Cloudy water wont uncloudy ..

[Bama Rambler]

The real problem is that it's a roll of the dice if they're close or not. I've seen them pretty close and I've also seen them wildly wrong. You never know which they're going to be until you check their numbers against a good test kit. And if you have a good test kit you should just use it for your testing.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

Fair enough. I totally get that. The problem is that I ordered my test kit but it's not scheduled for delivery until the 8th of June. So by the time I get it, test and do what I need to do, it's likely not until the 11th or 12th before the pool is useable. If I can cut down that time, awesome.

So having said that ... I'm curious to know what I should do first.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Lets go ahead and assume the store results are close. Use those until your kit gets there to continue to shock. Keep running the pump and filter. Then once your kit gets there you'll be able to complete the process.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

That makes sense to me. I'll just add stuff slowly. For example: ph is 6.9, give or take. I need to get to at least 7.2 (which is + .3). Even if I'm AT 7.2 now, I go up .3 I'm only at 7.5 and within range.

So .. Raise ph. Borax or washing soda?
Then? Vacuum or raise TA or add stabilizer?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Use borax to raise pH and don't worry about the TA until you've gotten your kit. Don't add any stabilizer until you've gotten your kit and can test it yourself and you're done shocking.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

Just a quick question ... Are there any really bad side effects to over shocking?

Ie. For my size pool, I need say 10l of 4% bleach. If I put 20L, can anything BAD happen? Or is it just a matter of waiting for the chlorine level to come down?

Just curious.

 

[RobbieH]

It can bleach your liner, make it fade. That's your biggest risk.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

Darn. I was hoping there was nothing.

According to the pool calculator, with my size pool, to get to 30ppm of chlorine, I need 9 gallons of 4% bleach. That seems like a lot to me. I have 5 gallons that Id like to put in but if I actually DO need 9, it seems like a waste to only put 5 as the level wont get up high enough. Now the reverse is also true .. if I put in 9, then I run the risk of bleaching my liner. Boooo.

Catch 22 much?

 

[Smykowski]

Just a quick question ... Are there any really bad side effects to over shocking?
can anything BAD happen? Or is it just a matter of waiting for the chlorine level to come down?

Yes, too much bleach will bleach your liner, but too much is highly dependent on CYA. I had 25-30ppm in my pool for a week, but that's because my CYA was at 70.

In theory, you're safe up to mustard shock level. At 20ppm CYA your "safe window" between shock and mustard shock level is only 3ppm (11ppm to 14ppm). But if you increase it to 30ppm, the window widens to 6 (13 to 19). At 40, the window is 9.

In your pool, half a gallon of 6% bleach yields 2ppm of FC.

That was the long way of saying, it shouldn't be rocket science, and there's plenty of room for safety. It all goes back to the basis of BBB theory: Know what you're putting in, know how much, and know why.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

Ah HA! Went to another pool store and got a decent set of results. Here they be:

FC: 1
CC: 0
PH: 6.9
TA: 60
CH: 100
CYA: 10
Borates: 50 (which is surprising since Ive never added any)
Salt: 3000

Ok. So I finally got my K2006. I just did the tests and here is what I got:

FC: 0
CC: 0
PH 7.0
TA: 100
CH: 130
CYA: > 30 (filled the small comparator tube and I could still see the black dot at the bottom).
Salt: 3000

So the pool place wasnt THAT far off. Im still glad I got my kit though.

So Im assuming the first thing I gotta do is add some stabilizer/conditioner, yes?

 

[frogabog]

CYA: > 30 (filled the small comparator tube and I could still see the black dot at the bottom).

So Im assuming the first thing I gotta do is add some stabilizer/conditioner, yes?

I'm going to assume you meant <30ppm CYA (less than) and say yes, but start with 20ppm in case their 10ppm result was accurate. Can you get HTH brand stabilizer? If so, you might be able to test CYA again in a few days (it happened for me, you never know). At minimum it's very fast to dissolve so you'll save the headache of waiting for it to be "in" the pool as opposed to a pool store brand which seems to take longer to dissolve.

To lower the TA (70 is good) you could aireate to raise pH, and then lower it with acid. Do this a few times till you get to 70'ish TA and pH 7.2-7.4.

If you use borax to raise pH, TA will increase so you'll want to raise pH organically from now on by aireating.

Your pool needs chlorine. Dose the pool to maximum chlorine for 10ppm CYA now, and after all the CYA is gone from the sock you can start using 30ppm CYA in the calculator for your chlorine goals.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

CYA: > 30 (filled the small comparator tube and I could still see the black dot at the bottom).

So Im assuming the first thing I gotta do is add some stabilizer/conditioner, yes?

I'm going to assume you meant <30ppm CYA (less than) and say yes, but start with 20ppm in case their 10ppm result was accurate. Can you get HTH brand stabilizer? If so, you might be able to test CYA again in a few days (it happened for me, you never know). At minimum it's very fast to dissolve so you'll save the headache of waiting for it to be "in" the pool as opposed to a pool store brand which seems to take longer to dissolve.

To lower the TA (70 is good) you could aireate to raise pH, and then lower it with acid. Do this a few times till you get to 70'ish TA and pH 7.2-7.4.

If you use borax to raise pH, TA will increase so you'll want to raise pH organically from now on by aireating.

Your pool needs chlorine. Dose the pool to maximum chlorine for 10ppm CYA now, and after all the CYA is gone from the sock you can start using 30ppm CYA in the calculator for your chlorine goals.

Hey .. thank you very much for the response. I didnt thank earlier as I wanted to get to it.

Sooo .. here is where I am at now: Over the past 3 days I have: raised my CYA level, shocked twice, brought up the PH level, brought down the TA (a little anyway), vaccuumed a lot of the organic debris out of the pool (although there is still some left), been scrubbing the walls, and cleaned the filter 4 times in soap AND a bit of a muriatic acid bath. Water is still pretty cloudy but there is no green. When I look at some water in a glass, it looks clear but I can only faintly see the bottom of the pool.

Latest test results:

FC: 25
CC: 2
PH: 7.6
TA: 90
CH: 130
CYA: around 35

I have been shocking using 4% bleach. I shocked twice with about 3 gallons, once Friday night and once Sunday night.

My SWG has been off BUT, when I did turn it on, it said I needed to add salt (the test at the store AND a test strip says Im at about 3000ppm. I should be at about 4000ppm. Should I add that now or wait until later?

So, what are my next steps? We are downing in humidity up here and would LOVE to swim lol

Thanks again

 

[Siamese]

I wouldnt worry about the SWG for now.

I'm not sure about the fact that you "shocked twice". The idea behind shocking a pool is to bring the FC to shock level, which is about 14 for your CYA level, and to maintain it at that level until the pool is clear. If you are allowing the FC to drop below shock level, you are giving the algae a chance to get going (growing) again. You'll need to check the evel every hour to start with and then can begin to check less frequently once it starts to hold better.

Keep the pump/filter running, keep scrubbing and keep it at shock level and you should be swimming soon.

Good luck!

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

I wouldnt worry about the SWG for now.

I'm not sure about the fact that you "shocked twice". The idea behind shocking a pool is to bring the FC to shock level, which is about 14 for your CYA level, and to maintain it at that level until the pool is clear. If you are allowing the FC to drop below shock level, you are giving the algae a chance to get going (growing) again. You'll need to check the evel every hour to start with and then can begin to check less frequently once it starts to hold better.

Keep the pump/filter running, keep scrubbing and keep it at shock level and you should be swimming soon.

Good luck!

Well by "shocking twice", I really mean I added 3 gallons of bleach on Friday and 3 gallons on Sunday.

I shocked Friday evening after sundown, then checked the FC level on Saturday and it was still around 16. On sunday evening, I didnt check the level but I added the second round of bleach and as of right now, its sitting at 25.

Ok, well I will keep a scrubbin' and report back in a day or so.

About 15mm of rain coming tonight... im sure that wont help at all. Grrr.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

Odd question ... is there any advantage or disadvantage to having two filters at the same time?

Long story short .. there was a pool at this house before we moved in. For some reason, the previous owners kept the sand filter that went with it. I never threw it out either (pack rat much? ). So its just sitting on the side of the house.

Can you use a sand filter in combination with a cartridge filter?

Im going to assume not since Ive NEVER seen it done but I thought Id ask the dumb question anyway.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

So I test my water (gave the results two posts ago) and the FC was around 25 and the CC was about 2. That was at about 5pm, give or take.

I test again just before bed at 10pm and the FC was at about 20. So not a significant drop but enough. I decided before bed to add two more gallons of bleach to pump it up a bit, instead of risking it going below 15 overnight.

I tested this morning and my FC is at 30 and my CC is at 2. Ooops?

Water is still cloudy though. Boo.

 

[duraleigh]

Testing and dosing accurately is a significant part of BBB. Calculate all your doses so you know exactly what your FC consumption is.

You must filter 24/7, brush the walls, and clean/backwash your filter often to complete the shock process.

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

Just got home from work and gave her another test. My FC is sitting around 24 (down from about 30 this morning) and my CC is still constant at 2. Water is still cloudy. Although, it did rain a LOT today so that may be part of it. PH is up a bit to about 7.8 so whence the rain stops, I'll drop some m-acid in to drop it (which will help take care of my high TA .. woo).

So, by the very slow drop off of FC, is it safe to assume that the algae has been killed off? Still not gonna shut off the pump or stop brushing but Im thinking that if the FC level isnt dropping rapidly, then nothing is killing it off (or the FC isnt attacking anything - depending on your perspective I suppose).

Just gotta wait it out I suppose ... boo

 

[Butterfly]

You are not done shocking yet! You still have CC and cloudy water ~~ See red lines in my sig

 

[NewPoolOwner12]

You are not done shocking yet! You still have CC and cloudy water ~~ See red lines in my sig

Booooo Okie dokie .. guess I'll just keep the FC above 15ish and keep a scrubbing. Every how often should scrubbing be done? On the weekend, I was doing it once in the late morning, once in the mid evening. During the week, I do it once (just did it about an hour ago). Should I do it more often?

Btw .. I havent cleaned the filter in about 2 days now. The pressure hovers back and forth between 12 and 14 but doesnt go higher or lower. Should I clean it again or just leave it?