Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup Photojournal

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RMoss

RMoss

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Feb 13, 2012
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Howdy everyone. Like a lot of people, I recently bought a home with a pool, and this will be my first pool. The realtor for the previous owner (who was not in the area) put a tarp cover on it last fall, but did not fill up the pool or put anything under the tarp, so rainwater collected in the center and pulled it into the pool. See exhibit A:

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This was the state when I took possession in January. Since it was winter, I simply bought a Meyco mesh cover to replace the tarp and then left it alone until a couple of days ago. Now, it looks like this:

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Started pulling out leaves with a leaf rake (net) yesterday. I also tried something called a "leaf eater", which sounded good, but didn't seem to outperform the basic net. There are a LOT of leaves in there... I also have one of these:

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But that looks more like something to use when it's mostly clean. Someone please correct me if you think this will help the cleanup process, though.

Other equipment:

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(those leaves are all gone now)

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I also have a Taylor test kit that I bought after reading the guide to test kits on this site. Today's plan is to remove as many leaves as possible and test the water. I have tested CYA already and it was zero. I did get one BioGuard analysis done but then I read about those being inaccurate, so I'm going to disregard that, I guess.

More as it progresses...
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

You are correct in that that cleaner will do a good job for you.....after the pool is fairly well cleaned up.

I also had a similar experience with the leaf eater and just went back to the leaf rake.

As troublesome as it is, scoop out all the solids you can get using the leaf rake. When you need a break from scooping, and want to prepare for the upcoming Shock Process, read this turning-your-green-swamp-back-into-a-sparkling-oasis-t4147.html?hilit=swamp%20oasis

If you follow that article to a T, your pool will become crystal clear. It will take some time, a lot of chlorine, and some physical work but it can be done.
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

Leave the pool cleaner until later. It will get bogged down way too quickly if you start using it right away.

Have you verified that the pump works and there aren't any obvious leaks?

As you have already figured out, the first step is to get as much of the debris off the bottom as you possibly can. While you are working on that, you can start stockpiling chlorine and make sure the equipment is at least mostly working.

If you haven't already, take a look at Turning your Green Swamp back into a Sparkling Oasis.
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

The main pump is currently running. We got a fair amount of leaves out today but still have a lot more to go. Forgot to test the water, but will do so tomorrow.

Oh, and forgot to mention pool size: 19x33, with 3' shallow and 6' deep end. Survey says... ~21,000 gallons. Also, I had the sand changed in the filter on Thursday.
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

Have read the Green Swamp guide a few times (each time I learn something new). Couple of questions on that:

1) If I start on that tomorrow, and follow it religiously, can it be done in a week's time? I have to leave town for a few days in about a week, so if not, I will wait until I get back.

2) When should I add salt? Wait until after all the algae is dead?
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

The result of this weekend's work. The picture somehow fails to capture the amount of effort that went into those four bags...

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Also, any suggestions on how to deal with this?

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-R
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

Clearing the pool can take many weeks, but the most important part is at the beginning when you are trying to kill everything ... that is when you need to be test and adding chlorine hourly. Later in the process you usually need to bump the chlorine once per day and just let the filter start clearing the water. You can probably make a pretty good dent in the process before you leave. Before you leave, bump the FC up a bit and then since you have no CYA in the pool, maybe put a few tablets in a floater to try to help maintain some chlorine while you are gone.

I finally just got a fish tank net (less than $1) to use to scoop stuff out of the skimmer ... previously I just tried to use my hand. You just have to keep cleaning out the skimmer basket when ever you can.
 
Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

Fish tank net -- what a great idea. Seems obvious after you said it, heh. Anyway, I'm fairly certain I have now removed 90+% of the leaves in the pool. No longer able to pull up a net full of leaves no matter where I rake.

So now the plan is to add stabilizer and go on my trip. Hopefully when I get back my CYA levels will be close to what I need and the shocking will begin.
 

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Re: Inheirited SWG Pool Cleanup

Back from my trip and have been trying to get the water balanced prior to shocking, but even after adding 5lbs of PH Down (dry acid), my PH still reads 8+ (magenta). Any advice? I'm chomping at the bit to start adding chlorine. Is it critical to get PH to <7.4 before shocking?
 

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