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jfermani

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May 11, 2014
15
Malvern, PA
I had my pool installed in 2011. At the time I was put on the aqua smarter system. It's been ok but algae would start to grow ever few weeks. And then I would have to shock it again. I found out this year that the pool store is no longer selling that system as others are having the same issue as me. They are now doing pristine blue. After doing research I've decided to not use that system. After reading this site I have decided to just do the normal chlorine method.

Under my old system I would use trichlor three times a week to sanitize the water. It was enough to keep my chlorine leave at .5 ppm. So to start I bought a good test kit. I got the Leslie's pool complete test kit. Of course the pool was very green when I took my cover off. I did some tests....

Fc is 0
Cya is 80
Ph is 7
Alkalinity is 40

I had some ph increaser so I added some to kick up the ph. I need to get to the store to raise the alkalinity. I started my shock. I have been using calcium hydrochloride for the shock. Once I get the pool clean and the chemistry right, how much chlorine should i be adding to maintain fc ? Should I use bleach daily? I still have some trichlor from last season but I don't want my cya level to go any higher. I plan to retest the water before the next shock treatment to see where the ph and alkalinity are.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks for reading.
 
Welcome to the forum!!

If your pool is green, you will need to perform what we call the SLAM process.

Our way of doing things is going to be vastly different from what you know, and I would encourage you to spend some time in Pool School (link in upper right of every page) and start with the link in my signature.

Also, that test kit you bought is likely not going to be accurate enough for the methods we practice. Take a look at Test Kits Compared while you're in Pool School.
 
Welcome aboard. You should take some time and read about the BBB method and how to SLAM (Shock level and Maintain) your pool. Basically, you need to keep your pool at shock levels until you clear up the green. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

I'm not familiar with Aqua Smarter but I believe Pristine Blue sanitizes with copper sulfate. I have no experience with its efficacy but it sounds like trouble to me. You are on the right path with the BBB method in this forum.

You said you got a good test kit BUT you lost me when you said "from Leslies". I have no idea how accurate or what type of test that kit does for CYA but if that number is correct you are on the high side of CYA. No more Dichlor or Triclor unless you are prepared to drain the pool. First things first, raise your PH up to about 7.4. Hopefully the PH Up raised it in range. Don't worry about adjusting the Alkalinity right now. It's probably in range if your PH is too. It's best to get your PH in range first because once you start shocking your pool, the high chlorine will throw off your PH and alkalinity sample results. If your CYA number is correct (if the sample water was very green, your result might be skewed) then you are going to have to maintain a high FC level to shock. Looking at the shock chart for 80 CYA. You have to shock at 31ppm of FC.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock

Now looking at the pool calculator... http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

14,000 gallon pool, from 0 to 31 FC you need to add 7 gallons or 9.4 bottles of 96 oz bleach. Now that's just to get it to shock level. You have to maintain 31 ppm of FC. Your green pool is going to eat up the bleach very quickly (like in hours). So you will have to keep adding bleach and maintaining the shock level. This could go on for several days but if you keep adding enough bleach to keep it above the 31ppm shock level your pool will eventually clear up. You should continuously clean your filter (backwash, take off and rinse, etc.), vacuum slimy, green gunk to waste, etc. The more junk in the water the more the junk eats at the bleach. How much bleach and how often should you add? You can only know accurately by testing your FC/TC often.

You said you used calcium hydrochloride to shock the pool??? Do you mean you used Calcium Hypochlorite? How much did you use? What concentrate? How did you know how much to use? You should use the pool calculator and input that to determine how much you need to get your pool to shock levels. BUT you need to know your current CH level. If that's high then you don't want to keep adding CalPo which is going to increase CH. Bleach is your friend over Calpo, Dichlor and Triclor (anything solid) because bleach doesn't add CYA nor CH.

Keep reading, feel free to keep asking questions but to turn your green to blue, you're going to need a lot of bottles of bleach over the next few days. You're going to also need to scrub, filter, vacuum, crud to speed up the process. Be patient, don't get sold by pool salesmen selling you stuff that won't help. Bleach is your friend.

Best regards,
 
Sorry for the typo. I meant Calcium Hypochlorite. That is what I had always used for shock. Its 73% Calcium Hypochlorite and minimum 70% chlorine. I was always told to use at least two bags to shock the pool. The test kit uses Taylor agents. The label on the front says - Complete Poolcare DPD Test Kit. It tests for Free & Total Chlorine, Bromine, Ph, Acid & Base demand, Total Alkanlinity, Calcium Hardness, and Cyanuric Acid. I only got the test kit yesterday so I had not run all the tests yet. Did a lot of reading on your site last night and am learning a lot. Will keep you informed as to my progress. Thanks for all the help so far.
 
Rechecked what I got and I have the 81-330 which is not the FAS-DPD. Just read up on the differences and now I understand. I will have to get another kit for the better chlorine tests. My pool installer never told me to worry about cya levels when shocking the pool, they just told me to use x number of bags of shock. Gotta stop doing things the old way.... Thanks for the help.
 
We are perhaps overloading our newbie friend a little. TFPC is a LOT to digest so let's be sure we take it one step at a time and give him ample opportunity to learn.

I am s-o-o-o very appreciative of everyone being so willing to give of your time and knowledge but when we add up our collective posts, it is easy to see how we can overwhelm someone quickly. Short, concise posts for all newbies, please.
 
Tested the pool at lunch time. Second day using the test kit instead of a test strip. I understand it better now and I think my results are more accurate as compared to yesterday... I still need to get the better Chlorine test since my levels are over 10 ppm but with that said...

FC: Over 10. Can;t be more precise until I get the better kit
CC: Don't know
Ph; 7.2
CH: 150
TA: 50
cya: 45

I already see an improvement in the pool. Yesterday it was a bright green and could barely see the first step in the pool. Today its much much lighter and I can see father down into the pool. Had to backwash the DE filter as the pressure was building up. Since my CH level is only 150, i plan to keep using the current shock I have (Calcium Hypochlorite). From what I read in the Pool School, the target range for CH is 220-350 so I am helping the pool two ways for now.
 
It looks like you're going to learn very quickly! I'll second charlie_r on just getting the reagents and test cylinder for the FAS-DPD test. You will probably need some refills as cleaning up a green pool requires frequent testing of your chlorine level.

*ps*

Welcome! :)
 

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Ran the numbers for the pool

Got my FAS-DPD test kit and ran the numbers for my pool:

FC 7.5
CC 1.0
PH 7.1
CH 140
TA 40
CA 45

I opened the pool last week and slammed it used the Calcium Hypochlorite I had. (I guessed on the amount of chlorine I needed since I did not have my test kit yet). The pool is now crystal clear. Water has a nice sparkle to it. I have some last remnants of dirt that has settled to the bottom I need to vacuum out. After that I plan to take my DE filter apart and completely clean the grids from the open. I have already back washed three times this week and its just about due again from the gunk that was in the water from the winter.

Just wanted to confirm what to do next.

Based on the numbers I got from the pool math, I need to get my numbers to the following:

Target FC 4
Target PH 7.5
Target Ch 220
Target TA 80
My CA is fine so I plan to leave that alone.

Is this correct?

Do I need to slam the pool again since the CC is at 1? The water is clear and I don't see anything in the water except some loose dirt on the bottom which I need to vacuum up. I found my local pool store has liquid Chlorine available. 2 gals for 11.49. How much should I buy to maintain a FC at 4? Pool math said FC 4-8. Is 4 ok or should I aim for a higher level?

Thanks for the help. I've been reading your site all week and have learned a lot.

Joe
 
Go ahead and SLAM again and while you're doing that, you will need to read up on Overnight FC Loss Test. The OCLT will determine when you are done SLAM'ing your pool.

Welcome to TFP from another Pennsylvanian! :mrgreen:
 
Vacuumed the pool. Got all the dirt off the bottom. Back washed the filter and reloaded it with Aqua Perl. Brushed all the sides and the bottom of the pool. Slammed the pool again and will recheck my readings tomorrow. Found the info for the slam at the bottom of the Pool Math page. Missed that the first time around. I now have the correct amount of chlorine in the pool based on my CYA levels for the slam. Now it makes so much sense. Pool is looking even better.

Stay tuned.... :D
 
Tested the pool tonight. Had to back wash the filter one more time as well....

FC 8.5
CC 0
PH 7.7
TA 60
CH 150
CYA 40

I had added some soda ash to the pool today to bump up the PH. I was surprised to see the TA jump since I did not add anything to increase it. At this point I assume I need to add some calcium to the pool to get that number higher. Should I increase the TA to 80? 60 is the low end of the range that the pool math is telling me.

CYA dropped from last week when I tested it. I had a lot of rain this past week and had to drain the pool because it was too full from all the rain. Is this normal that the CYA will drop after a rain storm?

After slamming the pool, how low should the chlorine read before allowing someone to go into the water? Pool math is saying I need to maintain a range of 4-8. If its higher than 8 can someone use the pool?

Thanks.
 
People can go into the pool if the chlorine level is below SLAM level and the water is clear. Technically, SLAM level has the same active chlorine level as a pool with an FC of 0.6 ppm with no CYA so is lower than public pools with no CYA such as most commercial/public indoor pools. It's safe, but it does oxidize your swimsuits, skin and hair more quickly.
 

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