britishexpat said:
Hi, welcome to TFP! You are getting good advice, but I would like to take a moment to re-cap everything that has been discussed so far to make sure everything is clear.
While you may have over dosed the pool on some of the chemicals, they did dissolve and become part of the solution. What you are seeing as white particles now is the dead algae and other organic substances in the water. They will need to be vacuumed and/or filtered out. It may take several days of filtering after the shock process is complete to get rid of all the debris. This is usually where we tell folks they just need some POP (pool owner patience). While you are filtering out the debris you will be changing the filter cartridge frequently. The dirty cartridges can be rinsed and reused until they start to fall apart.
CYA is short for Cyuranic Acid. That chemical is also referred to as conditioner or stabilizer. Some powdered chlorine products contain CYA. Check the list of ingredients on the label, if it contains dichlor, or trichlor it will also contain CYA. Your current CYA level is good and you do not want to add any more. Also know that chlorine pucks and sticks may also contain CYA, so be sure and read the labels.
Yes, your TA is high, however that will not impact how much chlorine is needed to complete the shock process. TA mainly affects pH. Right now your pH is good. The high chlorine levels needed for the shock process will cause a temporary rise in pH. That is normal and does not need to be adjusted during the shock process.
Borax is not required to maintain your pool and is not part of the shock process. Borates from borax or other products containing boric acid are used to improve the feel of the water. Borates also act as a mild algaecide. After your shock process is complete you can do a little research and decide if you want to add borates or not.
The salt in your pool will not effect the shock process. It is fine as it is and after the shock process is complete you can turn the saltwater chlorine generator back on. (We call it an SWG for short). We usually advise people not to run the SWG during the shock process. It will save wear and tear on the cell and can mess up the overnight test results if you forget to turn it off.
Now, as for the shock process itself, this is best accomplished with plain, unscented 6% bleach from your local grocery store. You can use the pool calculator to determine how much bleach you need to raise the FC to shock level. Once you raise the FC to shock level you will need to keep it at shock level as much as possible until the shock process is complete. Test the FC level every couple of hours and add enough bleach to bring the FC back to shock level. How much bleach you will consume during the shock process varies. Each pool is a little different, and how well you are able to maintain shock level combined with how much algae and other organics are in the pool will affect how quickly the process will go. Keep the pump running 24/7 and change the filter cartridges as needed. If you don't want to keep the pump running unattended you can turn it off, but that will prolong the shock process.
One of the criteria for knowing the shock process is complete is the overnight chlorine loss test (oclt). To pass the overnight test, you measure the FC at dusk and again at dawn the next day. If you lose 1 ppm or less of FC you have passed the test. The other 2 criteria are that you have .5 CC or less, and the water is clear. If you pass the overnight test and have .5 CC or less tow nights in a row but the water is still cloudy then the process is complete and it is just taking your filter longer to clean up all the debris.
I hope this information helps. Feel free to ask as many questions as needed.
