1st time testing with "Real" pool kit :)

[jlhaz]

Hello,

I just received my test kit today (thanks Duraleigh!). The water in the pool is clear but there is some "stuff" on the bottom, I'm guessing algae?

Just a little past history, this is the 1st time i've owned a pool. I've been in the house for 1 yr, but all last year was spent fixing the problems the pool had (leaks, broken light, broken pump, filter)

I just had the sand refilled in my filter, and since the light has been fixed, no more leaks - now i'm ready to takle the chemicals and try to get it balanced and ready for swimming

The pool is plaster, the old pool guy said it's about 12000 gallons. It's 15x40, oval shape.

Here are the test #'s:

Free Chlorine = 0 (no color change at all)
Total Chlorine = 0 (again no color at all)
pH = 7.5
Total Alkalinity = 140
Cyanuric acid (CYA or stabilizer) = 0 (I think, I can still see the black dot even when I fill up to the very top of the tube)


I have a tab holder just to try to keep it from going green until I got my full flegded test kit.

With these #'s where do I start?

Thanks!

 

[JohnT]

I'd start with enough bleach or liquid chlorine to get to shock level. In your case, that's about 4 gallons of bleach. Then get 2 lbs of CYA, place it in an old sock and hang it in front of a return or throw it in the skimmer basket. That should get you to 20ppm CYA, but don't bother retesting CYA for about a week to allow the CYA to dissolve fully. That's only about half what you need, but it's way easier to add more than to remove some. After a week, if you are in the 20ppm range, add another pound the same way. Your pucks will add some CYA during this time, but not much.

You will probably have to add bleach daily to maintain a FC level.

That said, a 15X40 oval that is 4ft deep would hold 16,500 gallons. If yours is deeper, it may hold much more, maybe 25,000 gallons total. You can scale the chemicals appropriately. For 16,500, use another gallon of bleach to shock, and up the initial CYA to 2.75lbs. If you add the bleach, then check the FC after an hour or so, you can guesstimate the volume of the pool from the amount of bleach added and the resulting FC reading.

 

[jlhaz]

Thanks for the tips! I"m also going to do more measurements to make sure my calculation of gallons is correct.

One more question, I have a poolbuster, so should I keep vaccumming up the stuff on the bottom? Or should I just sweep it and the sand filter will get rid of it?

Thanks again!

 

[duraleigh]

One other thing to think about as you are cleaning up. There's a pretty good chance you're gonna' need to backwash your filter as you kill off any algae, etc.

If your CYA is still in the filter (in other words, if you put it in thru the skimmer) it will backwash out with the dirt and dead algae.

Assuming you need to backwash in the next few days, (and I think you might) I'd hang the CYA from the sock John suggested and let it dissolve slowly......that way, you won't lose it.

 

[jlhaz]

I thought I had algae at the bottom of the pool, so I brought the FC up to shock levels, have 2 socks with 2 lbs of CYA in front of the returns.

After 3 hrs, here are some #'s:

FC = 10 - no drop after 3 hrs
CC = .5

The water is starting to clear up, it was clear but just had pollen?? on the floor and some on the walls. I brushed it once today after bringing the FC up to shock level.

So far am I on the right track?

I asked another question in the Pool school section about the main drain valve, I'll look there to see if it will help get rid of the stuff on the bottom of the pool!

Thanks again!

 

[jlhaz]

Hello Again

So here is the latest...

After 10 hrs, the FC has gone down to 7. The water is starting to clear, still a little cloudy but i can see the bottom of the pool, and the Pollen?? or whatever it is is starting to settle on the bottom again.

Am I on the right track or should I be doing more?

Thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

To be sure you don't have algae you can measure the FC level in the late evening and again first thing in the morning. If the FC holds steady overnight then you don't have algae.

 

[jlhaz]

To be sure you don't have algae you can measure the FC level in the late evening and again first thing in the morning. If the FC holds steady overnight then you don't have algae.

Jason,

Thanks...I just measured it...FC = 5. That was a drop from FC=7 3 hrs ago. I brought it back up to 10 using the calculator, and brushed it again since I saw some "stuff" on the bottom, which ended up clouding the water. I'll see what the results say tomorrow morning.

Thanks!

 

[jlhaz]

This morning I still had FC = 7 . I didn't measure CYA yet, but this morning the socks were empty so it has all been deposited into the pool.

2 Things:

The water still looks a little cloudy, but I can baerly see the bottom. I brushed it as well. Would this still be indicative of a problem?

Also, the pump turned off about 6AM, when I turned it back on a few hours later there was some white clouds coming from the returns, was this the stabalizer making an appearance? There were no white clouds yesterday before I added stabilizer.

I've been running the pump pretty much all day today, and it will continue through the night.

Thanks!