To quote the great Mel Brooks: EVERYTHING is sooooo GREEEEEEN !!!!

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romieb69

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Jun 25, 2014
25
Amarillo, Texas
Well I did it! I was doing so good keeping a clean clear pool (knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING) about how to really do that but spending cash hand over fist on Phos Free, dry acid, chlorine pucks, Poolblaster Max HD, etc etc. Then the rain hit. And it hit HARD. I was not prepared for this.

I've done a lot of reading on this site today and want to first say THANK YOU to all the super knowledgeable people out there sharing all of their great info, experience and knowledge as well as spending their time helping us newbies fumble around towards a clear / clean pool. :D You are all truly an awesome group and I'm very thankful I found this site and spent the evening reading pool school etc.

I've only started Pool School mind you. I'm at war with this algae and have been frustrated with my lack of results in the last 48 hours. I have a LOT to learn. That said I skimmed some things and got to the stuff I needed to start. Chlorine! So that's really IN BLEACH!? Humph! :confused: Imagine that! Okay this stuff is packed with 8.25%... Feeling confident. BLEACH! *shakes head* 6 dollar sacks of shock all this time and all I need is bleach...

1. A test kit. Again I went ahead and went to Leslie's. Knowing full well there are better test kits available, I've armed myself with Leslie's Complete Pool Care DPD Test Kit - measures Free & Total Chlorine or Bromine, pH, Acid & Base Demand, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid. Pool boy that helped me find it asked if I was tired of coming up there to get my water tested. My children were there and just grinned awaiting my response. It's a good thing they were. He assured me this was the best kit they sell. 69 bucks. Pool boy stated it's basically what they used to do tests. I had to chime in... "Does that mean my pool is about to get more green"? Neither of us laughed. The kids did though.

2. Thoroughly vac'd the pool with my Pool Blaster Max HD. LOVE that thing! Scolded the kids though because there should NEVER be pebbles in the pool and I KNOW I didn't put them there. But no more grass, leaves or rocks. Just green stuff which I've now managed to stir into a frenzy causing my little pool to now look like a swamp.

3. Cleaned the cartridge using the flat setting on my multi-function spray nozzle that has 8 functions ... OFF isn't one of them but it seems to get the cartridge nice and white and clean again. Is this an OK practice? Seems silly to replace it every time it gets gunk in it but then again, I'm WAY out of me element here!

4. Spent some time staring at all the little bottles. Made a drink. Read the directions on the lid several times. I can do this.

5. Deep breath. Got my first test completed. pH = 7.2 I think. Okay. CYA = 80!!! SERIOUSLY!? It says to xfer the combined solution of water and Cyanuric Acid Reagent into the thingy until the black dot goes away. It's at 80! Getting nervous now. FC= either 0 or 1 .. hard to tell. I think it's 1.

6. Going to the nifty pool calculator thing. Plug in my numbers. According to this thing I should have a min FC of 6, target FC of 9 and a shock FC of 31. No problem! Wait what? 172 oz of 8.25% bleach!? REALLY? These bottles are 64 oz bottles. I hesitantly dumped them in.

7. Looking to check FC again approx 1 hr later. HEY! It's RED! But wait the scale only goes to 10. Looks like the water color actually matches the 10 mark. Re-read the directions. It says here if the color is off the scale to repeat the test and only use 4.5 mL of pool water and then dilute to the 9 mL mark with tap water. NOOOO our tap water is TERRIBLE around here. Probably the worst in the country. I used bottled water. Now my color puts me at FC = 5. Hummm Ok so I guess my FC is 10. Will 44 more oz of bleach get me to FC @ 31?

At this point I'm scared. Should I re-measure CYA? Can I re-measure CYA at this point? Can my shock level in such a small pool really be 31? Need a nod and a push at this point. :(
 
Welcome to TFP!

I will only address your first bullet, although I think you now realize, that is not one of the recommended test kits. You need to add the FAS-DPD chlorine test to have the equivalent to the K2006. I wish you would have read that article in Pool School before buying. Go to tftestkits.net and order it with the XL option to get through the SLAM process.
 
This will convert your K-2005 into a K-2006. You might need two, though, clearing a swamp. It can read FC accurately up to 50! That's why it's listed as a prerequisite in the SLAM article. ;)

Clean the filter when the pressure climbs 25% or you can see a decrease in flow.

The CYA level is essential to know. But it needs bright sunlight, so you're stuck there until tomorrow.
 
Thanks guys. It's ordered and on its way. In the mean time.... any suggestions until that shows up on the door step? What can I do tomorrow to be proactive and keep the problem from getting worse? If I did this right today when I did the CYA test it said 80 which blew my mind. I can do it tomorrow in the heat of the day though and post a new number.
 
Gotcha. Might as well! May rig something up to vac out some of the 'stuff' and have that go directly to the yard. Quick question about this test kit I've been looking over. When testing FC, the following is mentioned in the documentation: If color is off-scale: repeat testing using 4.5 mL sample diluted to 9mL mark with tap water. Multiply reading by 2 to obtain approximate level. If color is still off scale, repeat test using 1.8 mL sample diluted to 9 ml mark with tap water. Multiply reading by 5 to obtain approx level.

So, would this kit then also be able to test up to a FC of 50 as well if the final multiplier is 5 with a max scale of 10?

I'm VERY VERY NEW to all of this so please forgive my ignorance on the matter and thank you both for your time and suggestions!
 
romieb69 said:
Gotcha. Might as well! May rig something up to vac out some of the 'stuff' and have that go directly to the yard. Quick question about this test kit I've been looking over. When testing FC, the following is mentioned in the documentation: If color is off-scale: repeat testing using 4.5 mL sample diluted to 9mL mark with tap water. Multiply reading by 2 to obtain approximate level. If color is still off scale, repeat test using 1.8 mL sample diluted to 9 ml mark with tap water. Multiply reading by 5 to obtain approx level.

So, would this kit then also be able to test up to a FC of 50 as well if the final multiplier is 5 with a max scale of 10?

I'm VERY VERY NEW to all of this so please forgive my ignorance on the matter and thank you both for your time and suggestions!
Click to expand...

I have the same kit and used it before I got the FAS-DPD test. It does, in theory, work up to 25 ppm on the chlorine scale using a the dilution/multiplier method. (The 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 on right side the scale is for Bromine!). That being said, dilution and color matching is much more challenging to get an accurate result than with the titration/color change of the FAS-DPD test. Also, the shock levels above 60 CYA are greater than 25, so sometimes you are maxed out even with dilution. But, it's better than nothing until your kit arrives!

Good luck!
 
My responses in red....

romieb69 said:
I was not prepared for this.

You better get ready if you wanna do it right. Bleach, bleach, and a little more bleach.

I've only started Pool School mind you. I'm at war with this algae and have been frustrated with my lack of results in the last 48 hours.

It took a while to get this green, gonna take a while to make it not green again. Do the recommended steps exactly how it's outlined in pool school and you will not fail!

1. Pool boy stated it's basically what they used to do tests. I had to chime in... "Does that mean my pool is about to get more green"? Neither of us laughed. The kids did though.

:lol: and so did I!

2. Thoroughly vac'd the pool ......But no more grass, leaves or rocks.

This is a great first step!

3. Cleaned the cartridge ...Is this an OK practice?

Clean your cartridge when you notice a rise in pressure.

4. Made a drink. Read the directions on the lid several times. I can do this.

Yes you can!

5. Deep breath. Got my first test completed. pH = 7.2 I think. Okay. CYA = 80!!! SERIOUSLY!? It says to xfer the combined solution of water and Cyanuric Acid Reagent into the thingy until the black dot goes away. It's at 80! Getting nervous now. FC= either 0 or 1 .. hard to tell. I think it's 1.

pH 7.2 - that good!
CYA 80 - not so good but not detrimental. Just means you need to do one of two things: suck it up and use more bleach than you would have to if the CYA were lower OR do a partial drain/refill to lower the CYA level.
FC - 0 or maybe 1 - either way, get some bleach in there!

6. Going to the nifty pool calculator thing. Plug in my numbers. According to this thing I should have a min FC of 6, target FC of 9 and a shock FC of 31. No problem! Wait what? 172 oz of 8.25% bleach!? REALLY? These bottles are 64 oz bottles. I hesitantly dumped them in.

Hey, you get that part! That's great!

7. Looking to check FC again approx 1 hr later. HEY! It's RED! But wait the scale only goes to 10. Looks like the water color actually matches the 10 mark. Re-read the directions. It says here if the color is off the scale to repeat the test and only use 4.5 mL of pool water and then dilute to the 9 mL mark with tap water. I used bottled water. Now my color puts me at FC = 5. Hummm Ok so I guess my FC is 10. Will 44 more oz of bleach get me to FC @ 31?

Trust your self. Trust your results. Trust correctly entered information placed in pool math and do it!


Should I re-measure CYA? If you are confident that you did the test correctly, use your numbers and the advice above to either deal with it or lower it.

Can I re-measure CYA at this point? Can my shock level in such a small pool really be 31? Need a nod and a push at this point. :(
Click to expand...
You should study and understand THIS chart for Chlorine/CYA relationship.

and get another drink.
 

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The fas-dpd test is great and much easier to know your results because there's no color matching. You get your sample, put in a heaping scoop of powder and (assuming you have some chlorine in the water) it turns pink! Then you add drops of the solution in and count how many drops it takes to turn the water clear/colorless again. Divide drops in half and voilà, you have your FC! (20 drops would be 10FC) It's very simple and accurate. I think you'll like it!

I'm mainly commenting so I can be sure this thread is part of my subscribed list.

I especially enjoyed the part at the pool store when you asked about the water getting more green. I'd be giggling with the kids if I had overheard it!

Welcome to TFP! You're well on your way to your own trouble free pool.
 
Great stuff guys. I'm excited to be gaining a new understanding of all of this and I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting this water clear and getting those kids playing in their pool again! Can't thank you all enough for the directions, pointers, explanations and pushes in the right direction. I've spent a lot of hours today reading posts and looking at charts and google'ing terms (which bring me right back here)... I NEVER thought a simple 3800 gallon 'quick set' pool would be this complex but I'm learning and those kids are hovering over me asking me if I've got it figured out yet... so I have real motivation! To a 'newbie' like me, today has been filled with a lot of new information to the point of getting a little overwhelming. That said, I read in another post from a newbie today having a similar problem... and some advice was mentioned that really clicked with me... and it was simple. They said "it will start to make sense when you go do it". I totally embrace that concept. Hey ya never know, maybe when I learn to keep a kiddie pool in check maybe I'll have the confidence to drop the dollars it would take to dig a hole and have something built a little more permanent! Thanks again everyone ... I'll let ya'll know how things go tomorrow.
 
Like BEENS I'm mainly commenting to subscribe to the post. You already seem to have a grasp of all the required concepts, including the necessary bar tendering skills for maintaining a pool!

You said you needed to rig something up to vacuum gunk out of the pool. While you are waiting for the kit, now would be a good time to figure that out. A really great addition would be to figure a way with you plumbing to "vacuum to waste", I.e. Having the vacuumed water bypass the filter and just pour out wherever you want the disposed water to go. This has a twofold purpose, it gets the gunk out of your pool and removed the CYA laden water at the same time. I started with CYA above 200 and one of the methods I used to get it to my current low level of 80 is agressivly vacuuming to waste. I cleaned my pool and got rid of the bad water. But, with that being said I did start with a clean pool, not a swamp. I can handle the 80 CYA because I don't need to SLAM.

Good luck!

Oh yea, we do like before, during & after SLAM photos!
 
If you have a pool vacuum hose you can use the siphon method to vacuum to waste and get rid of some of the gunk while draining some of your water.

madwil said:
when I had a Intex, I used a standard vacuum head and hose, and set a syphon over the side instead of using the pump at all- as long as you don't mind watering the grass, and replacing water (same as vacuum to waste!)
fill hose with water- start at one end, attach to vacuum to weight/hold underwater.
push hose underwater along the length, so it fills entirely
when you reach the other end, water should bubble out of it
Hold both ends under water
grab the middle of the hose, throw it over the side so a loop is hanging lower than the water level in the pool
work back the length of the hose away from the vacuum head
throw the end on the ground where you want the water to drain
start to vacuum!
when done, lift vacuum out of water to break suction, and drain to other end so gunk doesn't come back into pool
Click to expand...
 

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