Help me get my pool clear please

Jump to latest Follow Reply
A

ajwhit

0
Jun 18, 2013
11
Fairbury, Illinois
So, about 3 weeks ago pool was clear and looked good. After a weekend away it started to turn a bit green, shocked it and green went away but water stayed cloudy. At first I was using regular pool chemicals but a friend suggested TFP so here I am. In an effort to clear up water I've dumped in about 12 gallons of bleach off and on over the last 2 weeks to no avail, the water remained cloudy. This weekend it started to turn green again. I ordered the TF-100 test kit and used it for the first time this morning with the following results.

Cl 0
pH 8.2
TA 100
CH 110
CYA <20

Can I dump an algeacide in? more bleach? clarifier?


My kids are getting anxious to get back in the pool please help me get it right. Thanks

Jason-
33ft x 54in UG, Hayward 2hp, Swimpro sand filter 25 gpm, nature vision pro chlorinator (which I really have no idea how to operate)
 
You left out CC (Combined Chlorine). Post those results as well. Something is eating up the chlorine. Sound like you need to shock. Follow the shocking process above. Use only bleach. Might want to add some stabilizer as well if your CYA is below 20 after it's clear.

Also noticed your pH is high, you'll want to lower that. Use the pool calculator to see how much muriatic acid you'll need.
 
rick6668 said:
You left out CC (Combined Chlorine). Post those results as well. Something is eating up the chlorine. Sound like you need to shock. Follow the shocking process above. Use only bleach. Might want to add some stabilizer as well if your CYA is below 20 after it's clear.

Also noticed your pH is high, you'll want to lower that. Use the pool calculator to see how much muriatic acid you'll need.
Click to expand...

to lower pH can I use typical pH minus from pool store or where do I get muriatic acid?
CC test resulted in 0... test stayed clear

I will also mention I have no idea about using the chlorinator that came with pool... something I need to worry about?

Thanks
 
ajwhit said:
rick6668 said:
You left out CC (Combined Chlorine). Post those results as well. Something is eating up the chlorine. Sound like you need to shock. Follow the shocking process above. Use only bleach. Might want to add some stabilizer as well if your CYA is below 20 after it's clear.

Also noticed your pH is high, you'll want to lower that. Use the pool calculator to see how much muriatic acid you'll need.
Click to expand...

to lower pH can I use typical pH minus from pool store or where do I get muriatic acid?
CC test resulted in 0... test stayed clear

I will also mention I have no idea about using the chlorinator that came with pool... something I need to worry about?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Let's get this straight,
Here are your current test results:

FC 0
CC 0
pH 8.2
TA 100
CH 110
CYA <20

You have no chlorine in your pool. The 12 gallons you have added over 2 weeks has been eaten up by the algae. You need to bring the FC level up to kill all the algae. Follow the shock process below:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool

Please read this link. Once you read it you will see you need to lower pH, use muriatic acid, you can buy this at lowe's, home depot, hardware store etc.
Use the pool calculator to see how much to add.
Now use pool calculator to begin adding bleach. You'll need to retest and keep adding bleach as often as possible (every hour if you can) to fight the algae quickly. How much depends on pool volume, current chlorine level, etc.
Keep repeating until you pass the overnight test.
 
You can get muriatic acid at farm stores or hardware stores. I usually get my muriatic acid and liquid chlorine at Rural King. RK has 10% liquid chlorine on sale for $7.99 for 4 gallons if you ever get down around Rantoul. I was surprised when I looked at their site and saw they didn't have a store in Bloomington.
 
ajwhit said:
ok, so I'm pool rookie so let me get this straight. First I need to find some muriatic acid, dump in, test again, if test is acceptable follow shock process hourly until water is clear. What is appropriate shock level 10?
Click to expand...

You are getting it. Here's some more specific details.

Add the muriatic acid in the amounts based on the pool calculator http://www.poolcalculator.com/

For a 28,000 gallon pool,
ph Now 8.2 (this could be higher, so may need to add more again after retest),
pH Target 7.5

The calculator says 47oz of 31.5% muriatic acid - (weaker acid you will need more)
Don't take my word for it, you need to use the calculator and plug in the values. You may need to adjust again after testing in an hour.

Once pH is stable, move to chlorine.

You can use the Chlorine/CYA chart in pool school to find what your FC level should be
pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

Let's say your CYA is 20, then FC shock level is 10 from the chart.

Now use the pool calculator http://www.poolcalculator.com/ to find how much bleach you must add to get to FC of 10 (It depends on pool size, CYA, bleach concentration, etc.)
Enter all the values into the calculator.

28,000 gallons
FC Now 0
FC Target = 10
CYA = 20

You'll see you need to add 4.5 gallons of 6% bleach (stronger bleach you will need less)
Don't take my word for it, you need to use the calculator and plug in the values as you will be doing this over and over to keep the level at 10 until it holds.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!! :wave:

I mostly agree with what everyone has written ... lower the pH and you will need to follow the shock process.

The only addition I would suggest would be to add about 20ppm of additional CYA so that you end up between 30-40ppm. This will protect all the chlorine during the day from the sun.

So:
1. Lower pH to lower 7s
2. Get ~75oz of stabilizer dissolving in a sock hung in front of the return jet (this will add 20ppm)
3. Start the shock process while the CYA is dissolving. Once dissolved, assume it is active and raise your shock FC target level up from 10 to 15ppm.
4. Verify the CYA level in a week
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
jblizzle said:
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!! :wave:

I mostly agree with what everyone has written ... lower the pH and you will need to follow the shock process.

The only addition I would suggest would be to add about 20ppm of additional CYA so that you end up between 30-40ppm. This will protect all the chlorine during the day from the sun.

So:
1. Lower pH to lower 7s
2. Get ~75oz of stabilizer dissolving in a sock hung in front of the return jet (this will add 20ppm)
3. Start the shock process while the CYA is dissolving. Once dissolved, assume it is active and raise your shock FC target level up from 10 to 15ppm.
4. Verify the CYA level in a week
Click to expand...

I agree... I wanted to include this info as well, but didn't want to make it seem like too much. (It can be overwhelming..) Add this step in to add the CYA as jbizzle wrote above.
 
thanks for all the great help... I just dumped in the acid to lower pH. and will test again in an hour.
is there a special sock to use to dissolve stabilizer or you talk about a plain old cotton sock? I'm sure it will get better, just really frustrated that the kids can't swim.
 
A plain old ... non-holy ... cotton sock is fine. Give it a squeeze every time you walk by to help it dissolve.

Note that the CYA you added will also lower the pH some as it dissolves.
 
ajwhit said:
thanks for all the great help... I just dumped in the acid to lower pH. and will test again in an hour.
is there a special sock to use to dissolve stabilizer or you talk about a plain old cotton sock? I'm sure it will get better, just really frustrated that the kids can't swim.
Click to expand...

You're doing fine. Regular white sock is fine. You can begin shocking after pH is ready. You should shock at the level your CYA will be after adding it. It won't show up in your test for ~1 week. Don't bother testing, you'll just waste reagent.
 
so I ran the shock process every other hour yesterday from noon to 8. Can tell a difference today, but water is still not clear. Do I continue the shock process and how much bleach do I continue to dump in? Also do I need to be brushing pool bottom and backwashing or not until pool is clear. I've made progress and don't want to loss it now, would love to have it cleared up by the weekend... if possible.

thanks
 
Yes, you should maintain shock FC level which depends on your CYA target. Are you testing the FC and then using poolcalculator.com to tell you how much bleach to add?

Brush as much as you can and backwash when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure
 
jblizzle said:
Yes, you should maintain shock FC level which depends on your CYA target. Are you testing the FC and then using poolcalculator.com to tell you how much bleach to add?

Brush as much as you can and backwash when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure
Click to expand...

Exactly.

Also, include more details so we know you're on the right track. You say you shocked every 2 hours, what was the FC/CC levels and how much bleach did you add each time. It's not only helpful to us, it will be very helpful for anyone with a similar problem who might read this post.

Now that you're getting the hang of things, read Pool School again, especially shocking your pool, it will help.
 
ajwhit said:
last test FC 38 CC 2... does this seem right? too high? I added 4 jugs each time. water looking better, cloudy but not green
Click to expand...

Whoa... FC of 38. Why is this so high? You should be adding only enough bleach to bring the FC level up to the shock level, not adding what was needed after the first test every time. You need to test the FC every time before adding more bleach.

Read this again pool-school/shocking_your_pool

You need to use the calculator each time you test to calculate how much bleach should be added.

Based on your projected CYA, Shock level was supposed to be 15, how did you get it up to 38?

If that level is correct, stop adding bleach.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply