Need some coaching!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
JulieS

JulieS

0
Jun 17, 2012
55
Michigan
I am switching over to the BBB method, as it sounds like a better plan than what I have been doing. My water has been cloudy (can't see the bottom of a 42" deep pool...) for almost a week for no apparent reason. So I ordered the K-2006, waited for it to arrive, and then shocked my pool. My shock level was 12 based on CYA, my FC was 3.2 & CC was 0.2, so I used the pool calculator to figure out how much to add, and dumped the bleach on in! 30 minutes later, I retested and had an FC of 9.2 & CC of 0.2, so I did not hit the mark of 12 and was unsure if I should add more to try and hit the mark, so I left it alone overnight, and kept the pump running. Last night I also re-read a lot of pool school, learned some different directions for doing the CYA test (different than what's in the box that is) so this morning I tried the new way (several times) and got a CYA of 40 v. yesterdays result of 30, so unless it went up magically during the night, my shock level SHOULD have been 16! Here are yesterdays and today's numbers:

SUN:
FC-3.2 (9.2 AFTER SHOCK)
CC-0.2
pH-7.6
ALK-120
CH-400
CYA-30

TODAY:
FC-9.2
CC-0.2
pH-7.6
ALK-130
CH-370
CYA-40

Basically, I don't know where to go from here. Do I add more bleach to get up to shock level, or leave it be and allow it to go back down. Could it be my TA rising AGAIN causing the cloudiness? The pool looks no different this morning than it has for the last week, but I was no where near shock level. I just want to clear up the water, and also keep it safe for my family to use, as it's going to be in the upper 90's for the next week! I plan to keep reading pool school, and study the BBB method, but will accept any help you can give!
 
Here at TFP shocking is a process not a one time event
You do need to add more chlorine to reach shock level
Do this every hours (as you get further into the process you adjust as you see your chlorine holding longer)
Shock is complete when the following are true
Water clear
Pass an overnight chlorine loss test
CC less the 1

All your other numbers are acceptable for now you can adjust them after the shock process
You cloudiness is very very likely from organics

Reread pool school under how to shock pool for more detail
 
Was the sun on the pool when you took the tests last night and again this morning? It appears that you passed the OCLT if you didn't add more chlorine or have a swg running.

let us know if that was the case and we'll recommend further action.
 
The sun was setting last night when I took the test, and rising this morning when I tested. So the sunlight was about equal for both tests. I do not have a SWG either. That's why I am wondering if the cloudiness could be from another source, and not just organics. I have a continuing problem with high TA, and I know that can cause cloudy water, and it has been slowly rising again over the last week.

So, at this point should I add what the pool calculator says to bring my FC up to 16? At that level is it safe for my family to swim?
 
Being that you didn't reach the expected fc when you added chlorine I would raise level to 16 test in an hour to see if you got it to 16 and follow shock process. It is safe to swim up to and including shock level, but added bather load can take shock process longer plus pool needs to be clear enough to easily see bottom of pool for safety
You might have caught tge organics soon enough. That you can try a onclt tonight
It can take awhile for filter to catch all the dead algea
 
Okay, I'm having a very difficult time reaching shock level, is that normal? From 9.2 it said to add 2 quarts, 1 ounce. An hour and a half later, that brought me to 11.6, now the calculator says to add 1 quart, 1 cup and 2 ounces. Does this seem normal, or am I doing something wrong? Going to add the next dose now...

Sorry to be such a bother, I just don't want to screw this up!
 
Fairly normal with organics in the pool or wrong volume could be your issue
I would add 1.5 qt
See if once you get it to shock if your next dose gets to predicted level if not let us know we can try to figure volume out better
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
JulieS said:
Okay, I'm having a very difficult time reaching shock level, is that normal? From 9.2 it said to add 2 quarts, 1 ounce. An hour and a half later, that brought me to 11.6, now the calculator says to add 1 quart, 1 cup and 2 ounces. Does this seem normal, or am I doing something wrong? Going to add the next dose now...

Sorry to be such a bother, I just don't want to screw this up!
Click to expand...

First - no bother - the place is here for just this purpose.

There could be two reason I can think of that hitting your target level might be hard:

1) You may have the wrong volume.
2) You may have something growing in there that is eating it quickly.

The good news is that you simply just add more chlorine to fix either of these. If #1 is the problem eventually you'll figure this out from future non-shock use.
 
The paperwork that came with the pool said 4200 gallons, the pool calculator says 4600, I'm going with the high number on the "go big or go home" principle!(It's the Marine in me...!)

Would having my solar cover on have any affect? I didn't put it on last night, and the temp dropped quite a bit, so I'm trying to warm it back up for today's use! Using this much bleach isn't going to affect swimsuits, meaning color wise, is it? I always think of bleach as color stripper... I'm sure it's a laughable question, but I have to ask!

Thanks for the help! I'm off to pick up some more bleach!
 
Cover ON will reduce losses of Chlorine to the SUN - that isn't a bad thing for you while shocking.

Bleaching - in theory high Chlorine isn't going to bleach much, the CYA binds it up in a way that keeps it from actually doing much bleaching. There is a chart somewhere in the deeper murkier parts of the forum that explains the actual chemistry and how much Chlorine is actually in the disinfection type and how much is bound by the CYA and shows clearly that your pool levels are LOWER than an indoor pool at 1-3ppm without CYA.

Rinse the suits when you finish swimming if you want - but understand tap water is likely more bleaching than a pool with CYA and a recommended FC amount.
 
welcome to TFP and welcome to the BBB family of pool care you will find it is such a simple method. If you have a aldi's near you that is about the cheapest place for bleach the have 96 oz jugs for 1.19 cents also menards had it for 99 cents for 96 oz jugs, needless to say i bought 36 jugs.....lol. I also see you are a fellow intex pool owner as i am, i can tell you now the pump that came with yours is undersized something else you might want to do is clean that cartridge filter often that will help in the clearing the cloudy water faster, once again welcome aboard BBB brother..........Mike
 
I clean my filter at least once a day, generally twice. I actually posted in another feed a while ago asking if anyone had any recommendations about different pumps. I don't know much, but I know mine is too small! I will check out Aldi's and Menards, we have both of them around here! I just picked up six gallons at the local grocery for $1.25/gallon on sale, but I know I'm going to need MUCH more, even though we are already half way through our swim season! I can honestly say, I may stick it out with what I have for the rest of the season, and next year upgrade to a bigger above ground bury. Not sure yet, so I will contemplate it over our long, long winter...
 
I understand the shock process, however I am a bit confused. Yesterday I got up to shock level (16), opened my pool for the kids to play, they didn't mind that it looked like milk. The pool was exposed to direct, super HOT sunshine for about 6 hours, and in that time I only came down to 15.4, so I re-dosed and hit 16.2 at about 9:30 last night. This morning at about 9:30 I tested again, and I'm at 16. Shouldn't I be losing more chlorine? Do I just kick back and wait for the number to drop to re-dose? This predicament isn't mentioned in the SHOCK PROCESS or POOL SCHOOL!!

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!!!
~Julie
 
Sounds like you passed the overnight chlorine loss test
Yeah

Test your CC if it is less then 1. 2 of the 3 criteria to stop shocking have been met

Now just have to wait for filter to cleanup the dead stuff
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
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