need help

[ruru22]

I'm new to this but I recently purchased home with a 18' x 36' inground vinyl pool, and I can't seem to get the water clear. This is my first pool and am learning on the fly. Here are my latest test results. I have been putting 1" Trichlor tabs in feeder since 3" tabs were sold out and have been using pretty much liquid chlorine. Not sure how many tabs to put in feeder.

free chlorine 0.1
total chlorine 0.2
combined chlorine 0.1
ph 7.4
hardness 270ppm
alkalinity 107ppm
cyanuric acid 10ppm

I have a 300lb sand filter that just purchased 3 weeks ago, and have a 1hp hayward pump. any help will b greatly appreciated

 

[BadOleRoss]

Welcome to TFP, you will love it here. I have only been here a short time and my pool looks the best it ever has and you will be there as well very soon. So, what kind of test kits are you using? You want to add chlorine to your pool right away and you will also want to add stabilizer to your pool to get your CYA up to around 50. You can pick up stabilizer almost anyplace that sells pool chemicals but thats about the only pool chemical you will need to purchase. Just about everyone here used bleach to chlorinate their pools. You can use the pool calculator to tell you how much bleach to add to your pool to get to a particular level. You will also want to read the pool school so you know just what is going on with your pool and how to manage it.

 

[anonapersona]

Read Pool School once, then go back and re-read the section on the Pool Calculator and the section on Test Kits. Bookmark it and the CYA/Chlorine chart. Then start filling in the blanks where you can.

First; your CYA is low. You should be at at least 30 ppm. You may want to go to a higher CYA later, but since you may need to shock the pool, stop at 30 ppm. See the pool calculator to find the amount of stabilizer needed to go from 10 ppm to 30 ppm. Add that to a shopping list. You can use tablets to go to 50 ppm later but you need to get this in faster than the tablets can, so use the straight stabilizer. I like the HTH brand from Walmart, it dissolves fast.

You will also want some chlorine. Use the pool calculator to find how much 6% bleach you need to go from 0 to 12 ppm. If you shock you will need this much at first, then you will check FC hourly to try to keep it there. So buy 2 or 3 times that much bleach. Eventually you will probably use that 12 ppm amount of bleach in a week, but it may be more at this point.

Come back when you have your tools. I prefer the HTH brand of stabilizer to the sort I got at a pool store, your choice. You also need chlorine. Buy regular unscented bleach at the grocery or Sam's/Costco/BJs or liquid chlorine at a pool store. Different strengths, same stuff. While you are at the pool store, get a Wall Whale brush if they have one, it makes mixing the chemicals into the pool so easy. Also look at the test kits they have. If they do not show any that are on the recommended list, order one online from TFtestkits.net. Most of us have that kit, best value out there.

 

[ruru22]

Thanks for the responses!! Just a quick question y would I up the level to 12ppm fc? I thought the normal range is 1-3ppm. Just wondering like I said I'm learning, so I greatly appreciate the help.

 

[ruru22]

I apologize I see the recommended level is 3-7ppm, but y make it 12?

 

[dattia]

With BBB, you add stabilizer (CYA) to your pool in the beginning and then chlorinate your pool with bleach relative to the amount of CYA in it. This is a completely different method than what you are currently using. With a higher level of CYA, you can keep your FC at a higher range than what you are accustomed to, actually, you must keep it at a higher range. The number 12ppm is the level for shocking your pool. Since it is not clear, something is not right and it requires shocking. After the immediate problem is solved, you will maintain your FC at a much lower level, but still higher than the 1-3 that you are familiar with.

 

[anonapersona]

We could shock, or we could test to see if it needs shocking. In general, 3 things cause cloudiness. Most of the time it is algae. Dead algae or live algae. Third thing would be calcium clouding, not nearly a likely.

If algae is dead, you will pass OCLT, see Pool School. In that case, look to filtration or calcium.


If you do not pass OCLT, you must shock.

 

[ruru22]

OK I wanted to test one more time before I go get my supplies so here are the results

free chlorine 1.3
total chlorine 2.0
combined chlorine 0.6
ph 7.2
hardness 220
alkalinity (w/stabilizer correction) 104ppm
Cyanuric Acid 20ppm

So with those up to date numbers what should I do? The Water is cloudy. It's not terrible, but it's not clear. Thanks!!!

 

[dattia]

Your Combined Chlorine level is just a tad above what is considered acceptable. That, coupled with cloudy water indicates that you need to shock. For a CYA level of 20, your target value for FC is 3 just for maintenance, your level for shocking is 10.

Edit: You will want to add more CYA to your pool to help protect against chlorine loss, but perhaps that can wait until you complete the shock process... but I'll defer to the experts on that. Typically a CYA of around 40 is desirable.

 

[ruru22]

ok so if thats the case I would add this much from using the pool calculator?

FC now target add 231 oz of 12.5 % bleach Jug size 128 oz
1.3 10 or add 56 oz by weight or 52 oz by volume of dichlor


Is that how it works???

 

[anonapersona]

Correct. If you use dichlor, know that it adds CYA among other things. You could stand to go to 30ppm CYA.

So now go to the bottom of the calculator, Effects of Adding Chemicals, to see what that weight of dichlor adds.

 

[supertune]

Hi ruru22, Welcome to TFP!
Read this here and this will help us help you!
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/read_before_you_post

Chuck

 

[ruru22]

I read it and I include my info in my signature. I have also included my test results above. I'm going to shock the pool today with according to the pool calculator 231 oz of 12.5% of bleach. Thats to go from my current 1.3 fc to 10 wth a CYA of 20. Now should I wait to add stabilizer conditioner or add the amount to go from 20 to 30 now? Also I have a chlorinator feeder. How much do I put in there? I bought 1" pucks of trichlor. Thanks thanks thanks!!!

 

[anonapersona]

You can shock now at CYA of 20, not as harsh a sun way up there vs Tx.
So add the calculated bleach, circulate 30 min and brush the pool well. Retest in an hour. Add more bleach to return to shock level. When you see how it declines, you can add a bit extra so you can go a bit longer between tests. Meanwhile, check filter pressure and skimmers, r rake out any leaves etc. As the sun hours down, bring FC level up to shock level out a bit higher, test to verify. Before the sun his the pool, test to see overnight decline. If 1.0 or less, and CC less than 0'5, then you are done shocking but for the pool being clear. Still could be filtration now, but this is new sand filter? Sand cleans better when a bit dirty I'm told, so that may be all it is.

Note that you are shocking because CC was 0.6 while 0.5 is acceptable. You might rerun that test to see if sun today has already cleared that. It is still possible that your CC has dropped and this is just a matter of filtration. But it is much likely due to algae.