help getting started please

Jump to latest Follow Reply
F

Fireattack

0
Apr 25, 2011
19
I recently purchased an Intex Ultra frame 14x48 AGP. This is my practice pool while I'm making repairs to the existing 27' pool that came with the house I purchased.

My girlfriend wanting to use to pool immediately (she won the argument) so I filled the pool with municipal water and we swam over the weekend with no water treatment. Now that I have received my TF-100 XL test kit, I am able to address proper pool care.

I got nervous last night and added 40 oz of 6% bleach to the clear water and ran the pump all night. This morning I had light green water - hopefully the bleach killing organics?

I hope the folks here can set me on the right path in pool care. My test result this afternoon are as follows:

FC = 0.5
CC = 0
TC = 0
TA = 100
CH = 40
CYA = 0? (I tested for -never turned cloudy- but none has been added, so 0?)
PH = 7.8

I think I need to head to the pool store for CYA but wanted to post the water test results so I do this right from now on. I have purchased: Borax, Bleach, and Muriatic acid.

Thank you for the assistance!
 
Light green may be metals in the water. Do you have rust stains on your house plumbing, or in the toilet tank? Green tint but clear is metals. Green and starting to cloud is algae. Do the walls feel slimey?

You might want to fine tune pH, as you're heading above the comfort zone. Then get some more chlorine in there. Then go shopping for stabilizer and possibly metal sequestrant. Don't raise CYA above 30 until you know if your pool needs the shock process! You can add more later easily enough, but too much will complicate everything.

Borax can wait until everything else is balanced, as it's optional. That removes another variable from the equation.
 
Welcome to tfp, Fireattack :wave:

Richard beat me, here are my comments...

Fireattack said:
This morning I had light green water - hopefully the bleach killing organics?
Click to expand...
Was it tinting of the water where you can still see through? Or was it cloudy? If the former, then it is likely metals in the water. If it is the later, then you need to do the shocking process.

Fireattack said:
I think I need to head to the pool store for CYA
Click to expand...
Yes, if you need to do the shocking process add enought to get to 30 ppm cya. Otherwise 50 ppm cya works for most people [non Saltwater Chlorine Generator(swg) pools].

If you do not need the shocking process, make sure you maintain a minimum normal FC level per the poolcalculator.com (which is 1 ppm for 0 cya).
 
Richard,
Thanks for the reply. The walls do feel slimy. I don't have rust stains on the toilet bowl. When I test the PH it really was between 7.5 and 7.8 but closer to the shade that represents 7.8.

Can I put 40 or so more ounces of bleach in there now while I head to the store for stabilizer? (CYA) How much stabilizer should I use?

Thanks again for the help!
 
Linen,

The water had a green tint this morning that was not cloudy. Also some small brown "hairs?" on the intake?

Sounds like the plan is:

Stabilizer (CYA) in a sock over the return with pump running 24/7

Monitor CYA (may take a week?) to get it to 30ppm

Keep FC at 6ppm?

Thank you!
 
I would probably do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT) to confirm you do not have algae. I would bring your FC level up to 10 ppm tonight to do this.

Fireattack said:
Monitor CYA (may take a week?) to get it to 30ppm
Click to expand...
If you do not have algae, then I would shoot for 50 ppm, though going to 30 first, then remeasure in a few days and redose to 50 makes good sense.

Fireattack said:
Keep FC at 6ppm?
Click to expand...
If you pass the OCLT, then maintain for the cya level that is in the pool per poolcalculator.com. For a cya of 30 ppm this would be a minimum of 2 ppm FC.
 
If you have cya go ahead and start adding it using the sock method you mentioned, shooting for 30 ppm for now (it usually takes a couple days, go ahead and squeeze the sock whenever you go by it). You can be doing that while you are doing the OCLT.
 
I have my results from the overnight FC loss test:

Last night at 8:30pm FC = 9

This morning at 6:20am FC = 6.5

Also:
TA = 120 (up 20)
CH = 40 (same)
PH = 7.8 (noticebly darker shade of pink,trending up)

Per the pool calculator, I should add 29oz of 6% bleach if my target FC is 10 for shocking. Should I continue testing and adding bleach twice per day to shock aiming for FC of 10? I do this until the water is clear? Also, should I add 4.5oz of muriatic acid to lower PH to 7.5 since it is trending up?

The pool store was closed last night so I wasn't able to buy CYA. I plan on doing that today and adding it.

Thank you!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Fireattack said:
Also, should I add 4.5oz of muriatic acid to lower PH to 7.5 since it is trending up?
Click to expand...
I would add the acid before starting the shock process, and I would shoot for ~7.2-7.4. Poolcalulator give me 13 oz of 32.45% MA for your 4000 gallon pool and TA of 120 ppm to go to 7.4. Measure ph again 1/2 hour after adding and before starting the shocking process to confirm it is correct (once you are over 10 ppm FC, the ph test is no longer valid) and adjust if needed.

Fireattack said:
I should add 29oz of 6% bleach if my target FC is 10 for shocking.
Click to expand...
Once ph is in order, then do the shocking process, I get 29 ounces of 6% bleach to go form 6.5 to 10 ppm FC.

Fireattack said:
The pool store was closed last night so I wasn't able to buy CYA. I plan on doing that today and adding it.
Click to expand...
During shocking use 30 ppm cya as your target.
 
Linen,

Here are my latest test results at 6:00pm tonight:

FC = 0.5
CC = 0.5
TA = 120
CH = 40
PH = 7.5

Still light green water but the walls are no longer slimey. I picked up 5 lbs of 100% CYA and will put 16oz by weight into a sock tonight hanging from the swim ladder to reach the target CYA of 30. Is my PH of 7.5 OK to continue the shocking with a FC target of 10?

Edit: I reread your directions and will adjust PH down to 7.2-7.4 before continuing with the shock process.

Thank you!
 
Last night added 16oz CYA in a sock. PH was 7.2 so I resumed shocking. Added 79oz bleach to get back up to 10.

This morning tests indicate:
FC = 10.5
CC = 0.5
TA = 120
CH = 40
PH = 7.5

2/3 of the CYA in the sock has dissolved. I plan on monitoring the PH and keeping FC at 10 until no CC and water is clear. On a side note, I think the little intex filter is having a hard time clearing this pool so may have to shop for a sand filter.

Good news is the slime on the walls is gone and the water looks slightly better. I'll keep on this track.

Ps: I am having trouble locating calcium chloride. People thinking I'm nuts shopping for ice melt in July! I'm assuming I need to work on CH to get to around 100?

Thanks!!
 
Duraleigh,

EDIT: Thanks for the TF-100 kit. I received it in less than 24hrs of my order. Awesome service! Really saved me!

I'll forget about the calcium chloride then. Continue to shock until all is well and then maintain PH and FC is the plan. Now I just hope the little factory filter can do it's job OK.
 
To follow up and close this topic, I thought I'd give the final results due to the excellent adviced I've received.

After 4 days at shock level and changing the little intex cartridge filter, the pool is clear and clean. On day 7 of the process the pool now looks absolutely sparkling clear! I can read the date on a quarter on the bottom of the pool standing in the water and looking straight down. Amazing!

I attribute my success to you fine folks and Duraleigh who provided me with a professional level water test kit (TF100 XL) unbelievably quickly.

Any brand new folks reading this should take my advice and follow the pool school instructions to the letter, use a quality test kit, stay with it, have faith, and listen to the tips of the posters here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Fireattack
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply