My pool readings

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stootz97

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Jan 20, 2014
15
Hi all. Just registered because after my first year of owning a saltwater pool with no problems its going bad.
I had solar panels put in and they disconnected my pool for 6 days...There is brown buildup on the walls that scrubbed off but it is a nice shade of green. Using a ColorQ pro-7 for my readings. Pool temp is 49 degrees but the outside temp has been hitting the 80's ( In southern California). My pentair chlorinator shows all green lights concerning salt/flow.
FCL/BR: .34
TCL: .34
PH. 7.2
TOTAL ALKALINITY: 101
CALCIUM HARDNESS: 600 ( HIGH I KNOW)
CYANURIC ACID: 46

I am assuming my chlorine is low due to pool temp being to low...I just put in some phos free chemical and set the superchlorinator on for 24 hrs. Anything else I should do/not do. What should I expect tomorrow after this thing is running for 24 hrs. straight? Thanks
Robert
 
Welcome! :wave:

Sorry, chlorine is not low because the water is cold, but because you have algae that's using it up. What you need to do is get the chlorine level up high enough for long enough period of time that you kill it faster than it can reproduce until it's all dead. Around here, it's called SLAM - shock level and maintain.

Just to toss it out right at the beginning, "Shock" is a process, not a product, not a one-time megadose of chlorine.

This SLAM process to which I am referring requires the use of a proper test kit. You probably won't find what you need in stock in the pool store, though they will sell you something and assure you it's the same. It's not. There's a lengthy article in Pool School that explains it. It also requires some source of chlorine besides your saltwater generator. That SWCG can't keep up with the demand, but if it could, it would just burn it out prematurely.

In all seriousness, your next step is to start reading Pool School until you feel like this: :crazy:
You might also check out my reply in this thread, too: slam-shocking-with-a-d-e-filter-t72793.html

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Thanks! Just found this site on google and did not see all of the useful "Pool School" information. I just purchased a Taylor Complete FAS-DPD Pool Water Test Kit K-2006 from amazon. One questions concerning SLAMing. What amount of bleach should I put into a 15K gallon pool to get my FC to start rising up? A cup or a gallon? I think i found a calculator download on here earlier but it's not compatible with a Macbook.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum! I agree with the above advice. Also, the K-2006 is a great kit to get you started :goodjob:
stootz97 said:
One questions concerning SLAMing. What amount of bleach should I put into a 15K gallon pool to get my FC to start rising up? A cup or a gallon? I think i found a calculator download on here earlier but it's not compatible with a Macbook.
Click to expand...
I believe you are looking for the Pool Calculator? Here is the link
 
ahhhh, im an idiot. I saw that earlier and it didn't click. Thanks! Looks like I'm going to need ALOT of bleach! Is this going to be possible if I work 6am to 4pm everyday....I don't have a day off for a couple weeks and I don't want to let this go any longer OR just waste money on bleach. Will bringing up chlorine in the AM and jumping right back on it when I get home in the evening be consistent enough?
 
stootz97 said:
Is this going to be possible if I work 6am to 4pm everyday....I don't have a day off for a couple weeks and I don't want to let this go any longer OR just waste money on bleach. Will bringing up chlorine in the AM and jumping right back on it when I get home in the evening be consistent enough?
Click to expand...
10 hours is a while, but most people that are SLAMing their pool are letting it sit overnight. Granted, the chlorine burns off faster in direct sunlight. I would overload the FC even more than usual in the morning before work. Also, when you test your FC after your first day of work, see how much it drops during that time, and you can adjust accordingly.
 
Thank you for taking the time to help me out! Sounds like a plan...going to get this going as soon as test kit shows up..may get going earlier just to keep it from getting worse until then. I can't wait to see my A/C bill next month. Going to test out how well my solar panels work. Pool is still clear, with a faint green tint to it, not sparkling by any means...got foggy after brushing but cleared right up..is this something that typically takes days or weeks?? My case is nowhere near the others i've seen here but it is yellow, hard to brush off, heavy build up in the shady parts of the pool. Fits the "Mustard Algae" description to the tee. Also, will cleaning out my cartridge filters every day or every other day help???
 
stootz97 said:
Thank you for taking the time to help me out! Sounds like a plan...going to get this going as soon as test kit shows up..may get going earlier just to keep it from getting worse until then. I can't wait to see my A/C bill next month. Going to test out how well my solar panels work. Pool is still clear, with a faint green tint to it, not sparkling by any means...got foggy after brushing but cleared right up..is this something that typically takes days or weeks?? My case is nowhere near the others i've seen here but it is yellow, hard to brush off, heavy build up in the shady parts of the pool. Fits the "Mustard Algae" description to the tee. Also, will cleaning out my cartridge filters every day or every other day help???
Click to expand...
As far as how long, it varies quite a bit. You want to continue to SLAM until your FC levels stay consistent overnight (because FC will be consumed by either fighting algae or burn off from the sun).

Mustard Algae can be very stubborn, but at least you've made it here! The support is awesome and we will help you through the entire process.

Yes, cleaning the filter often while SLAMing the pool is a good idea. :goodjob:
 
stootz97 said:
Thank you for taking the time to help me out! Sounds like a plan...going to get this going as soon as test kit shows up..may get going earlier just to keep it from getting worse until then. I can't wait to see my A/C bill next month. Going to test out how well my solar panels work. Pool is still clear, with a faint green tint to it, not sparkling by any means...got foggy after brushing but cleared right up..is this something that typically takes days or weeks??
Click to expand...
Yes. :mrgreen:
My case is nowhere near the others i've seen here but it is yellow, hard to brush off, heavy build up in the shady parts of the pool. Fits the "Mustard Algae" description to the tee. Also, will cleaning out my cartridge filters every day or every other day help???
Click to expand...
Do the best you can at maintaining SLAM level FC and brush every day. Run everything, so the water gets everywhere. And if you have any pool toys, toss them in to soak, too, so you don't reintroduce any algae spores after you've got it clear!
 
Welcome to tfp, stootz97 :wave:

blakej said:
Hello and welcome to the forum! I agree with the above advice. Also, the K-2006 is a great kit to get you started :goodjob:
stootz97 said:
One questions concerning SLAMing. What amount of bleach should I put into a 15K gallon pool to get my FC to start rising up? A cup or a gallon? I think i found a calculator download on here earlier but it's not compatible with a Macbook.
Click to expand...
I believe you are looking for the Pool Calculator? Here is the link
Click to expand...

Just thought I would mention that the updated poolcalcualtor is at http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html...poolcalculator.com is no longer supported.
 

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I will also suggest for you to remove any lights that you might have and scrub the lights and niches. If you really do have mustard algae, follow the SLAM process and once you pass I would bring up the FC level to mustard algae level for 24 hours. If it really is mustard algae, it will look to have been killed off during the normal SLAM but it tends to come back after the chlorine returns to normal levels. The FC levels you need are in the PoolMath calculator. Please keep in mind that most people that think their pool has mustard algae really do not have it.

I also decided to run my solar some after having all these 80 degree days. After running for the last 5 days and putting the solar cover back on, the water temp was 75 degrees last night. I could have got a little more temp increase but I do not want to run all the time on high speed to get the most benefit out of the solar panels at this time. It is more of an experiment for me to see if I can get the pool in to the 80's with the weather we are getting at this time of year.
 
Well, you were right, it def. wasn't mustard algae. I jumped the gun on putting in the chlorine. My test kit was supposed be in today so I used the calc. and put it in last night. I went to Costco and purchased a few boxes of regular bleach...I didn't notice the super concentrate until after the fact. It was 9% instead of 6% so I overloaded for sure. I'm guessing my target of roughly 17 is more like low-mid 20's. I got an email from Amazon today saying they were out of stock and I should expect by next Wed...ouch. I have a really expensive digital reader but it does not read that high. My pool is NEON blue...I've had the pump running for a few days and when I went to do my daily scrub down tonight the algae that would not scrub off yesterday wasn't there. I'm hoping I don't ruin any equipment or my plaster. I'm just going to let the system run 24/7 until my tester comes in. Temps are hitting the 80's so hopefully it will burn down to where it needs to be soon. More to come.
 
FC finally dropped to where my tester would read. I'm at 9.58. TCL was still too high. My PH jumped up to 7.8 and my CYA dropped down to 24. Am I reading the pool school section right when it says CYA should be at minimum of 60 with a SWG? Pool has returned back to a normal color. Since my test equipment won't be in for another 6 days, should I bring the pool back to normal chemical levels by lowering my PH and bringing up my CYA? I have enough bleach, so I don't mind starting over. I just don't want to mess with the chemical balances more than I have too.
 
I'd re-test the CYA level...because that should only drop when you replace water in the pool. Adding bleach won't lower your CYA, and pucks will only make it increase.
 
stootz97 said:
will do. I've been testing my water so much I may not of cleaned the test tubes good enough. will try again tomorrow after I give them a good scrub.
Click to expand...

The best thing you can do to clean you "glassware" is mixing a 50/50 solution of Muriatic and Distilled water, then fill and let it sit in your tubes for a while. Rinse clean with distilled and you're done. Rinsing with Distilled when you are done helps a lot too.
 
Test kit came in today. I didn't have a chance to read up and test everything but my pool is still clear. FC is down to 9.2...was 9.58 a few days ago. Going to run all the tests with the new tools that I have. Hoping the chlorine drops down back to the normals soon so I use the Jacuzzi :)

- - - Updated - - -

blakej said:
I'd re-test the CYA level...because that should only drop when you replace water in the pool. Adding bleach won't lower your CYA, and pucks will only make it increase.
Click to expand...

tested again, im right on the money from my very first one, 46. Going to pick up some conditioner to bring it up a bit.
 

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