addition of the evening, then measure the FC level. Then in the morning, as early as possible, turn on the pump, if it hasn't been on all night, and let the water circulate for a little while, and then measure the chlorine level before the first chlorine addition of the day. Ideally you want to do both of these measurements while it is dark out, so sunlight won't have lowered the chlorine level. It usually isn't a problem if the morning measurement is a little after dawn, particularly if it isn't too much after dawn and the pool hasn't gotten any direct sunlight yet.

The idea is to see if anything other than sunlight is reducing the chlorine level. With no swimmers and no sunlight the FC level should hold steady overnight. If it goes down there is still algae using up the chlorine.
 
robl45 said:
how do I know if FC holds overnight if I'm adding more chlorine every day?

I believe the brown stains come from tree stuff falling into the pool or stuff like that. There are alot of them now, but I'd like to get the algae taken care of first and do one step at a time.
Click to expand...

Very wise! When you are ready just let us know. There are a few easy tests to determine if the staining is organic or metal. Once you have the algae licked and the water balance is back to normal we can work on those stains! You're doing great so far and you've been asking good questions. JasonLion was right on the money on how to tell if you FC is holding overnight. That is actually the main test, along with no CC, to know when you have actually elimiated all the algee in the water.
 
As your FC is being used to kill stuff, your CC will fluctuate. Sounds like you are on the right track!

Keep the FC up at your shock level as consistantly as you can. Test and add more bleach during the day a couple times if possible. The more stable you keep your FC, the faster the algae will DIE!! :hammer:
 
but it was 1ppm and then 0ppm and now 2ppm. I thought when it hit 0ppm, it wouldn't rise again. I've been dumping a bottle of bleach in a day. I only have so much bleach :( I'm about to run out tomorrow. I can get more over the weekend of course but I feel like I must be doing something wrong.
 
no, you are doing it right. As long as you can see algae on the pool surface, your FC is not holding overnight, and CC is forming then you need to keep the shock level up. Sometimes it takes a LOT of bleach.

As the algae is killed and organics are released in the water CC will form. You might get rid of it temporarily but as long as there is live algae your FC will be consumed and CC will form.

About the only other thing I can suggest to you is to find the largest bottle of POP (Pool Owner Patience) and apply it liberally to yourself! ;) This is the one magic ingredient that is often overlooked when killing algae!
 
thing is, there is no more spots of algae, they are long gone. There is one greenish looking spot around the main drain, but I'm thinking its some other type of stain as it hasn't changed at all the whole time. I'll keep the chlorine up and see what happens.
 
Most here would advise against using your SWG to shock, only because it reduces your cell life faster.

Ok, to recap:
1) You still have staining, but most are brownish, presumably from tree junk, except for green around main drain.
2) you are shocking (to what level? 26?)
3) cc's are still forming, and FC being consumed overnight

Does this sum it up? What are your other numbers? I don't see any in the last few days... did you get your pH down a bit?

Check your FC and CC tonight, (also at least pH) and then in the morning, and post back!

After you get over this hump, with a CYA of 50, you need to keep your FC above 2 at all times if you are using your SWG. If you revert to bleach (or other manual application) you need between 4-8 ppm of FC.

Once your FC is steady and cc's are gone, we can help you with the other stains!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply