New pool owner and odd results wiht k-2006. Help pls.

[burrben]

Hi, just bought a house with a small pool. The old owner was using pucks in a hayward chlorine cl220. I stopped using them and removed them from the cl220. I've cleaned the filter too. The pool water was off from day one using test strips, so I bought a K-2006. I'm trying to use the BBB method, but having lots of trouble. 6000gal fiberglass pool. So, onto my results and hopefully you guys can help me start fixing it. Thanks in advance so much! I spent $140 on chemicals weeks ago when my pool started turning green, and what a waste.

Chlorine Test
FC is present, water is pink

Big one filled up to 25ml, 2 scoops of r0870
added 0871 and took 60 drops
12ppm FC was the reading. really high right?
there were no combined chlorines

PH
filled to 44ml, added 5 drops of R4
PH was under 7.0 color

base demand test required 32 drops
to get to a ph of 7.4

TA
25ml sample
after 2 drops of r7 and 5 drops of r8, color was a very light green.
after 7 drops turned a light pink
70ppm of TA

CA
Filled bottle to 7ml, then added R13 to get to 14ml. Mixed.
No cloudiness, no change in color.
Added to the small comparitor, the black dot never disappeared.

 

[Bama Rambler]

If you truly have zero CYA then 12 ppm FC is really high. I am really surprised about the CYA reading, especially knowing that tablets were used.

The first thing you need to do is get the pH up to at least 7.2.
Then I'd run all the tests again using the instructions in the Extended Test Kit Directions topic. I'd also switch to the 10 ml test for FC/CC.

 

[burrben]

I added a full box of Mule Team 20 last week because my PH was also very low. No real change. Now I just dumped the borax into the pool, sprinking it around. Is that the right way to add it? How many boxed do you think I should add?

I don't have a "float" skimmer. There is just the pool skimmer where I attach my cleaning hose, and another skimmer right before the main filter.

Also, the water is really clear, and when I swim in it for 15-20min at night, I'm not really itchy....

 

[Bama Rambler]

I'd add another box of borax and have another on hand. Once you add the first one, wait about 30 minutes with the pump running and test the pH again. If it's still below 7 add half the second box, wait 30 minutes and test again. Once it's on the chart and you can read it, you can use the Pool calculator to figure how much to add to bring it to where you want it to be.

 

[burrben]

Just checked on the wife's tests (since I'm colorblind), and she screwed up the CYA. I had her retest it
and when she dumped the cloudy water into the tester, the black dot was gone WAY before it hit 100.

So really hi CYA right?

 

[Bama Rambler]

That sounds more like what I was suspecting. Sounds like drain and refill is in your immediate future.

You can mix half pool water and half tap water and run the test again and see what it comes to. Then multiply the result by 2. That will give you an idea of how much water you're going to have to drain.

 

[ping]

As Bama said, you will need to drain and refill some water. Depending on your water table you might only be able to drain half the water at a time. You do not want to float the pool out of the ground.

A little side note for you about the TA test, add another drop to the test and the water should turn a hot barbie pink and that will be the end of the TA test making the TA 80. The test is supposed to end when adding a drop to the test doesn't cause a color change, then you need to subtract that last drop from the calculation. I always stop when I get that hot barbie pink color as my test doesn't change after that color shows up.

 

[burrben]

So I'd guess I should just stop worrying about all the other tests now, and try to fix the CYA issue.

When you say " don't float the pool ", what does that mean?


Two other questions:
1) We are going away for 13 days, so I'm thinking that I just might leave it alone until we come back with a high FC and CYA while we are gone and have the inlaws make sure the FC is at 12 to prevent algae bloom.
2) When I do add borax and baking soda, is there a best way to add it? Or just dump it into the pool near a inlet.

 

[Charlie_R]

"Don't float the pool" means leave about a foot of water in the shallow end, so the ground water outside the pool doesn't "float" the pool out of the ground.

Yes, if you are going to be gone, you can tackle this when you get back. Keeping the FC high enough to prevent an algae bloom is a good way to go.

I'd mix each in pool water in a bucket and then pour it in front of a return.

 

[burrben]

So I was just reading about algae. Each day I vacuum out the pool and the next morning there is all this "sand" on the bottom of the pool. I always thought that it was sand in the bottom of the pool from the sand between our pavers.
Could it be dead algae?

We also get LOTS of bugs (although my lot backs up to a farm). Could the algae be the reason I get about 5 wolf spiders and lots of other bugs in the pool overnight?

 

[techguy]

Many bugs are drawn to algae in the water. Most bugs go away when the water is clean and chlorinated properly. If you are getting sand (gritty? or just white/grey debris?) it could be dead algae. If your fill water is cost effective and clean, you could vacuum to waste the debris and save having it plug your filters.

 

[burrben]

Hello, finally back to my house and I drained the pool, leaving 1ft of water in the shallow end. I did the CYA test this morning (before draining, hoping for a miracle), substituting 50% tap water, and my CYA was well over 100. I'm now refilling with city water. I would guess that about 65-70% of the water was drained. Once the pool is filled, I assuming I should do all the tests and report back the results. Then what? Where should I start on adding chlorine, borax, etc? The water wasn't green at all before draining.

Also, I have a real beat up cartridge filter. Should I replace it at this time? Could it be "holding" CYA inside it?

 

[Bama Rambler]

The first thing to do is test the pH and adjust it if needed. Then test the CYA to see where you're at. Don't worry about the rest of the tests until you've done those.

 

[burrben]

How about the filter? Should I go run out to the pool store and buy a new one before re-starting the pump? I don't want it to add any CYA or Crud to my fresh water.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You don't need to replace it unless it's bad. It can't hold onto the CYA. You may want to clean it though.

 

[burrben]

Ok, pool is 95% full. I tested the CYA and it looks to be between 75-80. The PH is 7.2...maybe 7.3.

 

[Bama Rambler]

pH looks fine. You're getting there.

 

[burrben]

What do you think about the CYA? Should I empty more water? It's a outdoor pool. Should I test the FC next, or run the filter for a while before testing?
I really want to stop all the dead algae in my pool, cause I have to vacuum everyday.

 

[jblizzle]

Ideally you would replace another 40-50% to get the CYA well with the recommended 30-50ppm. Although, where you are at is "workable", just will require higher levels of FC for the SLAM process, which will make your reagents run out sooner if you have not already ordered refills.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I'd empty enough to get to about 50 or so. Once you have that done then start balancing the water.