Trouble Opening Pool

[bellinibean]

Hello everyone,

Would like to get some insight into opening and finally balancing our above ground pool ( i think the specs are in the signature)

For the last 2 weeks, my wife has battled green algae with about 30 gallons of bleach. She changed the sand this year and we have moved from a permasalt system to a traditional chlorine setup.

A few problems she is having that I can't seem to put my finger on are: 1. Chlorine is back at zero by the next day, even at levels north of 15ppm. calcium is low, alkalinity is low as well. I have test measurements from the pool store using a ClearCare Expert analysis system (not sure if that matters)
I wish I could help her, but I'm on the other side of the country for military purposes. This is frustrating to try to help her via telephone.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks. on to the results...

FC 0
TC 0
CC 0
pH 7.5
TA 70
CH 80
CYA 25
Copper 0 (thank god)
Iron 0
Manganese 0
Nitrates 0
TDS 600
Phosphates 0
Saturation Index -0.5 (says that level is corrosive)

 

[jblizzle]

Well, if you do much reading here you will quickly learn that we do not trust pool store test results ... especially if they try to wow you with some computerized gizmo.

So if you want to take control, you will have to invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits. Since you have a green pool, the TF-100 with the XL options is what you will need.

Tell here to get on the forum and we can get things straightened out

BTW, if you choose to believe those test results:
The CH does not matter for a vinyl pool and that TA is fine. Luckily the CYA does not appear to be too high (but they are really bad at testing this). You need to just keep dosing the FC up to 10ppm and retesting every hour or so to start.

 

[bellinibean]

it's not green anymore, the algae is gone. She shocked, brushed, vacuumed, backwashed, twice and the algae seems to be gone. However, balancing the levels seems to be the issue. Not sure why it is still bleeding off so much chlorine.

as far as CH goes i've known that the level doesn't effect vinyl. just wasn't sure if it's something that effects other chemicals i.e. CYA to chlorine effectiveness.

 

[Casey]

You need to order the recommended test kits to get control of your pool (or let her take control of the pool). Test Kit Comparison

Read Pool School. You guys have been a member since 2012. Have you read Pool School?

 

[jblizzle]

Are you 100% sure that there is not algae in the water even if you can not see it? You can not always see the algae in the water. We do not know what "she shocked" means. The SLAM process works every time and has definitive tests to confirm that you are done.

There are 2 things that consume chlorine: 1. The sun and 2. Something in the water.
If your CYA is truly around 25ppm, then the sun will consume around 60-70% of your FC every day. If you are losing more than that, then there must be something in the water.

The only thing that appears to be a problem is that the CYA might be a little low and clearly you can not keep chlorine in it. Everything else is fine.

I am hesitant to suggest raising the CYA to better protect the FC because pool store testing has proven to be so bad. Our hands are kind of tied without good reliable test results.

 

[Casey]

Our hands are kind of tied without good reliable test results.

So true.