confused

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

btb

0
LifeTime Supporter
Jul 21, 2012
20
Fairbury,IL
first post. In ground fiberglass 18000 gal. purchased TFP test kit this spring b/c green water upon opening. Replaced salt generator 2 weeks ago.
Last monday tests were: salt 3800, FC 3.5, CC 1, PH 7.3-7.4, TA 160-170, CH 240, CYA 45.

Swam in pool weds all seemed ok. opened last night to a green stink. Been running pump 15 hours a day. Probably not enough with temps 95+. Will run 24/7.

Added 9 gal bleach here are results: FC 17, CC.5, PH 7.0, TA 200, CYA 45.

Why did PH drop so much in 5 days?

How can I raise PH w/o increasing TA even More? Guess I dont quite get it yet. Thanks in advance.
Brian
 
Welcome to the forum. :lol:

I can't explain why your pH dropped. Testing error is the most common cause unless you added something (like pucks) that you didn't realize would drop the pH.

It is pretty easy to independently adjust TA and pH. Up in Pool School you will find an article on how to lower TA. Follow that article precisely and your pH can be adjusted upward while your TA comes down.
 
1. The slide may be adequate but very slow...hard to say.

2. I assume you are shocking the pool. read "How to Shock Your Pool" up in Pool School. You are finished when..

1. Your pool water is sparkling
2. Your CC's are .5ppm or less
3. You can hold your FC overnight without losing more than 1ppm. (perform the OCLT test)
 
made 2 aerators from pvc to go along with slide. in 6 hours TA dropped from 200 to 150 and PH from 7.0 to 7.4. added MA to lower again and will continue aerating. Like magic! Will report tomorrow.

I am using intelliclor IC 20 SWG. Do you agree I probably need to run pump 24/7 while water is in 90's?
 
I am using intelliclor IC 20 SWG. Do you agree I probably need to run pump 24/7 while water is in 90's?
Click to expand...
Impossible to tell. Get your shock process finished and then start monitoring your chlorine consumption daily and you can probably dial it back by a good bit.

Nice work on the TA! :goodjob: Wish all of our students would turn in their homework (successfully) as quickly as you did! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
btb said:
made 2 aerators from pvc to go along with slide. in 6 hours TA dropped from 200 to 150 and PH from 7.0 to 7.4. added MA to lower again and will continue aerating. Like magic! Will report tomorrow.

I am using intelliclor IC 20 SWG. Do you agree I probably need to run pump 24/7 while water is in 90's?
Click to expand...
:nopic:

We like pictures of aerators. If it's nifty enough, it may get posted in the lowering TA article. As an aside, if you're shocking, your pH readings are suspect, as FC>10 reacts with the red solution.
 
Sorry.I will try pics. No promises! I am a slow learner re: tech stuff.

I am shocking. So, continue to aerate to lower TA and forget PH until done shocking?

Last numbers: FC 34, CC 1, PH 7.4, TA 150, CYA 45.

Plan to raise CYA to 80 when all else balanced. That OK?
 
btb said:
Sorry.I will try pics. No promises! I am a slow learner re: tech stuff.

I am shocking. So, continue to aerate to lower TA and forget PH until done shocking?

Last numbers: FC 34, CC 1, PH 7.4, TA 150, CYA 45.

Plan to raise CYA to 80 when all else balanced. That OK?
Click to expand...
Yes.

Usually we recommend ignoring TA until everything else is balanced and you get bored.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
btb said:
http://outofbounds.smugmug.com/Other/Pool-Pictures/24300179_9Rj8Kv#!i=1978991897&k=3pcxgMj

Tried to load pictures. This link has three photos of aerator. Hopefully this works.
Click to expand...
Yep.

The aerators look good, but that water is sorta dark. Do you have a dark surface, or is the water that yucky?
IMG4119-M.jpg
 
Still greenish but can see bottom in 4 feet. Cloudy sky when picture taken and tree reflections maybe. Still shocking pool. It smelled kinda like sewer last night. Zero or slight bleach smell now.
How did you get that picture on here?
 
Guys,
Been on vacation for 2 weeks and back to problems.

I had only 5 days to try and solve the problem before we left. Should have had someone to watch but did not.
Here were the numbers when we left: FC 16, CC 1, PH 7.4-7.5, TA 150, CYA 40. sparkling water.

Added 3 gal. bleach as insurance. I was concerned the process was not complete. FC had dropped from 28 to 16 in 18 hours and still CC of 1. Added 3 # of CYA directly to skimmer hoping to raise to 70-80 (18,000 gallon pool, fiberglass) while gone. Closed auto cover and left pump on. Set intellichlor 20 salt generator to 100%.

Upon opening when home was again dark green and sewer smelling. Tested and found: FC 0, PH 7.4, TA increased to 250, and CYA at 0 ???? Is this possible?

Added 7 gal of 5.25% to pool and 2 gallon to skimmer. Immediately after dumping in skimmer, white started flowing from returns. Goal was FC to 25 plus to shock. This am back to zero FC. Backwashed and rinsed filter. Added 8 gallon of 5.25%. 15 minutes later no FC. Added 7 6% gallons bleach. FC only up to 8. Checked CYA this am. Still zero. Fill tube to top and see black dot clear as if it were empty.

Keep adding bleach? This is way more than calculator calls for. Have i tied up some how the stabilizer?

Thanks in advance for help. Should be near the computer off and on all am.

What happened
 
I have added 6 gallon of bleach every 4 hours all day. Gets the FC to 25+. When testing for FC, the solution does not get as dark pink as usual and when adding drops will turn clear then gradually back to light pink after 10-15 seconds. I have not seen this before. If i keep adding it will stay clear.

This along with the fact my cya is saying zero, has me concerned something else may be going on???

And when i add bleach to the skimmer, plumes of white come out the returns for a minute or so.

Any thouhgts or advice?

Thanks!
 
btb said:
I have added 6 gallon of bleach every 4 hours all day. Gets the FC to 25+. When testing for FC, the solution does not get as dark pink as usual and when adding drops will turn clear then gradually back to light pink after 10-15 seconds. I have not seen this before. If i keep adding it will stay clear.

This along with the fact my cya is saying zero, has me concerned something else may be going on???

And when i add bleach to the skimmer, plumes of white come out the returns for a minute or so.

Any thouhgts or advice?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Reverting to pink after a significant delay is normal.

Add bleach in front of the returns. It's highly alkaline, and is probably doing bad things inside the heater when you pour it in the strainer.
 
OK. Thanks.
Any thoughts on the CYA reading. I have found nothing in previous posts that cover it. I know it is not suposed to happen, but I have run the test 3x and can see the black dot after filling all the way up. Again, before I left, CYA was 40-45 and I added 3 # stabilizer to bring up closer to 70-80. Can that reading be temp. low while water is so nasty? Could the R 0013 have gone bad in 2 weeks?
 
I experienced the CYA problem you're having and it was due to it converting to Ammonia. You can purchase some inexpensive strips to test for ammonia at a pet store or even Wal-mart near the aquarium items. It can be fixed by shocking until you pass the OCLT. It took me 2 weeks and 48 gallon of 12.5% bleach to do it. Here's a link discussing the ammonia phenomena.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/it-can-happen-to-anyone-zero-chlorine-cya-ammonia-t10974.html
 
Thank You! This now makes sense. To be honest, I have lost track of the gallons we have used so far. My wife has taken over the testing duty! Easily 40 gallon and still going! Getting better. FC went from 31 to 29 in 3.5 hours.

I plan to get the FC/CC under control before thinking about CYA. Do you all agree?

Since I have a cover, you would think I would not need as high a level of CYA - i.e. limited sun. But I am not sure.

I suspect my brand new Intellichor IC20 is not working. I will not attempt to examine this until pool is under control.

Any past posts on how to test if the SWG is working?

Thanks again!
 

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