Brand New Pool Owner

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twndrnk

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Aug 5, 2011
9
First off Hello :) i have been reading the forum for a month or so i finally broke down and registered!

Ok Now the problem i am having is getting rid of this Algae i have, Been trying to follow most of the recommendations but still having issues with it cant seem to get rid of it! Now some of the information that you guys/gals will need to help me proceed in "defeating" this problem!

Pool Size = 15' X 15' X 4' intex above ground pool converted to SWG.

FC = 3.0
PH = 7.8 (little high i see which i can correct}
Alkalinity = 100
Hardness = 200
CYA = 40 ppm
Salinity = 3100

I believe that my readings are not to bad I "shocked" the pool Sunday and it seemed as it was clearing up so i said cool look likes i am on the right track , so i let my pump ( cheap) intex standard pump that came with the pool run for 24 hours straight all the meanwhile Cleaning and washing out the "cartridge filter type A" and then i Brushed the SIDES of the pool and then the "bottom" that is when all went crazy it turned greened within minutes of me doing that so with that being said i figured ok well that "Dead" algae floated back up and i will just go in my normal routine and clean out the filter every 2 hours or so and see if it would go away but un-fortunately it has not :( now it is friday and it is still ugly green and i don't know what else to do. Should i "shock" again? i am at a loss to know what to do now i have tried to supply all the information i could gather these tests were done about 20 minutes ago so if any of you kind pool owners out there give a lead in the right direction to combating this issue it would be so helpful to me. PS the shock that i used was from LPS it was called Chloro-brite or something like that. Also Please forgive me if i posted in the wrong location. Thank you in advance as this will help me in the future.
 
You should start by reading Pool School, in particular the articles on "Defeating Algae" and "How to Shock Your Pool." The key to an EFFECTIVE shock is to think of it as a process - you raise the chlorine level high, and keep it high, until everything is dead. The pool store "shock" idea of dumping some stuff in once does exactly what you saw. It kills off some of the algae, but not all of it, and then it just grows right back. You're then at square one, minus the money for the wasted chemicals.

You will also want to be using bleach or liquid chlorine; these don't add stuff to your pool that will cause problems later. (Unlike the solid forms of chlorine.)

Also, where are your numbers from? Do you have a good test kit? (You're going to need one to do this properly.)
 
Thank you for the response BeaMup

The test kit i have is the TF100 is that a good kit? I also have a Generic wal-mart kit, i bought the TF100 in thinking it was a more accurate kit! after realizing that the walmart kit was pretty much only giving me readings of chlorine and PH in which i "READ" that i need some other reading so that is why i bought the TF100 Sorry for bothering i am new at this so learning is a plus for me! i will go on and read the Pool School , and how to "Defeat" Algae that you have suggested. and hopefully i will not have to bother anymore :(
 
Yes, the TF100 is excellent - pretty much the ideal, in fact. That tells me two things - (a) the numbers are reliable and (b) you have the FAS-DPD FC test so can shock effectively.

And no worries about "bothering" people - all sorts of folks about who LIKE being "bothered" with this stuff.
 
Ok Beamup,

As i have read on the how to kill algae! a non-swg pool with a cya at 40 ppm i need to shock to 16 ppm and keep it there? now where i am confused is ok i converted the Pool to a SWG pool and the Starting point for the the CYA = 60 ppm and a shock of 24 ppm so i believe that i have to raise my CYA from 40 ppm to 60 ppm and then Shock to 24 ppm ? does this sound correct? or am i not understanding something? Now i will be using "plain old bleach" at 6% i've got the pool calculator app so i can figure out how much Bleach i need in a 4,440 gallon pool! Just a few questions so i can learn :)
 
Hey there, and welcome. The forum is for helping and learning, so you arent bothering...at all. Read up and complete your shocking process. It wont be hard, and the pool should come around quickly.
 
Just a quick update , Pool is looking much better now , yesterday it was a dark green today it has become a light green so it is improving i will continue maintaining the shock level till i rid this algae! it is kinda tough as we have 100 + degree weather here during the day :( uv rays just eat up the liquid bleach!! But again another reason to not let it get this bad. Another lesson learned! have a great day!
 
Hi twndrnk and welcome to TFP!
I also have a very hot climate being in central FL!
I am at 40PPM on my CYA too, and because I sometimes had long work days so when I did get back to my pool the FC was falling down to 10-11 PPM, one of the mod's recommended to shoot my FC up to 19-20 PPM so I would never fall BELOW 16 PPM for my shock value.
Once I did that my pool cleared up pretty fast, in your case it might take a little longer from adding powered shock in the beginning instead of 6% bleach or a higher concentration like liquid chlorine (10%-12.5%). So you'll have to have some POP! (pool owner patience)
Powered shock will kill the clarity especially if you used cal hypo.
These Intex stock pool filter are very borderline at cleaning up a messy pool. Stay the course and you will have your pool back!

Chuck
 

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Run the Intex pump/filter 24/7, forever. And especially while shocking. Walmart brand cartridges filter fine particles 100 times better than the Intex brand cartridges, but they have to be blown out (cleaned) daily.

You have turned your SWG off for this shock process, right? If you haven't, do so now. Couple reasons... 1) no reason to waste your cell, the SWG can't raise chlorine to shock levels so let it rest a while, and 2) your test results will be skewed. You need to know how much chlorine is being used and if there's a constant small supply of chlorine being added to the pool you can't test for losses.

Your TF100 is the test kit you need. Have you tested with the powder yet? Run that full test and post your FC, TC, and CC values when you post your results.
 
Hi Again, Just a quick update , Got the Pool Perfectly Clear Yippppppppppppppppppy thank you thank you!! You guys/ Gals are so much help if i would have Known about the BBB method i would have done that at the very Beginning then buying all the stuff that i did at the pool store well you live and learn and boy have i learned a TON on this great Site !!! thank you for all the patience with me but i can actually SAY now that i have a BEAUTIFUL SParkly pool. and the Wife and the Kids are So happy that it looks as beautiful as it does !!! it took mer only a few days after visiting this Site when i had been working on this pool over a month!! my final results were this!!

FC = 6.0 ( i dont know if this has to be at 3.0 but as i read i think it has to be at 7.0 because of SWG? so i think 6.0 is fine?)
PH = 7.5
Alkalinity = 100
Hardness = 200
CYA = 60 ppm
Salinity = 3100

it also did pass the OCLT. I thought for sure that i would never get this pool Sparkly after all the Algae that it had in it. Even my neighbors Complemented on it and wanted to come over for a swim LOL. Again i can't thank you Guys/Gals enough have a great day !!!!
 
twndrnk said:
FC = 6.0 ( i dont know if this has to be at 3.0 but as i read i think it has to be at 7.0 because of SWG? so i think 6.0 is fine?)
Click to expand...
Per the Chlorine/CYA Chart in Pool School, minimum FC for a SWG with CYA=60 is 3, with target 4. So you're higher than you need to be, but it will come down on its own. If it stays there for a while, turn down the SWG.

The 7 target is WITHOUT SWG. Since the SWG provides a continuous feed, you don't need as much reserve for loss over the day and hence can target a lower value.
 
Ok everything looks great Perfectly clear water can see all the way to the bottom no issues! also the Chlorine level came down to 3.0 :) so now another Question on Algaecide? I got some cause i don't want it to get to where it was again how much of it would i need to put into the 4300 gallon pool? And my pool looks like the one SUPERTUNE posted it looks just as Beautiful. So awesome to have such a pretty Pool. Thanks again!
 
Algaecide is not necessary for a properly chlorinated pool. It would also depend on what's in it as to if I would use it or not. I never use it during the regular swim season but I have used polyquat 60 to close the pool on occasion.
 
Thanks for the quick response pepsiholic, from this point on it will be maintained very well. onto my next Question now for my SWG which will Chlorinate it , it will run the recommended time i believe as the manual says to run it 3 Hours for my size of pool. Now when is the best time to run the SWG early morning or late evenings? cause there is no way i want my chlorine levels to go below the Recommended levels.
 
Personally with an Intex SWG I would run it when I am most likely to be home. If the power goes out the timer does not reset on the Intex, so if you usually run it while you are at work you may not realize the SWG has not been coming on until the pool starts to cloud up.
 
Thank you Zea3, that is what i am going to do i believe what i will do is run it at the evening hours when i am home as you are correct i will never know unless i physically take a look at it and make sure it is running. thank you again for your input! have a great night :)
 

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