Foreclosure Swamp
- Thread starter bmalouf
- Start date
Great update and congrats on the valve leak...easy fix there. Great job with the picture updates too. You really need to keep the pump going if at all possible. If you need to be there to monitor it, then so be it, but it will become essential to complete a shock process.
Sorry its been a few days. I have been so busy with the pool and house that I have not had any time to post. First, boy have I been through a lot of bleach! This has been a fun but time consuming process. Its awesome to see how the water turns from basically black to now blue. I am now on my third bag of DE. I finally got the CYA up from 0 to now around 50. I did this just by adding a sock of CYA into the skimmer and over a 24 hour period I went from 0 to about 25 then up to 50 the next day. For the past 2 days I have not had to add any bleach due to my levels being high!! We finally got all of the leaves out and this morning I could barely see the top of my polaris in the deep end!! After the backwash valve issues it has been mostly smooth sailing. I am brushing and vacuuming daily. There is still some dead algae(grayish color) on the walls? But I assume keeping my chlorine levels up it will eventually subside? The pool is going to look great when we are thew. I got my gas fire pit going thats by the pool. Its piped in with natural gas and we just had to remove the ring and clean the dirt out before adding new rock. I am not having to take my filter apart daily either. Since yesterday I have been able to effectively backwash and re-add DE allowing my filter to significantly reduce pressure. I do have a couple of questions though. i have added a picture of the bond beam below the diving rock in the deep end. the mortar between the beam and flagstone coping has separated. I feel at one point the deep end of the pool has sunken a little. The reason i say this is because the waterline in the deep end is about 1/8" higher than the shallow end. What should it do about this? I am for sure that I do not have a leak in the pool, so has it just settled? Is it going to move more or can I re Mortar that joint and be good? Also to HARLEYSILO...I have not really been on the stone with wet feet but with water on it and moving your hand across it is not slippery at all, its actually very rough and abrasive. I don't think there should be any problems there...but thanks for the props I think the rock is pretty cool too! As far as the pumps ad equipment go, they have been running 24/7 with no issues. I have some test numbers below and I think my calcium is pretty high. Is partially draining the only way to lower it?
Bleach, Bleach, and more Bleach
pallets of rock for flower beds
Firepit
Next day
Next day
Bond beam separation
Coming along nicely
Here is the last pic I have. This is the main entrance steps. There is a slight mottled look on the top step. this is not algae. the top step is completely clean. is there anything that can be done about this?
Test numbers
PH 7.3
CL 16--High??
CC 1.5
TA 160
CYA 60
Calcium 500....very high. I am a fireman so one day I was on shift a friend of mine had taken care of the pool that day. Calcium based shock was added by misake. Is this why?
Thats all for now. I hope you all enjoy the pics as much as I have others in the past. More to come soon. There is al ot more to be done!
Oh by the way the pool dimensions are
8' deepend
4' shallow
34' long
18' across shallow side
22' across deep side
spa
5' deep center and 7' across
Bleach, Bleach, and more Bleach
pallets of rock for flower beds
Firepit
Next day
Next day
Bond beam separation
Coming along nicely
Here is the last pic I have. This is the main entrance steps. There is a slight mottled look on the top step. this is not algae. the top step is completely clean. is there anything that can be done about this?
Test numbers
PH 7.3
CL 16--High??
CC 1.5
TA 160
CYA 60
Calcium 500....very high. I am a fireman so one day I was on shift a friend of mine had taken care of the pool that day. Calcium based shock was added by misake. Is this why?
Thats all for now. I hope you all enjoy the pics as much as I have others in the past. More to come soon. There is al ot more to be done!
Oh by the way the pool dimensions are
8' deepend
4' shallow
34' long
18' across shallow side
22' across deep side
spa
5' deep center and 7' across
Wow, that's a lot of work!
This may be a silly question, but why wouldn't you just drain a pool that looks this bad, clean it out really well, and then refill it? It seems like it would be a lot quicker and easier. I can tell you that my wife would never knowingly get into a pool that looked like that before no matter how clean it looked now. I can't say that I would blame her!
This may be a silly question, but why wouldn't you just drain a pool that looks this bad, clean it out really well, and then refill it? It seems like it would be a lot quicker and easier. I can tell you that my wife would never knowingly get into a pool that looked like that before no matter how clean it looked now. I can't say that I would blame her!
bacevedo said:
Why drain it when you don't have to...kinda cool to go thru the "swamp to clear" process without having to drain. Also in my city I had no real option to drain without having to pay the city a sewage fee.
Make sure to read pool school and start using the Pool Calculator. Pool school is up in the top right and the calculator is here: http://www.poolcalculator.com/ Both will help you out greatly and answer a lot of questions about the chemistry and equipment.
Beautiful pool, keep working hard and it'll be crystal clear in no time!
Beautiful pool, keep working hard and it'll be crystal clear in no time!
Yes CH of 500 is high - You should test your tap water - see if it would matter much if you replaced some of the water.
Have not posted in a while but wanted to show the progress. Water chemistry is in great shape right now. My calcium levels were high at like 500 in the beginning but they are now down to 200. The only slightly high reading is my CYA and it's at about 80. But I don't guess that is too bad just slightly high for a chlorine pool? The only problem I think I have is some staining issues on the steps of the pool which to me appeared to be calcium build up. But now that my levels are lower I'm not sure if its just a stain or scale build up. After you swim for a while the pool water will become slightly cloudy. Im assuming its from the staining. Maybe someone will have some insight for me.(pics below). I also have a few spots in the spa that look the same but you can tell they there is a leaf outline from the swamp back on the winter. I am continually brushing. I feel it is slowly getting better but it's taking a while. I'm sure I could of acid washed it to get it clean but just didn't want to go that route just yet. We're enjoying the pool too much right now to drain it! Anyways pics below. Let me know what you think. We did a fell interior remodel on this home so other than keeping the pool and grass up I have not had time to get landscaping looking good. It will come with time but were slowly but surely getting there!
Beautifully clear water! Nice job.
What's in the floater? If you're using dichlor or trichlor tablets, that's why your CYA is increasing, and you may want to re-think that.
What's in the floater? If you're using dichlor or trichlor tablets, that's why your CYA is increasing, and you may want to re-think that.
I left town for a week and a half on vacation. While I was away I didn't have anyone that I thought I could trust to take care of pool while gone. My inline chlorinator appeared to have some problems and I was unsure if it worked correctly since I had been using the BBB method. I felt the floater was only option to keep chlorine constant. Probably shouldn't have done it but I did. Probably is the CYA issue because it was not tgat high before I left. It's been over 100 degrees here and having to add water every day; just didnt want to come back to algae. Still learning though!
That staining could possibly be a combination of copper and calcium.
Even with that, your pool looks wonderful! Great job!
Even with that, your pool looks wonderful! Great job!
Kudos on your foreclosure -- been there, done that, bought the t-shirt 
what a beautiful pool!
I might have some insights on staining, but first have a few maintenance questions and suggestions.
Are you keeping your cya at 80 because you're using a swg (salt water generator to chlorinate)?
Or are you using trichlor tablets to maintain chlorine, which adds a lot of cya?
See pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
80 cya is getting on the high side, and cya stabilizes chlorine but also once high reduces its capability to sanitize...which is why you need to maintain daily higher doses of chlorine when you have higher cya...see the cya/chlorine chart in pool school. If you don't maintain same, ultimately you can end up fighting algae outbreaks, which can start as cloudy appearance to water.
If you're not already, now that you're up and running you may wish to use liquid chlorine (household bleach or the 10 and 12.5% sold in stores and pool places) to maintain your water to avoid having to drain when cya gets to 100.
The only way to reduce cya (except from ammonia due to foreclosure stagnation) is to drain, just so you know.
Liquid chlorine is the only way to avoid adding anything other than chlorine. Cal hypo adds calcium and trichlor or dichlor both add cya. So because you're already at 80, if you now use any stabilized products, you'll be increasing your cya and making your water balance much more difficult. The shoe "BBB" philosophy of this site is predicated on knowing and using the correct ratio of cya to free chlorine level so that you stay in control, which usually means avoidance of using stabilized products like the trichlor pucks.
STAINING --
After a foreclosure recovery, some of your stains will be tanin from the leaves, and some can be calcium and some tougher ones can be from metal content such as iron, magnesium, copper etc. that oxidizes from the shocking/slamming required to clear up the water.
In this instance, the tannin type stains will often fade/go away after a season of sun and proper chlorine levels.
My pool is vinyl, so I don't know a lot about calcium scaling, but other posters can chime in about the csi index or you can read in pool school he to manage same. pool-school/calcium_scaling
For metals, if you used Metal sequestrate during recovery, you may want to top that up again now, and keep your ph on the lower end of the scale, and make sure you combat ph rises with muriatic acid to avoid having more metals oxidize.
To remove historic/existing stains, you may first want to read about stain identification to determine what you're dealing with. For iron, for example, there is a treatment with Ascorbic Acid that can remove them...the process is chronicled in various locations around this forum. You can used a crushed up vitamin c, which IS AA, and hold it to a suspicious stain. If it lightens it, it is a metal stain. If not, it's tannin/organic.
To start learning about stains, you can start here pool-school/metal%20stains
To see pictures of different types of stains, I found this helpful http://www.jacksmagic.com/for_homeowner ... brary.html
This is all a lot to cover so first, cn you please post your full test results for water balance and tell us what method you're currently using to maintain the pool? Then we can help hone in on suggestions to address and prevent any future problems or staining.
Congrats on your awesome recovery and welcome to the swamp alumni club Stick around this forum and soon you'll get the full trouble-free experience
what a beautiful pool! I might have some insights on staining, but first have a few maintenance questions and suggestions.
Are you keeping your cya at 80 because you're using a swg (salt water generator to chlorinate)?
Or are you using trichlor tablets to maintain chlorine, which adds a lot of cya?
See pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
80 cya is getting on the high side, and cya stabilizes chlorine but also once high reduces its capability to sanitize...which is why you need to maintain daily higher doses of chlorine when you have higher cya...see the cya/chlorine chart in pool school. If you don't maintain same, ultimately you can end up fighting algae outbreaks, which can start as cloudy appearance to water.
If you're not already, now that you're up and running you may wish to use liquid chlorine (household bleach or the 10 and 12.5% sold in stores and pool places) to maintain your water to avoid having to drain when cya gets to 100.
The only way to reduce cya (except from ammonia due to foreclosure stagnation
) is to drain, just so you know. Liquid chlorine is the only way to avoid adding anything other than chlorine. Cal hypo adds calcium and trichlor or dichlor both add cya. So because you're already at 80, if you now use any stabilized products, you'll be increasing your cya and making your water balance much more difficult. The shoe "BBB" philosophy of this site is predicated on knowing and using the correct ratio of cya to free chlorine level so that you stay in control, which usually means avoidance of using stabilized products like the trichlor pucks.
STAINING --
After a foreclosure recovery, some of your stains will be tanin from the leaves, and some can be calcium and some tougher ones can be from metal content such as iron, magnesium, copper etc. that oxidizes from the shocking/slamming required to clear up the water.
In this instance, the tannin type stains will often fade/go away after a season of sun and proper chlorine levels.
My pool is vinyl, so I don't know a lot about calcium scaling, but other posters can chime in about the csi index or you can read in pool school he to manage same. pool-school/calcium_scaling
For metals, if you used Metal sequestrate during recovery, you may want to top that up again now, and keep your ph on the lower end of the scale, and make sure you combat ph rises with muriatic acid to avoid having more metals oxidize.
To remove historic/existing stains, you may first want to read about stain identification to determine what you're dealing with. For iron, for example, there is a treatment with Ascorbic Acid that can remove them...the process is chronicled in various locations around this forum. You can used a crushed up vitamin c, which IS AA, and hold it to a suspicious stain. If it lightens it, it is a metal stain. If not, it's tannin/organic.
To start learning about stains, you can start here pool-school/metal%20stains
To see pictures of different types of stains, I found this helpful http://www.jacksmagic.com/for_homeowner ... brary.html
This is all a lot to cover so first, cn you please post your full test results for water balance and tell us what method you're currently using to maintain the pool? Then we can help hone in on suggestions to address and prevent any future problems or staining.
Congrats on your awesome recovery and welcome to the swamp alumni club
Stick around this forum and soon you'll get the full trouble-free experience
I tell you one thing you do right is posting pictures. This is the way we love to see a conversion...LOTS of pics. Just be mindful of those pucks with CYA. You already know that so just a friendly reminder not to over-stabilize.
Great Job!
Great Job!
bmalouf said:
Oh, that makes perfect sense. Lots of folks on the forum who don't choose an SWG will use pucks while away.
You can manage with CYA of 80 and just wait until your regular DE backwashing lowers it over time. Or you can do a partial drain and refill to lower it more quickly.
Have you reworked your volume numbers? A quick check using the oval shape in the pool calculator and averaging some numbers puts you at (20x34*6=26700 gallons) Using a geometry based approach and not discounting for the seats/steps and wall radius gives just over 29000 gallons. You'll need to know your volume to be accurate on the chemicals needed. Your byline states 20000 g
WOW! i havent checked in on this thread in awhile! pool looks awesome! i tell you what, with all that rock and stone, someone at one time spent a lot of $$$ building that pool. beautiful. i guarantee you it will be worth every cent and cuss word you spent cleaning it up! well done!
Swampwoman; thanks for all the insight on staining. I figured I would have to drain and acid wash to completly get rid of my stains. But I will defiantly try some of your suggestions to try and figure what type of stain I am dealing with.
Dickeystorm; you are right I do need to take accurate measurements tomorrow and try and get correct volume of my pool. If I have questions I will post the measurements and maybe I can get some help or can make sure I have figured it right. Also do I need to measure the spa to determine its volume?
Thanks everyone else for the kind words. My family and I have enjoyed this pool so much this summer. It has been great! It has definitely turned from a swamp to an oasis.
Dickeystorm; you are right I do need to take accurate measurements tomorrow and try and get correct volume of my pool. If I have questions I will post the measurements and maybe I can get some help or can make sure I have figured it right. Also do I need to measure the spa to determine its volume?
Thanks everyone else for the kind words. My family and I have enjoyed this pool so much this summer. It has been great! It has definitely turned from a swamp to an oasis.