Wow -this Saturday we opened our pool to a very dark green mess. A lot of it was my own fault in not paying enough attention last year to pool chemistry. I thought I understood but really didn't. The other part was due to a bald cypress tree just behind our pool deck. We had our pool cover pretty well secured against wind but there was enough space for a mat of bald cypress needles to coat the bottom of our pool - we will secure much better this year against those needles.
When I tested the pool on the weekend to my dismay the FC was 0 - no kidding with the dark green color. All my other numbers were out of whack and the pool was in the mid 50's in temperature and it was raining all weekend. I got right on TFP and started reading everyone's posts and then going back to pool school and then going back to posts and finally the light clicked on in my brain and I realized what I had been doing wrong (ok - everything) and then what I needed to do to get it right. I now realize why people go with longer but thinner pools instead of round. At 15 feet from every direction to the center reaching into the center to vacuum by hand was not easy. Forget the automatic cleaner - with the large carpet of leaves on the bottom of the pool. It went about 5 feet and then had to be cleaned again. Spent most of yesterday scrubbing walls and re-vacuuming and testing. By the end of the afternoon the pool had changed to a teal blue.
Today, with solar heaters working, I got in the pool to do better scrubbing and vacuuming. It was a bit nippy. Pool is now a bright blue, though still cloudy - I know I am not anywhere near done yet but FC 10, CC .5!!!! Happier! PH 7.4, TA 80, CYA 50. When we bought our pool last year I shelled out $500 for chemicals and then found your site. I half and halfed it last year which led to my spring mess this year. I still have about $300 of those chemicals if anyone wants them. The BBB method makes so much more sense! Will be joining as soon as I post this. Thank you so much. Doing this with other's input who are not trying to sell me something makes me feel so much better.
When I tested the pool on the weekend to my dismay the FC was 0 - no kidding with the dark green color. All my other numbers were out of whack and the pool was in the mid 50's in temperature and it was raining all weekend. I got right on TFP and started reading everyone's posts and then going back to pool school and then going back to posts and finally the light clicked on in my brain and I realized what I had been doing wrong (ok - everything) and then what I needed to do to get it right. I now realize why people go with longer but thinner pools instead of round. At 15 feet from every direction to the center reaching into the center to vacuum by hand was not easy. Forget the automatic cleaner - with the large carpet of leaves on the bottom of the pool. It went about 5 feet and then had to be cleaned again. Spent most of yesterday scrubbing walls and re-vacuuming and testing. By the end of the afternoon the pool had changed to a teal blue.
Today, with solar heaters working, I got in the pool to do better scrubbing and vacuuming. It was a bit nippy. Pool is now a bright blue, though still cloudy - I know I am not anywhere near done yet but FC 10, CC .5!!!! Happier! PH 7.4, TA 80, CYA 50. When we bought our pool last year I shelled out $500 for chemicals and then found your site. I half and halfed it last year which led to my spring mess this year. I still have about $300 of those chemicals if anyone wants them. The BBB method makes so much more sense! Will be joining as soon as I post this. Thank you so much. Doing this with other's input who are not trying to sell me something makes me feel so much better.
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We got a heck of a thunderstorm this morning and it warmed up to about 75 and man I wanted to swim! Keep SLAM'ing, brushing and sweeping your pool. You'll be done when it looks like this...