New home with green pool

[Baub]

Bought our home last fall and the pool was not opened in around 2 years. The liner fell in the pool during a storm in Feb and left me with a mess. I have most of the debris out of the pool, but am struggling with opening. I would like to use the BBB method if possible and am hoping for some guidance as to where to proceed.

I have been working on shocking the pool for several days now. I placed an order for the TF-100 kit, but until it arrives, I have test strips and pool store readouts.

Current numbers:
TC: 9.5
FC: 7.5
pH: 6.2
TA: 13
Hardness: 70
CYA: pool store did not test for CYA
Size: Approx 23,000 gal 16x32 Grecian
Liner: Vinyl

The pool store recommended hundreds of dollars in chemicals of course, so I am hoping that someone can give me some better advice on where to go. The green has started to clear up more since I added more shock yesterday, so I think I need to start getting my other numbers in line.

Which do I need to work on adjusting first? TA?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

Don't worry about anything but chlorine, removing any debris in the water and keeping the water flowing through the filter now. You really need to know if you have CYA, but try to hold your chlorine at 15ppm until you have an answer. here is a good place to start: Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis

 

[Baub]

That was going to be my focus until the pool store guy told me not to add more chlorine, but get the levels balanced. I didn't think that what he said matched up with what I've been reading on here. He was starting to stack up buckets of chemicals before I noticed and told him to stop. Since I'm at an FC of 7.5 I should probably add a few gallons of bleach then I guess.

Should I bother getting baking soda for the pH or just wait until it is completely done shocking?

 

[JohnT]

Should I bother getting baking soda for the pH or just wait until it is completely done shocking?

Wait until you are done shocking. Higher chlorine levels can interfere with the pH test, so you could end up adjusting it the other way when you are done.

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

I foresee a clear pool at minimum expense for you, ever since I read, " I didn't think that what he said matched up with what I've been reading on here. He was starting to stack up buckets of chemicals before I noticed and told him to stop."

 

[JasonLion]

It is very important to know your CYA level, since that determines how much chlorine you should add.

Also, how confident are you in that PH reading? Most of the common PH tests will measure anything below 6.8 as if it was 6.8. The TA reading is also potentially suspect. If the PH and TA numbers are actually correct, you will want to adjust them soon. You don't normally need to adjust PH or TA before shocking, but if they are really that far out of range you will want to get them up to some minimum numbers before you go too much further.

 

[Baub]

The pH reading on the paper shows <6.2. The TA reading is exactly from the printout of the analysis that was done at the pool store. Should I add baking soda to bring the pH up?

I will take another sample to the pool store tomorrow if I can to get the CYA reading. For some reason they didn't test for it, but they can because it's on the printout with "Not Tested". My test kit should be here soon so I don't have to bother taking it there.

 

[Baub]

I'm going to take another sample to the pool store today and make sure they get a CYA reading. I'll post the results once I have them. Can't wait for my TF-100 kit to get here so I can avoid the upsell. I added more 4 more liters of bleach last night, so hopefully the FC levels are good for now.

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Baub]

Finally got my TF-100!

FC: 10.5
CC: 1
TA: 90
pH: 6.9
CYA: close to 0

The pool cleared up nicely with some effort cleaning leaves from the bottom. I had to mostly rely on test strips since I hate being upsold every time I talk to the pool store for a water test. I'm going to check the chlorine levels in the morning, but I think I might be finished shocking. The water looks great. The only thing that looks odd is the staining on the liner. I did the vitamin C test and it's iron.
I know I need to let the FC levels drop before doing an AA treatment, so if the overnight test is good, I'll take care of the stain next.

Is there anything I need to take care of before I do the AA treatment?

 

[Smykowski]

Couple of things....

If your CYA is truly zero, 10.5 is too high for FC.

6.9 is way too low for pH.

If your CC reading is greater than .5, you need to continue shocking.

Bring your pH up to 7.2, add enough stabilizer to bring CYA up to 30, then continue the shock process until you meet all three criteria:
-water is crystal clear
-overnight chlorine loss of 1 or less
-CCs 0.5 or less

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

If you are sure you are going to do the AA treatment don't bump the PH up just yet - read the process again, it calls for PH to be 7.0. Get some CYA in there pronto. I wouldn't hold shock for too long without some CYA in there, don't wanna bleach out your liner.

 

[Baub]

Checked this morning and got a good overnight reading.

FC: 9.5
CC: .5

I'm hoping the FC levels drop a good bit today in the sun since I have no CYA. I'm gonna do the AA treatment and then dump stabilizer in as soon as I can pick up some AA.

 

[duraleigh]

Baub,

Please do not be offended by my directness.

You are nowhere near ready to do an AA treatment.

From your posts, it is not clear you know where your five important parameters should be. Getting some CYA in your pool is FAR more important than working on your stains.

You will have much better success with the AA treatment if you slow down a bit and get your pool balanced as it should be.

Letting us know the City and State in which you live is helpful, too, when suggesting CYA ranges.

 

[Baub]

I'm not offended by your directness. Thanks for the honesty. I figured the lack of CYA would be ok since I needed to burn off the chlorine for the AA treatment. I'll get some stabilizer in the pool today.

I live in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

 

[duraleigh]

In your neck of the woods, I would suggest a CYA of 40 to start, perhaps moving to 50 ppm in the late summer if your FC consumption goes much above 2-3 ppm daily.