Help I am having a chemical reaction in my pool!

[girldoc]

girldoc, you are doing great! Your cheer leaders are behind you!

Your kit should last a couple years if kept indoors.

Hang in there, you're almost done!!! :-D :-D :-D

Joyce thanks for the cheering but I think I am just starting AGAIN! Off to Sams for clorox, borax and baking soda!!!

 

[Butterfly]

girldoc, you are doing great! Your cheer leaders are behind you!

Your kit should last a couple years if kept indoors.

Hang in there, you're almost done!!! :-D :-D :-D

Joyce thanks for the cheering but I think I am just starting AGAIN! Off to Sams for clorox, borax and baking soda!!!

This, too, shall pass :-D

Here's some rah's for today: and, throw in a :super: for good measure!! :-D

 

[girldoc]

Joyce, back at it...

I added 20 gal of bleach 6%...checked FC in 1 hour it was only 5.5...Added another 14 gal...waiting to see. I am baffled and the massive amounts required and the calculations don't seem to be working

 

[JasonLion]

Is it possible that some fertilizer got into the pool?

 

[girldoc]

Is it possible that some fertilizer got into the pool?

I wouldn't know how...My dad fertilized my yard, but there is 12 feet of concrete all the way around my pool and then another 3 feet of landscaping beyond that. I was going to recalculate the volume. The pool store gave me the amount because they built it. Its a T shaped with grecian corners. 44 feet long by 33 wide at the shallow end (3 ft) and 28 wide at the deep end (9 feet).

I feel like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. I just rechecked chlorine and it was 8 this time...I added 9 more jugs (182 oz each).

Another observation I have made is that I am seeing dark green algae moving up the sides of the skimmer boxes almost like its getting away from the water. I poured straight bleach on the green then wiped it.

I got the pH back up to 7.2 with borax.

When I took the water sample in today they checked for phosphates and it was very low, but they said that was good.

 

[girldoc]

Reporting back in to my friends in cyberspace...

FC level last night at 11 pm was 8 (yes, after all that bleach), I added 9 more jugs then went to bed. this morning I had a FC level of 5...It was a decrease but still better than it has been. I feel like I am getting there finally.

My pool store owner called me this morning (we have a friendly relationship) and he expressed concern for using bleach. I asked him to do a little research first and he said he would. He said his concern was for my liner and that bleach was "raw materials" and he was afraid it would damage the liner. After everything I have read, I don't share that concern.

Just a little FYI...I'll keep plugging away...

From not quite so frustrated Maria

 

[girldoc]

Ok, its not perfect yet, but its looking better:

 

[Butterfly]

Wow, that thing looks HUGE!!! Nice property and great view. Lots of concrete 8)

You're doing a great job and thanks for sharing with your cyber-buddies !

 

[chem geek]

My pool store owner called me this morning (we have a friendly relationship) and he expressed concern for using bleach. I asked him to do a little research first and he said he would. He said his concern was for my liner and that bleach was "raw materials" and he was afraid it would damage the liner. After everything I have read, I don't share that concern.

Maria,

His concerns are not entirely invalid. You do need to be careful adding any chemical to your vinyl pool since you don't want concentrated chemical to settle in one place since that can be damaging to the vinyl. Acid is the worst for vinyl, but bleach or other sources of chlorine (Cal-Hypo, for example) can also be a problem if they settle at the bottom where you add it. This is why we recommend adding such chemicals slowly over a return flow so that they get mixed well. Also, for extra safety, after adding the chemical, (lightly) brush the pool side and bottom in the area where it is added. This ensures that denser bleach doesn't settle at the bottom (though usually pouring into the return flow gives enough mixing).

You can acknowledge his concern and tell him the steps you are taking to mitigate those concerns.

Richard