Okay. Walk me through oh patient ones!

[JustThe12OfUs]

Okay. Pool is now level.

Pump is going full throttle.

Water is kind of a cloudy green.

I have the $90 test kit.

Not sure what to do with it though. Sigh.

I've got my swg running on a boost.

I put in 3 40lb bags of salt, I have another that I can add, but I was told its better to wait than add too much.

The copper and cl were slightly on the low side of the color strips.

Okay. That my know nothing limit.

Guidance please?

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Oh. I added the salt as we filled the pool, so it's all very well dissolved. Just to be clear on that.

 

[harleysilo]

Have you read the instructions that come with the test kit?

Perform the tests and post the results.

If you need more explanation than what came with the kit see extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

If I did it right, then here's my results. Edited to add what I *think* these numbers means.

Cl - clear [color=#FF40800]I need to raise this.[/color]
Total bromide - clear no idea
Ph 7.6 This is okay.
Alk 80 teetering on the edge of too low
Calc 90 Too low
Cya 9+ (dot never disappeared, tho it got fuzzy) WAYYY too high

So I need chlorine and something to help maintain the chlorine, which is the cya -yes?


I'm looking at the BBB stuff...I have all that stuff on hand, but don't know how much to use. More worried about using too much....

 

[harleysilo]

What test kit are you using?

First you need to complete the shock process for your pool.

Have you read Pool School yet? Top right corner?

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Im using the Leslies Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit

 

[harleysilo]

Okay so you've got a FAS-DPD chlorine test, time to start pool-school/shocking_your_pool because it's green. I'd turn off the SWG till you are done shocking. What are the toys doing in the pool?

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Okay.. How do I shock it? I read the link. I have no idea what the grid conversion thing means. If my cya is 9+, what and how much if it, do I add to the pool?

Do I just dump a gallon of bleach in?

And then wait 24 hours to see if it's clear enough to swim? If its not, then add more or?

Why wouldn't there be pool things in a pool for a family of 12?

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Also I thought the SWG boost was a shocking? No?

 

[harleysilo]

So i don't have your test kit, but answer me this when you say FC is clear, that means there is no chlorine in the pool correct?

I assume you are following instructions that came with the pool to get salt level high enough for the SWG to work.

We use the http://www.poolcalculator.com/ to determine how much of what chemical needs to be added to the pool.

If you have no chlorine in the pool, which i think it was your test is telling you, and your pool is greenish indicating algae (unless you have metals in your water, what is your fill water source?) then your pool is not really safe to swim in. Now would i go out in swim in a pond, sure.

You need to utilize the pool calculator to determine how much chlorine you need to add to get to shock level. First you need to know your pools water volume. At the bottom of the pool calculator is a place where you can enter in your pool dimensions and it will give you an estimate.

On the left side of the pool cal you enter your current readings, on the right side you enter in your goal (or desired readings), then it tells you how much of each chemical to add to get you there based on all the parameters you entered in.

Here are the recommend levels for pools pool-school/recommended_levels

This is the chart you reference to determine the chlorine level for shocking your pool pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

You can add CYA (stablizer) to your pool to raise the CYA level to your target. You can put the granuals in an old sock or stocking and tie that in the pool directly if front of a return. You can squeeze the sock several times a day to help it dissolve. It can take a week to show up for testing, so when determining target chlorine levels after you have put CYA in just assume the CYA is there even though it doesn't show up in testing.

 

[harleysilo]

Also I thought the SWG boost was a shocking? No?

Likely the SWG cannot generate enough chlorine to fight the algae you have in the water. It is designed to keep a constant chlorine level in the pool, not fight a battle. For that you need to use Liquid chlorine also known as bleach which is talked about here pool-school/recommended_pool_chemicals

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Okay. My SWG didn't come on until this morning because we have been working in the pool on and off to make it more level. In the mean time, while I got the pump going, the kids played in it bc
I
Could
Not
Stand
One
More
"Can we get in now!?"

Once I got the pump and SWG going, I got in and realized I could only see down to right above my ankles. I can see my feet, but they were blurry. Yep. Cloudy water. Not OMG this soup will kill us, but I know I need to nip that in the bud. Got out. Set SWG on BOOST and started digging in my test kit.

How can I be sure the salt levels are high enough? Iirc another 40lb bag will put us slightly over what the directions suggest. Is there a hazard if I go approx 10 lbs over?

If I need to give the SWG a head start on chlorinating, I have liquid bleach on hand that I could add.

Soooo. I'm thinking I should add another bag of salt, add a jug of bleach, turn off the SWG (bc the new bag of salt needs to dissolve), keep the pump on high and see how it looks in a few hours? Then turn the SWG back on for a BOOST run over night?

Does that sound right or am I reading info here and in BBB wrong?

Oh and I took the pool toys out, tho i generally think bleaching kids toys isn't all that bad an idea. ;p

 

[harleysilo]

Okay. My SWG didn't come on until this morning because we have been working in the pool on and off to make it more level. In the mean time, while I got the pump going, the kids played in it bc
I
Could
Not
Stand
One
More
"Can we get in now!?"

Once I got the pump and SWG going, I got in and realized I could only see down to right above my ankles. I can see my feet, but they were blurry. Yep. Cloudy water. Not OMG this soup will kill us, but I know I need to nip that in the bud. Got out. Set SWG on BOOST and started digging in my test kit.

How can I be sure the salt levels are high enough? Iirc another 40lb bag will put us slightly over what the directions suggest. Is there a hazard if I go approx 10 lbs over?

If I need to give the SWG a head start on chlorinating, I have liquid bleach on hand that I could add.

Soooo. I'm thinking I should add another bag of salt, add a jug of bleach, turn off the SWG (bc the new bag of salt needs to dissolve), keep the pump on high and see how it looks in a few hours? Then turn the SWG back on for a BOOST run over night?

Does that sound right or am I reading info here and in BBB wrong?

Oh and I took the pool toys out, tho i generally think bleaching kids toys isn't all that bad an idea. ;p

I get the kid issue! Believe me!

If you know the amount of salt you've already added, know the volume of water in your pool, you can use the pool calculator to figure out what the effects of adding the salt you've added would have been. Then you can also figure out how much more you need to add to get to the necessary PPM level of salt for your SWG.

Don't just add a gallon of bleach, use the Pool Cal to figure out how many ounces you need.

If you are having trouble figuring out the pool cal, show it to some family members and see if they can help, or just ask and we can try to explain it very very clearly.

Let me ask, are any of those 12 kids teenagers? Maintaining the pool would be the PERFECT job for them. Let them read this thread, wait no, make them read pool school and then quiz them on it

Seriously my 6 year old does our testing with my instruction, she even reads the colors rights, counts drops right etc.

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

The SWG guide says to use approx 125lbs and I used 120 lbs. I don't think I should add that fourth bag.

The calculator says I should add about 31 oz. - will do.

The pool calculator says I need stabilizer for CYA? Baking soda? But I wait to add that until AFTER the pool is clear, right?

Only 4 are teens and yes, I'm working the Dickens out of them. They have been a big help. No way I'd have ever undertaken digging out and setting up this pool without them! LOL. Finally, getting a return for all that sweat equity I've put into them over the years.

Thanks for all your help. I'm really not all that dense, but I am doing this amid near constant interruptions, making it hard to keep a train of thought going.

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Thanks! Pool was almost sparkling this morning and def able to see a quarter on the bottom.

I guessed that would raise the Ph and it did.

Off to see how to manage that with bbb....

 

[harleysilo]

If you just added bleach, it should not effect your PH level.

Lowering PH

To lower PH you can use either muriatic acid or dry acid. Muriatic acid is less expensive, though it can be annoying to handle. It is best to use muriatic acid if you have a SWG. If you don't have a SWG, and handling muriatic acid bothers you, you can use dry acid.

Muriatic acid is sold by most hardware stores and some paint stores. The big box hardware stores, like Home Depot and Lowes, almost always have it, but they seem to put it in different departments from store to store. Sometimes it is outside in the garden department, sometimes in pool supplies, and sometimes in the paint department.

Muriatic acid is available in various strengths. The most common strength is called either 20° baume or 31.45%. 10° baume or 15.725% is easier to handle but you need twice as much and it is usually more expensive.

You should always wear eye protection when handling muriatic acid. You do not want to breathe muriatic acid fumes. If you spill any on your clothes it will cause damage. Muriatic acid may sting a bit if you get it on your skin, but won't normally cause any serious harm as long as you rinse it off right away.

Muriatic acid should be added to the pool by pouring slowly in front of a return jet with the pump running. You should pour slowly enough that pouring an entire jug takes more than two minutes. Leave the pump running for at least 30 minutes after adding muriatic acid.

Dry acid is sold by pool stores and the pool departments of some big box stores. Dry acid is sold under various names, including PH Down, PH Reducer, PH Decreaser, Lo-n-Slo, etc. Dry acid is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return.

 

[harleysilo]

The pool calculator says I need stabilizer for CYA? Baking soda? But I wait to add that until AFTER the pool is clear, right?

You should get some CYA today and add it tonight hanging in a sock in front of a pool return. The only reason to wait would be if you had a really nasty green pool and were going to need to keep it a shock level for days, maybe weeks. You aren't going to have that issue. The reason is, if you look at CYA chart, you'll notice as CYA goes up so do free chlorine numbers and shock numbers. So right now your shock target is low (>10PPM), but once you get up to 60PPM CYA dissolved your shock target will change to 24 PPM

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

That the cy acid stuff? Do I get that only at the pool store or is it substituted by some element of the BBB method?

Trying to wrap my brain around when I need to add baking soda or borax...

And trying to get it all set where it should be in the theory that it'll be easier to maintain than to constantly rebalance. Is that theory off? Tho it seems really good so far to me.

I tested only the chlorine and ph this morning. Chlorine was a 4. So I am not adding more bleach, just turned on the normal SWG cycle. The ph was slightly from 7.6 to 7.8, which I think is still okay.

I think some of the cloudy issue is going to be particle. 12 people with sunscreen. I'm telling them to wear their surf shirts in the pool today, so they don't have to sunscreen as much area. And to really rub it in, instead of just leaving white gobs all over themselves that instantly rinses off in the pool. :/

And... The neighbor who mentioned TODAY that's she alway lathers up her hair in conditioner before swimming to avoid hair damage. DOH!!! *face palm* um. No. Please do not do that before getting in my pool again. It is not a toilet or a bathtub! Ug. Who does THAT?! :/ and no I didn't actually say it that way to her.

I'm off to swim now!

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

You can add CYA (stablizer) to your pool to raise the CYA level to your target. You can put the granuals in an old sock or stocking and tie that in the pool directly if front of a return. You can squeeze the sock several times a day to help it dissolve. It can take a week to show up for testing, so when determining target chlorine levels after you have put CYA in just assume the CYA is there even though it doesn't show up in testing.

This may be a dumb question, but can you swim in it during that week or do you have to wait until the sock is dissolved?

Feeling bummed that not paying extra for liquid for might mean waiting a week to swim... I might pull the sock out and just go back for liquid.

 

[JustThe12OfUs]

Oh and thanks everyone! My pool is now level, the valve issue has been fixed, and the water is clear and sparkling!