Just Keep Going? My Odyssey...

[Pauls234]

You can probably rent a pump pretty cheap if you wanted to do it quickly. Otherwise, get a siphon started with a garden hose - one end on the spigot other end in the pool, turn it on to fill with water, then disconnect from the spigot and it will will be draining. Get a few going if you have them.

 

[coachmarino]

An update...

First, please remember that I don't have a proper test for CYA any more, I ran out of the reagent. So I'm waiting for my mail order replacement.

Until then, I bought hth strips. I wanted to see if the steps I was having was having any measurable effect on things.

After my two drains and refill last night, I was not feeling very good. On these strips, it looked like CYA was up to 200. Things were looking bleak.

But we got a big rainstorm last night, and it ended around 2AM. We're still running the filter 24/7.

At around 7 this morning, one of our neighbors came over. My girlfriend and I were resigned to the fact that we were going to have to drain the pool and refill. My neighbor has a pump, so while the pool from our windows looked so much better, there was still cloudy water, and I knew we were not going to resolve that without the draining process.

I went down to the pool to dip a test strip in.

To my surprise, I could see the bottom! I started coming to this house in November of last year, and this is the first time I have EVER seen the bottom of this pool. I pulled the strip out and it was a reddish orange, which is a significant change from last night. The water levels were really high from all of the rain.

We did a thorough vacuuming and picked up more leaves. It was a lot easier to see with the pool water so clear! And we let the vacuum suck a good amount of the water out.

We are refilling as we speak.

So things are looking up over here. I'm hoping with all of the water we replaced yesterday and the water we'll replace today, that we'll see significant improvement.

The other levels are holding pretty steady for now.

Not out of the woods yet, but a bit more optimistic that's for sure! Let's just say that seeing the bottom of the pool was a real surprise and is making me smile...

Thanks all, as things move on and I get my new test, I'll post some updates so that I can deliver the knockout blow to this problem!

 

[harleysilo]

Glad you are making progress! Time for some pictures!

 

[coachmarino]

Help with new test readings...

FC - 32
CC - 0 - After adding the R-0003 the solution stayed clear
pH - around 7.3/7.4, more than 7.2, less than 7.5
TA - 220 - It says when there's high chlorine, the color will go from blue to yellow, so I'm reading where it turned yellow
CH - 100
CYA - Really low now, I'm going to estimate 30-40 - I did it a couple of times and got similar results and of course i ran out of the reagent again

The pool is pretty clear, but still a bit cloudy. You can see the walls and floor. There are very small white dust particles floating around.

I'd like to get it crystal clear obviously, like all of you...

Advice?

 

[jblizzle]

First, remember the pH reads inaccurately high when the FC > 10ppm ... so no point in testing that.

Why is your FC so high if your CYA is only around 40ppm? Shock level should only be 16ppm. and Mustard algae shock level is 24ppm ... you are putting your pool in danger with those high FC levels.

Have you passed the OCLT yet?

Please add your pool details and location as described HERE to your signature as it will help us help you.

 

[coachmarino]

First, remember the pH reads inaccurately high when the FC > 10ppm ... so no point in testing that.

Why is your FC so high if your CYA is only around 40ppm? Shock level should only be 16ppm. and Mustard algae shock level is 24ppm ... you are putting your pool in danger with those high FC levels.

Have you passed the OCLT yet?

Please add your pool details and location as described HERE to your signature as it will help us help you.

I haven't tried the OCLT test yet because the CYA was through the roof.

The initial problems were that my girlfriend was just throwing crazy amounts of chlorine in, and we weren't really tracking because I had never done any of this and was just 'taking her word for it,'

Then we tried to get pro help, and I'm not sure that worked.

Now I've come to this board...so just looking to see if I have this all correct.

I'm thinking my CYA is at a manageable level. The hth strips show it a bit high, between 50 and 100, but closer to 50. The new TFT test kit I got is telling me that the CYA is low now. I'm estimating closer to 30-40 after 3 tests.

Free chlorine appears to be very high though...

 

[jblizzle]

Yeah ... at this point throw the strips away and forget anything they told you. You have the Rolls Royce of test kits now ... forget about that Yugo

 

[coachmarino]

My new test results - Not sure how I did, what to do next

Merged by moderator, jblizzle. No need to start a new thread with the same question ... my advice not good enough?

I have what must be described as mostly clear water.

Here are my readings, using the TF-50 and my hth pH test...

FC - 32 - we were trying to shock
CC - 0 - After adding the R-003 the water stayed clear
pH - Between 7.2 and 7.5, closer to 7.5, so I'm guessing 7.4. I was told the pH test would be unreliable during the shock process
TA - 220 - the test says that when the chlorine is very high, the water will turn blue, then yellow, so I stopped when it turned yellow
CH - 100
CYA - 30-40? I did three tests, then ran out of reagent, tried the half tap/half pool then double, then tried the strict pool water, then back to the half and half way

 

[techguy]

Sounds like you need to keep filtering. Sand filters take longer. You can look in Pool School about adding DE to a sand filter.

 

[coachmarino]

Okay...

So I'm running the Overnight loss test. My FC is at around 28. It was at 32 earlier today.

My CC is 0 still, I think.

I'm trying to get ahead of all of this...

My concerns are not pH, that's in the 7.2-7.5 range.

My concern is not CYA, that's in the 30-50 range. I burned through my reagent today, need to get more...

My three concerns are:

1) High FC
2) High Alkalinity - 240
3) Low Calcium hardness - 100 - this has been low since I started this process

Assuming the water continues to look clearer tomorrow (it has been steadily improving), and it survives this overnight test...

will my pool be safe to swim in?

Should I try to lower the alkalinity?

Should I try and raise the hardness?

If the FC levels fall overnight I obviously have another issue. But if it survives the test, the kids are dying to jump in, and it's going to be nice here...

Thanks!

 

[Richard320]

High FC is not a problem. Assuming you're done - fingers crossed - with the shock process, it will be safe to swim up to shock level for your CYA.

High TA is not a problem. In fact, it may be to your advantage at the moment, as the pH test tends to read high at elevated FC levels, which would make the pH lower than you think. However, aeration - which includes kids splashing - will raise pH, especially if TA is high. Just keep adjusting pH and it will come down on its own. Wait until FC is below 10 to test pH again.

Low CH is no problem with a vinyl pool, as there is no plaster to etch.

 

[jblizzle]

Note your shock level is only 16ppm, so you have to wait for it to drop a bit to be safe.

 

[coachmarino]

Update

Performed the overnight chlorine loss test.

Zero loss, and I still have zero combined chlorine, which is good.

The pressure was a bit high, so we backwashed. I decided to backwash for a bit longer. I'm putting more fresh water in and filtering. That should help with the FC level.

The FC level was and is 28.

The water hasn't been as clear as we really want it though. It's very very clear, and has been improving daily, but I still feel it could be clearer.

Do I just keep waiting? Is there something I can do?

Today marks the 3 week mark in my odyssey and I'm pretty proud!

 

[jblizzle]

Seems like at this point out it is just a matter of filtration time to make the water crystal clear. Have you tried a bit of DE yet.

 

[duraleigh]

Got a pic?

 

[coachmarino]

[attachment=0:1c3eo4hp]just pool.jpg[/attachment:1c3eo4hp]

Got a pic?