Well, this should be interesting....

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mjb62676

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Feb 1, 2014
59
Camdenton, MO
Moved into new to us house on May 2nd. Finally got settled in and the pollen surrounding the Lake of the Ozarks appears to be calming itself. Opened the pool today and it was as green and nasty as I'd imagined, complete with 3 toads, 2 lizards, and a smelly dead squirrel (thanks for not patching the hole(s) in the loop loc cover to the previous owner).


Got it filled up to proper level, pump and filter appear to be working ok. Can't seem to get lighting to work (fiber optic).

Looking forward to getting it up and running. Trying to keep a positive attitude as a pool is about the last thing I wanted/needed...it's a side effect of buying this house...hoping it turns out for the best. Still mulling fence options as we have a 4 and 2 year old. Local pool co. doesn't seem to have any interest in helping us put in a Baby-Loc. Any suggestions?
 
Post up test results and read those links I gave you and we can get you started. :goodjob:
 
Welcome to TFP from just up the road (Hwy 54)!

We can help you have a sparkling pool that you will learn to love.

Here you will find methods of pool care that will literally take only minutes a day, and will be inexpensive. Who says owning a pool can be a hole in the pocketbook? No one here, that's for sure!

Did the previous owner leave any pool tools, like a pole with several attachments? you will need these for getting the gunk out of your pool before starting on your first (and probably only!) SLAM. You will likely be dredging blind for a while, but keep at it until you can pull nothing more off the bottom of your pool.

Once you post test results, we'll know more of what you need to clear your pool, chemical wise.

- - - Updated - - -

Here's a thread your could take a quick look at, that illustrates how easy it is:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/75726-Is-it-really-this-easy
 
Please bear with me. Had a guy come out to help us open and just show me how everything works. There is the usual stuff like skimmer net, leaf net/rake, brush, vacuum, then there is a Polaris.

On opening day, we shocked with 2lbs of SmartShock and let it run for 2 days. Today, vacuumed to waste and then brushed and we've gone from clear water with green bottom/partial sides to full on swamp.

For grins, I ran all the tests Sunday morning very early (about 18 hrs after pump was on and probably 16 after shock went in). Seems FC was 1 and CC was 1, TA was 250, CYA was negligible (no real loss of dot). pH seemed to be in the 7.4 range and TC on the daily test was around 2ppm. CH was in range, but I don't remember my number well. All this is off the top of my head.

Now, I have to go out of town for a couple days and won't be able to mess with it until Thurs. Pool guy will be back the rest of the week. I've agreed with wife to let him do his thing as he seems reasonable.....

But, I have a couple questions.

He is saying pool is between 20-25K gallons. I'm calculating closer to 35-40. Pool is at LEAST 20 X 40, if not bigger (it's irregularly shaped. Shallow end is about 15x20 and deep end is about 20x20, kind of a dogleg shape, if you will. Max depth I believe is 9 (there is a diving board, pool built in 1996). Wondered who might be more accurate.

Is there any reason not to use Smart-shock? I understand it has stabilizer in it, as do the Silk Tabs we are using.

There is a Fiberstar color wheel, but the lamp appears to be out. Fan works fine, so I've ordered an H111 replacement, anyone got experience with these?

Is a perimeter 4' wood fence better than one of the baby safety fences for deterring 2yr and 4yr old?


If things aren't significantly improved by Thursday, I'm planning to take over fully. My biggest problem is I won't be home much of the month of June and the wife can't deal with pool maintenance while also trying to watch the kids....so....I'm stuck.
 
I think you have the same shape pool as I do, and it's referred to as a "Lazy L". Mine holds around 35k gallons and it's 4' deep on the shallow end and 8' on the deep end.

Once you get your test kit, post your numbers, correct PH, and CYA (if possible) and then SLAM.

As for maintenance of a pool, since you will be doing your own testing, you will learn what the daily needs of your pool are and once once you learn that, it should only take you a few minutes a day. In my case, I know I need a jug a day, so I go to my garage, get a jug of clorox, turn the pump on, pour it (slooooowly, in front of the return on the deep end), and walk away. I have my timer to shut off the pump at 6am. As for testing, I only test on the weekends (once I'm done with SLAM after openning it). I found this forum 4 years ago, and haven't had algae during the swimming season, as opposed to my friends who used to go to the pool stores....used to go because now they do their own testing as well.
 
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Photo of shape of pool


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And what it looked like on Saturday. It's worse now.
 
 

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Richard320 said:
You can do it! We've seen lots worse.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...glorious-swamp!
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...28-TFP-Success
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...ool-is-winning
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...ark-Green-Pool
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...st-give-up-Can
First Time Shocking with Bleach
Pretty black pool
A little encouragement for those with algae and new to BBB
Frog Filled Green Swamp to Oasis---Work in Progress!!!
Before and After Pool Pics
Before and after!
A final picture set of how well the BBB method works!
Click to expand...


If we assume the "blocks" of the cover are approx. 3 feet wide, would anyone be willing to take a shot at estimating the volume assuming the deep end is a max of 9' deep and shallow is approx. 3' deep?

Also, any thoughts on the safety fencing? Experiences?

I will probably use up my chemicals I have on hand then be shopping for bleach.
 
Ok. Still not totally sure what the volume is. Pool guy came by (he's an independent guy that broke off from pool stores). They dumped in 2 lbs of Dichlor (SmartShock) and circulated. Also added silk tab to each skimmer (2) and refilled the chlorinator.

Still (not surprisingly) a green swamp.

Numbers:

FC: 0.5
CC: <0.5 (took one drop)
CH: 300
TA: 200
CYA: maybe 20, think its lower
pH around 7.8

working with 25000 gallons, added 2 more bags of dichlor this Am along with inhibit (following BioGuard label instructions).

Trying to use up what I've got in terms of chemical
 
mjb62676 said:
Ok. Still not totally sure what the volume is. Pool guy came by (he's an independent guy that broke off from pool stores). They dumped in 2 lbs of Dichlor (SmartShock) and circulated. Also added silk tab to each skimmer (2) and refilled the chlorinator.

Still (not surprisingly) a green swamp.

Numbers:

FC: 0.5
CC: <0.5 (took one drop)
CH: 300
TA: 200
CYA: maybe 20, think its lower
pH around 7.8

working with 25000 gallons, added 2 more bags of dichlor this Am along with inhibit (following BioGuard label instructions).

Trying to use up what I've got in terms of chemical
Click to expand...
If the pool is 25000 gallons, 2 lbs of dichlor only raises FC by 5.3. In a pool with zero CYA, that's not even close to SLAM level of 10. The pucks and tablets in the skimmer don;t dissolve fast enough to really count.

There's nothing wrong with using the dichlor to raise FC since you do need the CYA, but you need to get enough in there to kill the algae off faster than it can reproduce. You need to knock it down and kick it again and again and again while it's down until it's dead. Otherwise it will get back up. As CYA rises, SLAM level also rises. So keep track of how many bags of shock and how many pucks are going in the pool. Effects of Adding Chemicals at the bottom of Poolmath will tell you what you've added. When CYA=30, SLAM is 12 FC. At 40 CYA, 16 FC, and so on. So it doesn't help to raise CYA too high for the SLAM. Once the water is cleared, then you can raise it up the rest of the way using the dichlor.

By the way, that Bioguard Inhibit contains copper. Unless you like stained liners and green hair, don't add any more. And you really should decide which method you're going to use: ours, or the pool store's. Mixing and matching doesn't work well. You'll just end up confused, fruistrated, and angry.
 
You either follow TFP or go with the Pool Guy who keeps dumping dichlor. If you're not careful, you will end up with a still green pool because you are not keeping the pool at SLAM levels and an outrageous CYA. Every time he dumps 2 lbs of something in your pool, you are losing ground it by not replenishing the chlorine and letting it fall to almost 0ppm.

Please read:

:lookhere: SLAMing Your Pool
:lookhere: PoolMath
 
I'm going to go to the bleach method to SLAM. I'm going to try to measure closely and figure out an accurate volume. The first time I calculated, I was over 40K gallons...the guy who works on pool says closer to 20-25.

Confused is a good way to put it. Bleach isn't cheap either. :)
 
mjb62676 said:
Approx. how long should one wait before expecting FC to rise? ie.....how many hours should you wait to test and figure out if you need more bleach?
Click to expand...
Thirty minutes with the pump on should be enough time to mix things. If your brush after adding it, it will mix better. If the pool is really green and chunky, it will consume bleach almost as fast as you can pour it. That's why we frequently suggest testing every hour at the beginning of the SLAM. When it starts holding better, you can space things out.
 

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