UPDATE -safe to swim? Worst Pool Store Ever!

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S

squirreltech

0
Jun 1, 2012
76
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Pool Size
70000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
Just got my water tested at the pool store. last time I ever do that because my test kit arrived! I can't wait to get off work and go test it. anyways here are the results, if you can call them that from the pool store:
TC 5
FC 5
PH 7.5
TA 105
CH 90
CYA 70

lots of issues with these numbers. First The CYA 2 weeks ago was below 20 according to them. So i added enough to get to 30, now they say it's reading at 70. I don't buy it. regarding the CYA, I asked the guy..."really 70 CYA, that means I would have to shock at much higher levels right?" he says "nope the opposite in fact" well at this point i shut down and stopped listening.

also their FC test only goes to 5 as my FC should be around 12-15. I was shocking for a CYA of 30.

The issue is I have a cloudy pool and has been for 4 weeks since it was a green monster. he kept telling me to add more "balance pack 100" to increase TA to 125-150 and to use a floc or a clearing agent and to change the sand in my filter. I told him I'm going to test it myself and keep filtering with my sand filter adding DE.

If any of you guys have any suggestions on a way ahead for me i'm open to that. or should I just keep going as is. It is getting a bit discouraging as the pool seems kinda stuck. Also, I've had my kreepy Krawley on for about 8 hours a day and brushing every day. I will post my first self-done test results later when I get home.
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

When you get off work, run the tests from your own kit and post those numbers. With the kit in hand, I hesitate to suggest a plan using pool store numbers.

Once you start using good numbers you'll start making progress.
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

I've gone to two pool stores in my area and I know that one of the two I can rely on for fairly accurate results. They're an honest shop and they never try to up sell me on anything and I don't feel pushed to make any purchases. The other store is a completely different story. Now, it could be that their testing method is inaccurate and testing products sub-par, or they're downright thieves, because they always have a long list of chemicals which are absolutely essential to properly balance my water, according to them. Needless to say, I no longer go to store #2.
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

Well I did my first test! and boy was the pool store off!

FC 11.5
CC .5
PH 7.2
TA 100
CH 100
CYA guessing 20 (filled it right to the rim and i could just barley see it)

It's pretty cloudy here today so i just added enough bleach to get it to 15ppm. I'll redo the FC in the morning.

The water is still cloudy and has been for 3 weeks, so what do you guys think I should do from this point?

I'm going to add 10 ppm of stabilizer and retest in a week. hopefully get that up to 30.

I'm still adding enough DE to the skimmer to raise it by 1 PSI each time i backwash. which takes about 12 hours to build up to the right pressure. anything else i should do?
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

Bingo! Another person that now knows first-hand that the pool store tests are not very accurate!

With the CYA test, make sure you don't pour right away. Just want to double-check that you had time for the turbidity to form. I agitate mine for 30 seconds, then do the test.

It sounds to me like you are now on the right path, keep doing what you are doing! The only question I have is what is your shock level? Go a bit above it, maybe close to mustard algae levels, that way as it falls you don't go under your basic shock level.
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

correct i am adding DE to my sand filter

my shock level I was aiming for was 12 but the strips i was using only tested to 10 so i was using a bit of math and guess work to estimate 12. not too bad if you ask me at 11.5.

I did just add enough to go to 15. based on my CYA of 20 15 ppm of FC should be sufficient for over night into the morning. thanks guys. you rock!
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

it just sucks that it's taken 4 weeks so far... any estimates on how long it is going to take to clear?

a couple of other points... I have been running the kreepy krawler daily for 2 days now for 8 hours a day. it doesn't get anything from the bottom anymore... no big clumps that is. i am sure it's probably picking up some sediment, as well as vacuum every 2nd day and that isn't picking up anything either. can't see the bottom of the shallow end yet but can see the last stair, but it's noticeably cloudy. brushing daily as well. I will attach some pics so you guys can see. oh and also the pump is a hayward 1 hp self priming super pump. is that big enough? and lastly should I open up the sand filter and see if the sand is clumped or channeled? I know that's a lot of questions but it all seems to be a bit much right now.

just thought of something else i wanted to ask... should i connect the vacuum and rig it so it sits in the middle of the deep end and filter from there instead of the skimmer?
 

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Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

I second what RobbieH said! I would shoot for 18-20ppm and test 30-45 minutes later to see how much is being used up right away.

I sometimes wonder when doing "swamp to pool" conversions why don't we recommend hitting it with Mustard Shock levels until it starts holding FC better?

I understand higher FC levels get degraded by sunlight faster but when it's being consumed primarily by organics what's the harm?

If the CYA is really only 20, a FC of 20 would result in 2.535ppm HOCl. What is the upper limit on damaging/bleaching out the liner?

RobbieH said:
... The only question I have is what is your shock level? Go a bit above it, maybe close to mustard algae levels, that way as it falls you don't go under your basic shock level.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

morning results
FC 14.5 (i added chlorine last night to bring it from 12 to 15, so looks like i lost about .5 last night if my calculations from the pool calc were correct to bring it up to 15. I'm trying to save on reagents so i'm waiting to test at night until the water is clear.)
CC 1.5

could that be right with the CC? it was at .5 last night and 1.5 this morning and no heavy rain last night or anything weird. I'm a bit confused on this one. I'm using a 10 ml sample. is that less accurate or anything?

also pressure only went up 1 psi overnight. is that normal? even with DE in there. I may take apart the filter tomorrow and see if the sand is ok
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

Since you just received your test kit you may not have been hitting shock level or staying at shock level long enough to kill everything off. Give it a few days to see if you start seeing progress now that you can test high enough to know you are at shock level. The CC will fluctuate as the FC is killing off algae.

Do you have any lights or removable ladders in the pool? You may need to scrub the light niche and connecting sockets for the ladder.
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

there are lights in the pool, that don't work. did I mention I hate the previous owners of this house. and there is a ladder in the deep end which is damaged and looks corroded. We have been scrubbing all of these items. should I remove the lights completely and take the ladder out?
 
Worst Pool Store Ever!

I would not hurt to take them out. I have read that light niches can hide a ton o algae. As the the ladder, I know mine was green on the back and it easier to clean setting on the deck.
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

zea3 said:
Since you just received your test kit you may not have been hitting shock level or staying at shock level long enough to kill everything off. Give it a few days to see if you start seeing progress now that you can test high enough to know you are at shock level. The CC will fluctuate as the FC is killing off algae.

Do you have any lights or removable ladders in the pool? You may need to scrub the light niche and connecting sockets for the ladder.
Click to expand...
JesseWV said:
I second what RobbieH said! I would shoot for 18-20ppm and test 30-45 minutes later to see how much is being used up right away.

I sometimes wonder when doing "swamp to pool" conversions why don't we recommend hitting it with Mustard Shock levels until it starts holding FC better?

I understand higher FC levels get degraded by sunlight faster but when it's being consumed primarily by organics what's the harm?

If the CYA is really only 20, a FC of 20 would result in 2.535ppm HOCl. What is the upper limit on damaging/bleaching out the liner?

RobbieH said:
... The only question I have is what is your shock level? Go a bit above it, maybe close to mustard algae levels, that way as it falls you don't go under your basic shock level.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I'll agree with JesseWV, zea3 and RobbieH.
My sand filtered pool was taking forever to clean up. One of the mods suggested to go 3ppm above my max shock level because I didn't realize that I might be falling below my shock level from long work days. (could have been RobbieH!) once I did that my pool cleared right up in 3 days.
I did clean out the sand filter with all new sand before I started to shock and clear pool. So I would say YES to servicing the sand filter to make sure it's properly working. Make sure the laterals are not cracked and connected up into the diverter valve.
Chuck
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

latest test

FC 16
CC <.5 (water barley turned pink and as soon as the drop hit the pink disappeared very fast)
CYA 35 ish

looks like i am going to need more reagent for testing FC. 22ml isn't going to cut it.

it looks like it is improving daily but so slow. the filter doesn't need backwashing very much any more. every 24-36 hours, sometimes more.

I may take apart the sand filter tomorrow and clean out the sand. I am almost thinking about buying a DE filter. they filter between 1 and 4 microns and a sand filter only does 20-30 microns if working properly. This is soo frustrating!
 
Re: Worst Pool Store Ever!

latest numbers

FC 18
CC <.5
CYA 40
no overnight loss but still cloudy

I had a bit of time yesterday to take apart my sand filter. when I opened the Drain plug on the filter green sludge poured out. I got the top off and poked around with a plastic poking device. didn't go too deep because i didn't want to hit the laterals, but i stirred the sand up pretty good. then i put the hose in and let it over flow, after i blocked off the standpipe of course. i couldn't let it overflow for long because my filter and pump are in a pool shed and i didn't want to get gunk all over the floor and the return lines are right next to the filter and i didn't want that water seeping in around the return lines.
any ideas on how to catch the water coming out of the filter in a cleaner way than on the floor?

as for the sand in there, initially i was really scared as there was a sand bag next to the filter that was regular sand not filter sand and it was opened, so i was thinking the previous owners used this regular sand. So i took out a small sample of sand and it looked different that what was in the bag, it was slightly white and the other stuff was brown. however i notice when i backwash, in the sight glass there is lots of dirty colored sand, sometimes black, being flushed out the backwash hose.

I put it all back together and turned it back on, noticed the pressure was more or less the same as before, i added some more DE and the pressure rose from 14 to 18 after 4 hours, something that hasn't happened since week 2, so i was thinking i did something by flushing the sand. but after backwashing and adding DE again, the pressure is not climbing anymore, well at least not over a 6 hour period...it might take 24 hours like before.

at this point, should i assume the sand is bad and replace it, or should I buy a DE filter. I am seriously considering getting a DE at this point. the water has been cloudy for over a month now.

sorry for the long post and thank anyone who reads it all and has some comments.
 

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