Green pool........... new pool owner

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greenpool74

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May 22, 2013
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I am a new pool owner. I read threw the "shock Process" and I'm confused now.
My water sample numbers are as followed
FC=6.8ppm
TC=7.7ppm
CC=.8ppm
pH=7.5
Hardness=229ppm
ALK=122ppm
CYA=40ppm

With chlorine numbers that high shouldn't I be winning the battle with the algae?
Thanks for your help
Jon
 
The shock level is 16 ppm for a pool with a Cya level of 40, so no, you are not winning the war just yet.

You'll need to check your FC level frequently, every hour at first, to ensure your FC stays at or above 16, adding chlorine if it drops below.

Your results look like they came from a pool store, so the results might be questionable. We recommend ordering a good test kit. See the Pool School link for more info.
 
Welcome to TFP!

greenpool74 said:
With chlorine numbers that high shouldn't I be winning the battle with the algae?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the answer is no. "High" is a relative term. Your FC needs to be high with respect to your CYA level. At a CYA of 40, your FC needs to be at 15 for shocking.

The higher the CYA, the better it protects FC from sunlight (which is good). The higher the CYA, the less FC is actually going to do the work of cleaning your pool (which is not so good). Hence, the higher your CYA level, the higher your FC level needs to be. This is the heart of the FC/CYA relationship.

In your case, your CYA is binding up most of your FC. While some of the algae is dying, it is still multiplying faster than the FC can kill it, which is why you need to raise the FC level to 15 (or slightly higher). Hopefully Richard320 can get in here with either a battlefield or escalator analogy soon.

Two questions while we're at it....How are you testing your water? Have you read through the Complete Table of Contents in Pool School?
 
greenpool74:

Welcome to TFP :wave:

You are at the point I was when I first learned about TFP. The first step is you need to "unlearn" the old conventional (and incorrect) wisdom of maintaining an FC between 1-3 and anything above that is shock level.

The proper FC maintenance and shock levels are dependent on your CYA level (refer to Chlorine/CYA Chart in my sig). Given your CYA of 40 ppm, your minimum maintenance FC level is 3 ppm and the ideal target FC is 5 ppm. Your shock level FC is 16 ppm.

Given that your CC is greater than 0.5ppm, you need to go through the Shock Process (link in my sig) and aim for a target FC level of 16 ppm throughout that process. Before you begin the shock process, I would lower pH to around 7.2. This will make the chlorine more aggressive as a sanitizer. Once you begin the shock process, do not test pH as the shock FC levels can throw off the test results. You can retest pH after the Shock Process when FC levels return below shock level.

Your ALK (TA) and Hardness (CH) look good.
 
Ok I went back and opened the "chlorine/cya chart". (I overlooked) Yall are correct I'm no where near the FC shock level. I'm getting a bit overwhelmed and am rushing my reading. I need to slow down lol.......... my daughter keeps asking why the pool looks like that. Thanks for quick replies. I will continue to read through entire table of contents under pool school.
 
greenpool74 said:
Ok I went back and opened the "chlorine/cya chart". (I overlooked) Yall are correct I'm no where near the FC shock level. I'm getting a bit overwhelmed and am rushing my reading. I need to slow down lol.......... my daughter keeps asking why the pool looks like that. Thanks for quick replies. I will continue to read through entire table of contents under pool school.
Click to expand...

How are you getting the test results?

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
 
greenpool74 said:
I have been battling between listening to an older gentleman tell me basically the "BBB" method and another guy tell me to "just go to poolstore". So Ive been caught inbetween.
Click to expand...
Understand your dilemma. I don't convince easily either. I stumbled around during my first year as a pool owner under the "pool store method". But the more I read about BBB and the chemistry behind it, it made more and more sense and I took the leap of faith and have never looked back. Here's my Before & After story: http://www.troublefreepool.com/bbb-saved-me-over-1-400-in-the-first-full-year-t54033.html
 

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So I went on line and ordered the TF100 test kit late last night. I'll be glad when I get that so I can more closely monitor my FC level. Any advice what I should do until test kit arrives? Keep adding bleach until green starts to fade?? Thanks in advance for help.
 
greenpool74 said:
According to my strips my FC is around 10 or higher. My three way test kit from Walmart indicates its way higher than 7. If my FC is higher than 16, shouldn't the algae start dying and pool color changing faster than what it is????
Click to expand...
Scroll through the thread list in the Algae Forum. Some people struggle for weeks to eradicate the green.

It didn't get like that in one day, it will take more than a day to get rid of it.
 
ok finally I get to update.....
just got my TF100 test kit in and ran the samples. results are...
FC- 45 drops= 22.5 FC
CC- 1 drop= .5CC
TC- 30
TA- 21 drops= 210
CH- 48 drops= 480
CYA= 51

Pool is blue, getting clear but kinda cloudy.......... Where should I go from here? The pump has been running 24/7
Thanks for everyones help
 
Yes, run the pump/filter 24x7 untill done shocking.

Add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (or a little higher) With CYA at 50, you shock level is closer to 20ppm

Repeat as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day, until:

CC is 0.5 or lower;
An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
And the water is clear.
 

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