Just had a baby and wasnt able to tend to the pool as usual. I thought I had it covered just instructing others to put in bleach but there is no substitute for actually seeing the pool myself. Anyway, went out tonight and there was a greenish hue with some apparent algae on the floor of the pool. Problem is I dont have a great test kit (am upgrading next year but cant now). What is the best course of action? I already added enough bleach to shock, but what now? How should I try to keep it at shock level w/out knowing for sure the #'s. I know this is impossible to answer accurately, I am looking for your best guesses and any help or tips. Have read pool school several times but the crucial thing is always a good set of numbers which I just cant give. Would it be better than nothing to run some water to the pool store? Of just keep eyeing things up and see what happens? I have used the test kit I have and some strips all summer with no trouble because I always keep an eye on the water quality. It really has been a sparkling oasis until I was unable to check it for a few days. I love our pool! Please help!
Had a baby, now I have a slightly green pool, ugh.
- Thread starter merritt11
- Start date
Congratulations on the the baby! Yes i would run a sample to the pool store to start out with we need # s especially your CYA level to be able to help you do you have just the strips or do you have at least a cheap test kit?
Yes, pool store is better than nothing. Stay away from test strips.
If you can get a 5- or 6-way test kit, it will be even better, and while it isn't as accurate as a good drops-based test, at least you can get consistent results because you can do the tests the same each time.
To measure FC over 5, dilute the sample water with distilled water, run the test and multiply the result appropriately for the dilution rate. It's not real accurate, but it's better than nothing.
dilute: 1:1 -- multiply by: 2
dilute: 2:1 -- multiply by: 3
dilute: 3:1 -- multiply by: 4
Diluting can be done very simply by what was once known as the "shotglass method" - if you have a shotglass, just fill it w/ pool water and dump it into a container, then add one, two, or three (depending upon the desired dilution ratio) shotglasses of distilled water into the same container, and run your test on the mixture.
If you can get a 5- or 6-way test kit, it will be even better, and while it isn't as accurate as a good drops-based test, at least you can get consistent results because you can do the tests the same each time.
To measure FC over 5, dilute the sample water with distilled water, run the test and multiply the result appropriately for the dilution rate. It's not real accurate, but it's better than nothing.
dilute: 1:1 -- multiply by: 2
dilute: 2:1 -- multiply by: 3
dilute: 3:1 -- multiply by: 4
Diluting can be done very simply by what was once known as the "shotglass method" - if you have a shotglass, just fill it w/ pool water and dump it into a container, then add one, two, or three (depending upon the desired dilution ratio) shotglasses of distilled water into the same container, and run your test on the mixture.
Thanks guys. I will run some water to the pool store, never done that before. But for tonight I will try the dilution method to test the ch. Things look good this morning after shocking, clear water, just some green on the floor. I just dont want to stop shocking to early. I do have a cheap drop test, for ch and ph, but like you guessed can only measure to ch 5. Thanks again.
