New to forum and the BBB method

[Yosh182]

So another newbie question. I converted this week to the BBB method and turned off my puck chlorinator. I got my Taylor K-2006 test kit and ran through the tests. FC and TC were no existent and CYA seemed to be off the charts for me. I wouldn't even get to the first line of the tester before the dot disappears. So I started to change out water to see if I could bring it down. I wasn't seeming to make any progress, so I took my water into Leslie, because maybe I was just testing wrong. They were able to get a reading for me of 70. Mind you, I tested once right before and got the same off the chart reading that I had been getting. So trying to it get down a bit more, assuming their reading was correct, I dumped another 25% of the pool. Now mind you, I have not been able to take my water back to Leslie's to get another test, but my reading is still showing off the charts. Otherwise, I have started to add bleach as my chlorinator. I test about 4 or so hours after adding and my chlorine levels seem to be in the 4 range. However, when I test the next morning I am back to nothing. So to my real question, is that normal? Do I have to go through about a half bottle or more of bleach a day or is my CYA level messing this up?

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, Yosh182

How does your water look?

assuming their reading was correct

I would not assume this. Pool stores are wrong on cya very often. What I would do is retest your water mixing half pool water with half cya free water (tap water is fine for this) and then redo the test. The result you get should be multiplied by two. Also, when doing the test it is best to have a sunny day with the sun to your back and the tube at waist level. Let us know what you get.

However, when I test the next morning I am back to nothing. So to my real question, is that normal?

If you are saying that your FC goes from 4 down to 0 while the sun is off the pool, then this is not normal and it is likely you will need to do the shocking process: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool But before you start that, lets see where your cya level is.

 

[Yosh182]

Thanks for having this site. It is definitely a wealth of information.

Water looks clear, but after about 2 or 3 days I begin to develop a yellowish brown color on the walls. Brushing temporarily gets rid of it. But it comes right back. I have assume this to be a result of my battle with a proper chlorine level.

So I reran using half tap water and half pool water. Dot disappeared at line 90 to 80. So I should assume 160 to 180, correct? Calculator says 75% out. Man that is going to be a lot of dumping.

As for adding of the bleach, I have added it at different times in the day. If I add it in the afternoon, I have seen trace amounts, maybe a 1 the next day. If add in the morning I have 0 by the next morning.

Thanks for your help.

 

[linen]

Is the stuff on the walls generally in the shade?

So I should assume 160 to 180, correct? Calculator says 75% out. Man that is going to be a lot of dumping.

Yes that is correct.

What kind of pool do you have...i.e. plaster, vinyl, fiberglass? Please put your pool and equipment details in your signature.

 

[thehowheels]

Pool stores are wrong on cya very often.

This cannot be overstated. In my case, Leslie's told me there was "nothing wrong" with my CYA. By diluting my test sample, I estimated my CYA was over 220 PPM! How much PhosFree did they try to hock on you when you went in to have them check your CYA?

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for having this site. It is definitely a wealth of information.

Water looks clear, but after about 2 or 3 days I begin to develop a yellowish brown color on the walls. Brushing temporarily gets rid of it. But it comes right back. I have assume this to be a result of my battle with a proper chlorine level.

So I reran using half tap water and half pool water. Dot disappeared at line 90 to 80. So I should assume 160 to 180, correct? Calculator says 75% out. Man that is going to be a lot of dumping.

As for adding of the bleach, I have added it at different times in the day. If I add it in the afternoon, I have seen trace amounts, maybe a 1 the next day. If add in the morning I have 0 by the next morning.

Thanks for your help.

Yours is not an uncommon experience, unfortunately.

When I took over my pool, my CYA was somewhere between 220 and 240. And we had water restrictions in place that year, so I couldn't drain. Still, those hard years made me the man I am today...

Anyway, what I was going to point out is how easy it is for that to happen.

We'll take a 16000 gallon pool, because that's what I have. On a fresh fill, prominent national pool chain recommends 2.5 pounds pf stabilizer per 10,000 gallons, which works out nicely to 4 pounds which brings CYA to 30.

With an average loss of 2 PPM/Day or 14 ppm/week, I'll have added 8.6 PPM/CYA if I used trichlor pucks perfectly. And they recommend a weekly "shock" of dichlor between 5 and 10 FC.. 2-3 oz per 10,000 gallons. Split the difference; I'll add 4 oz. CYA went up another .9.

So..by the end of week one, I have added 9.5 more CYA. It is now 39.5. Mimimum FC for that is 3, so I'm probably okay.

Week two, up to 49 CYA.
Week three, 58.5. Minimum FC should be 5, but they recommend 3 as ideal, so the pool looks a bit hazy. So I'll toss in a little extra dichlor "shock" to jack FC up to 10. Which adds another 6.4 CYA. Keeping count? We're up to 64.9 now.

That caught the algae just in time.. we had two weeks of good luck. A steady diet of pucks and 4 oz. "shock" each week only added another 19, up to 73.9 now.

Week 6 it started looking funky, so we "shocked"it once again. CYA is up to 99.3. But minimum FC to keep algae at bay is 8, and we're still holding things to 3, because prominent national chain's preprinted sheet shows that as ideal. So algae got a toehold and the pool has a bit of a tint. So we throw two whole bags of dichlor in which jacks it another 7.6 by the time week 7 is over, we're at 116.4, because we had pucks in the floater the whole time.

So...in 7 weeks, from 30 to 116.4. Let's say there are no more algae outbreaks because they sold me a huge bucket of phos-free and another of yellow-out monopersulfate "shock" Nothing but the pucks and the extra 4 oz of dichlor "shock" weekly. So the next 7 weeks added 66.5, which brings the total to 182.9 CYA.

Now if we didn't understand this and things looked a bit hazy, we might throw an extra puck or two in the floater every couple weeks, which will drive it over 200 easily.

 

[Yosh182]

Is the stuff on the walls generally in the shade?

It pretty non discriminatory. It is darker in the shadier areas.

What kind of pool do you have...i.e. plaster, vinyl, fiberglass? Please put your pool and equipment details in your signature.

It is pebblesheen. I added what I knew off hand to my signature. I will improve when I get a chance.

 

[Yosh182]

So I about finished dumping. What things should I consider as I bring the water level back up?