What did I get into?

[phyrphxr]

I don't have the dramatic 'green to clean' pictures some have posted, because when I started cleaning up her pool I didn't know I'd end up on a forum such as this for guidance. So....after a few days into "the next door neighbor" project and after the green had succumbed to the chlorine this is the first picture I took.

 

[phyrphxr]

After reading the procedures here, and a bunch of help requests and the advice given.....after learning what I could from this forum then nixing the pool store down the street and using only bleach, muratic acid, some calcium chloride and a lot of sweat, here's her pool today. You guys know your stuff. This works and I'm a fan. Thanks!

 

[JVTrain]

Looks awesome!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[phyrphxr]

Thanks Joel.

I had read 'pull the light' in a lot of threads here but figured since the water looked sooooo much better and the testing looked pretty good, then all had to be well. Not so...

Pulled the light and the amount of yuck that floated out of the hole into the 'clean' water was disheartening.

 

[Abigail K]

Scrub with a solution of 50% household bleach and 50% water.
Also, test your pool water to make sure all the dislodged gunk didn't affect it too much.

 

[pepsiholic]

Yep, those lights and ladders will get you everytime. You did a great job though!

 

[northrn]

beatiful, sparkly water! (minus the light)

glad you caught the light before it became a problem for the whole pool.

 

[phyrphxr]

Thanks, the pool is looking very good, for now. Cleaned the light and the hole it mounts in with a strong mixture of bleach water. Vacuumed out what washed out and fell to the bottom and raised the chlorine level for 3 days. Everything looks to be good.

She was getting sand in the pool daily so a couple of days ago we emptied the filter, pulled the laterals and inspected them. Filled with new sand. While we were removing the sand I found a small round filter screen laying in the bottom of the filter. It apparently came off the air tubing and I guess sand could then enter the tubing and end up back in the pool? Replaced the tube and reinstalled the screen and so far........no sand at all in the pool.

All made possible by this site!

 

[phyrphxr]

The numbers from this morning are:

FC 6
CC 0
PH 7.2
TA 150
CH 375
CYA 40
TEMP 86F

shows a CSI of 0.06.

But, it doesnt take much of a rise at all in the PH to raise CSI a lot, I guess due to the high TA and CH? And I'm guessing the TA has increased because I've drained some water, several times, to try to lower the CH but found out just 2 days ago the TA of the supply water (well water) tests to 240. PH was 7.4 and CH was 200 I think. I'm going to rerun that today sometime to verify it.

I'd like to lower the TA and/or CH some so the PH can be maintained more easily around 7.4 - 7.6. As it is I'm adding acid every day or two to keep the PH controlled.

So, continue to drain and refill to lower the calcium, then add acid and aerate for the TA??? Or, ??

 

[phyrphxr]

Any thoughts on this ^. Mainly, the rising TA and CH and the TA of the supply water? Should I just try keeping PH down or would there be a best plan for lowering both TA and CH and letting PH rise to where it seems to like to be, 7.4 to 7.6.

 

[Richard320]

Any thoughts on this ^. Mainly, the rising TA and CH and the TA of the supply water? Should I just try keeping PH down or would there be a best plan for lowering both TA and CH and letting PH rise to where it seems to like to be, 7.4 to 7.6.

FC 6
CC 0
PH 7.2
TA 150
CH 375
CYA 40
TEMP 86F

375 CH is easily managed. I've never seen my pool that low. .06 is nothing on CSI. It only gets worrisome when it approaches .6. You're a long way from that.

The TA will come down if you keep lowering pH when it rises. If adding acid every day or every other day gets tiresome, then rig up some kind of aerator and attack it according to the instructions. It'll take the same amount of acid either way, it just accelerates the process if you get aggressive with it. And the lower TA will slow down the pH rise.

Since I got my water dialed in, things stay pretty stable. And I've learned how much acid to add for each inch of water I add. I'll just pour it into the hose stream.