Help with Water!!

[cjblevins]

We are new pool owners... (we've got an intex 16'x48"). The pool has been full for over a week and a half now, which we filled with water pumped from our creek. The water is now clear enough that I can actually see the bottom, but it's still murky, cloudy, greenish colored. We don't have a good water tester... which is something we are looking to invest in soon.. but didn't know if there was anything you could help me with, with any info I can give you now.

P.H: 6.8
TotalCL: +5.0 (our tester only goes to 5.0, and I would say an good guess would be that we're somewhere near 8.0-10)
FreeCL:10
BR: 18
Alkalinity:40
Stabilizer:30

We started with a brown/green murky mess so I think we've come a long way, but didn't know if I need to do something different to help speed the process..

Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Welcome to TFP.

What are you using to chlorinate the pool with?

Which test kit do you have?

I'd raise the pH a little with soda ash or washing soda. About a cup should do it.
If you can't find one of those you can add about 16 oz of borax and about 16 oz of baking soda. That'll bring your pH and TA up a little.

Keep the FC up and keep the pump running 24 hours a day. It will clear up.

P.S. You really need a good test kit.

 

[cjblevins]

Thanks! I'll add it!

Right now all we've used is the "shock extra" found at walmart. This makes the third time we've shocked it. The only test kit that I have were purchased from wal-mart.. maybe lowes hardware, not sure to be honest. It's a cheap-o!

What test kit do you reccommend?

 

[jblizzle]

What is the ingredient in the "shock" powder you used? See link in my signature for the recommended test kits.

 

[Bama Rambler]

What is the ingredients on that so called "shock"?

How much of it have you added total?

Since you have a pH tester, I suggest the TF-50 from http://www.tftestkits.net.

 

[cjblevins]

sodium dichlor: 63%
copper: .2%
other: 36.69
Available Chlorine: 39%

We've added 2 1/2 lbs over a 2 wk. period

 

[Bama Rambler]

It contains copper and CYA so you want to stop using that and switch to using bleach.
Get familiar with the Pool Calculator. It'll let you know how much bleach to add to maintain SLAM level based on your testing.

So your CYA of 30 is about right. With a CYA of 30 your SLAM level is about 16 ppm FC. You should do your best to keep it there until the pool is clear.

 

[cjblevins]

Are these levels unsafe to swim in?

 

[JohnN]

The low pH may cause eye and skin irritation, so if you didn't already, you may want to raise that. Other than that, it is safe to swim when chlorine is above the minimum, but below shock level for your CYA.

 

[jblizzle]

You should complete the SLAM process before you swim. [slam:hif66mhi][/slam:hif66mhi]

 

[easttn]

The Aqua Chem Shock Xtra Blue (http://www.aquachem.com/mp/v/index.jsp? ... mt=default) is dichlor (chlorine+stablizer(cya)) and copper in it for an algaecide. You dont want the copper in your pool. There should be a cheaper version called Aqua Chem Shock Plus (http://www.aquachem.com/mp/v/index.jsp? ... mt=default) sold there. It is still dichlor and will still add stabilizer (cya) and chlorine but does not have the copper. If your cya is 30ppm then you will want to add very little Shock Plus if any so like Bama Rambler says you will probably want to switch to Bleach for your chlorine. Great Value works just fine.

You probably have the WalMart Aqua Chem test strips or the yellow and red solution tester. Just check your chlorine about every hour and make sure you have enough in it to kill the algae (pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock). Since you filled from a creek you may have iron in the water. You may want to do some research that while your shocking and copper as well.