Algae, ph problems, muriatic acid & bleach...oh my!

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cami1972

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Jul 29, 2012
5
Canton, Oklahoma
I have already drained this pool once this summer and added a SWG, because of problems with algae and keeping chlorine in the pool, and my battle with ph. oh and lack of a good pool vacume. :( I refilled the pool on 7/15 got the swg going and all looked good for a few days. I have ran the swg 7 hours a day and the filter 24 hours. The pool has a good case of green algae going for the last 3 days. Since that I have ran the swg with the pump non stop. I have added 24 oz of muriatic acid twice in the last few days, vacumed and scrubbed the pool several times. (with new much better vacume). I am sure I need to use the muratic acid again to get the ph right, but I am also sure I need to use some bleach to shock & kill the algae. Can I use the muratic acid (12oz according to the pool calculator), and Bleach (29oz), at the same time? and should I disconect the swg while I am bleaching the pool? Used the HTH test strips. results questionable, but I know the my water has high ph from my fish tanks.
test results this morning=
FC 0.2, PH 8.0, TA 180, CYA 30-50
 
cami1972:

Welcome to TFP :wave:

I would first lower the pH to 7.2 with MA before you begin the shock process. Once you begin the shock process, ignore pH (don't even test it) until the shock process is complete. pH will temporarily increase during the shock process and you may be tempted to over-correct it. After the shock process is complete, retest pH and adjust if necessary.

If you are unfamiliar with the proper way to shock a pool, refer to The Shock Process link in my signature.
 
Go ahead and turn the SWG off for now, use bleach to get to shock level for your CYA level and to keep it there. You will want to test every hour at first, boosting the FC (per the Pool Calculator) with bleach to a level that will keep FC above shock level at all times. Then as the FC begins to hold at or above shock level you can wait a bit longer between tests. See Pool School for a full explaination.

Once you have passed the test that proves all algae is killed, totally and undeniably, then you allow the FC to slowly decline to normal levels. You can test and adjust pH then, and increase CYA to 75-85, and turn the SWG on at that time.
 
Thank you, I am going to do some more reading on the shock process. I went ahead and added more MA to the pool this morning to help lower the ph. I am hoping to have it a little more in control before shocking. I am confused on what the shock level should be, guess thats why I need to read more!
 
cami1972 said:
ok I read how much my fc needs to go up to get my pool shocked, wow. Is this possibly right? 315 oz of 6% bleach to reach a level of 24 FC from a level of 2? Do I add that much bleach at once?
Click to expand...

Yes - assuming you setup the poolcalculator website correctly.
 
cami1972 said:
wow. Is this possibly right? 315 oz of 6% bleach to reach a level of 24 FC from a level of 2?
Click to expand...
Shock level is a function of CYA level. The amount of bleach needed to reach shock level is a function of pool volume.

First, how big is your pool? Second, 30-50 is a big window for CYA. Any chance you can get that measurement a little more precise?
 
The only test kit I have now is the HTH 6 way strip test, yep it sucks, but is better than nothing for now. I kept scrubbing & vacuuming my pool yesterday , about every 2 hours. I also added MA a few times, got the Ph & TA down. I did a lot of reading on here and used the pool calculator and added the Bleach last night. Pool was clear and blue this morning. I just vacuumed again and added more bleach to keep it up to shock level. I will keep the FC up high until tomorrow, vacuum again and hope I am in the clear! This site is great! Thank you all for the help!
 
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