My wife and I just purchased a home with a pool. I've never owned a pool before and I think this site just saved me from my local pool supply store!
A week ago, the water was a little cloudy but not green and there were chlorine tablets in the two skimmers. Now, the water is more cloudy and has a tint of green. Yesterday, I took a sample to my local pool supply store and got these numbers:
FC=0, CC=0, CH=280, CYA=100, TA=100, pH=7.8, TDS=1200
They recommended 2 pounds of shock (Power Powder Plus). Luckily, I only added one as I was just starting to read Pool School on this site. I added it in the evening. In the morning, I added 3 gallons of 6% bleach, waited one hour, and then took another sample back to the pool store. This is what I got:
FC=0, CC=0, CH=300, CYA=110, TA=100, pH=7.8, TDS=1100
Needless to say, I won't be adding any more of that product as my CYA levels are already high and they only made it worse.
I've just ordered the Taylor K-2006 test kit, and after everything I've read here, this is what I'm thinking of doing:
* Drain some pool water (not all at once) and replace with tap water.
* Shock the pool with lots of bleach.
* Scrub the pool every day.
* Maintain FC with bleach, not tablets.
Here are my main questions:
(1) How much should I drain? It's been sunny and 100+ degrees here day in and day out with no end in sight. What CYA levels should be my target? 50? 60?
(2) How long should I keep FC levels at the shock levels?
(3) I've consulted the CYA/FC chart on this site. It suggests, for instance, a target FC of 12 with a CYA of 100. Is it safe/desirable to swim with 12 ppm chlorine in the pool? Many of the products at the pool store suggest not getting into the pool with FC levels above 4 ppm. According to the CYA/FC chart, that would mean maintaining a CYA of 30 or less. But that wouldn't work with full sun day in and day out. So something doesn't add up.
That's it for now. My wife is hoping to swim within the next week. Is that a possibility? I'm telling her to be patient. Is it possible to swim after a successful shock? I assume that's when all the bacteria will be killed.
Thanks for any help! This site has been awesome so far, but still so many questions. I hope to learn because I want to maintain my pool myself. It looks like I should consider upgrading to a SWG system, but that's probably not in the budget until next year at least.
Thanks again!
-Dave
A week ago, the water was a little cloudy but not green and there were chlorine tablets in the two skimmers. Now, the water is more cloudy and has a tint of green. Yesterday, I took a sample to my local pool supply store and got these numbers:
FC=0, CC=0, CH=280, CYA=100, TA=100, pH=7.8, TDS=1200
They recommended 2 pounds of shock (Power Powder Plus). Luckily, I only added one as I was just starting to read Pool School on this site. I added it in the evening. In the morning, I added 3 gallons of 6% bleach, waited one hour, and then took another sample back to the pool store. This is what I got:
FC=0, CC=0, CH=300, CYA=110, TA=100, pH=7.8, TDS=1100
Needless to say, I won't be adding any more of that product as my CYA levels are already high and they only made it worse.
I've just ordered the Taylor K-2006 test kit, and after everything I've read here, this is what I'm thinking of doing:
* Drain some pool water (not all at once) and replace with tap water.
* Shock the pool with lots of bleach.
* Scrub the pool every day.
* Maintain FC with bleach, not tablets.
Here are my main questions:
(1) How much should I drain? It's been sunny and 100+ degrees here day in and day out with no end in sight. What CYA levels should be my target? 50? 60?
(2) How long should I keep FC levels at the shock levels?
(3) I've consulted the CYA/FC chart on this site. It suggests, for instance, a target FC of 12 with a CYA of 100. Is it safe/desirable to swim with 12 ppm chlorine in the pool? Many of the products at the pool store suggest not getting into the pool with FC levels above 4 ppm. According to the CYA/FC chart, that would mean maintaining a CYA of 30 or less. But that wouldn't work with full sun day in and day out. So something doesn't add up.
That's it for now. My wife is hoping to swim within the next week. Is that a possibility? I'm telling her to be patient. Is it possible to swim after a successful shock? I assume that's when all the bacteria will be killed.
Thanks for any help! This site has been awesome so far, but still so many questions. I hope to learn because I want to maintain my pool myself. It looks like I should consider upgrading to a SWG system, but that's probably not in the budget until next year at least.
Thanks again!
-Dave