It's been a while since I have written here and I really thought I had mostly BBB down. It seems that I am just catching things before they got really bad. Through the fun and games so far the CYA is 40, Alkalinity 100, hardness around 80, and PH around 7.4.
When I vacuumed the pool Sunday, after skipping a week, I noticed two small green spots that might have been algae. I first added a full dose of Polyquat. I reread the guidelines on FC levels and realized that I had been running on the low side. My around 7:00 PM CF levels have been in the 2.5 to 3 range. I usually added about 14 oz of 6% bleach according to the Pool Calculator to supposedly bring the level to 4.
Sunday I realized that I should not have been letting the level get lower than 3. Since the FC was at 2.5 I added 10 oz to get past FC 3 and another 14 oz which is what the pool was using almost every day.
Monday at 8:00 PM I got the surprise that my FC was 1.5 even though I had put more bleach in than usual. I have read enough here to realize that I probably had stuff growing in the water even though it is crystal clear. It was time to hit it hard. I added 132 oz of 6% bleach hoping to get to a FC of 16.
Tuesday at 10:40 AM I tested FC at 9. I should mention that I got this number using a one year old Taylor/Leslie's DPD test key. To measure the higher numbers I am using the shot glass method diluting my pool water by 1:1 or 2:1 with distilled water as appropriate.
Tuesday at 3:15 PM I measured FC at 12. below the Shock level of 15 the pool calculator recommends. I was using this as a project to teach my 10 YO son problem solving and he noticed that the Mustard Algae shock level is 24. He said we should shoot for that. I don't really know how to tell mustard from other algae, so I went along with it. I added 109 oz of 6% bleach. This should have brought FC to 24.
AM I going too far with the bleach? With my current tools I don't think I can test with any confidence past 15. I have probably rendered the pool unswimmable past the coming weekend.
Regards, John Luke
When I vacuumed the pool Sunday, after skipping a week, I noticed two small green spots that might have been algae. I first added a full dose of Polyquat. I reread the guidelines on FC levels and realized that I had been running on the low side. My around 7:00 PM CF levels have been in the 2.5 to 3 range. I usually added about 14 oz of 6% bleach according to the Pool Calculator to supposedly bring the level to 4.
Sunday I realized that I should not have been letting the level get lower than 3. Since the FC was at 2.5 I added 10 oz to get past FC 3 and another 14 oz which is what the pool was using almost every day.
Monday at 8:00 PM I got the surprise that my FC was 1.5 even though I had put more bleach in than usual. I have read enough here to realize that I probably had stuff growing in the water even though it is crystal clear. It was time to hit it hard. I added 132 oz of 6% bleach hoping to get to a FC of 16.
Tuesday at 10:40 AM I tested FC at 9. I should mention that I got this number using a one year old Taylor/Leslie's DPD test key. To measure the higher numbers I am using the shot glass method diluting my pool water by 1:1 or 2:1 with distilled water as appropriate.
Tuesday at 3:15 PM I measured FC at 12. below the Shock level of 15 the pool calculator recommends. I was using this as a project to teach my 10 YO son problem solving and he noticed that the Mustard Algae shock level is 24. He said we should shoot for that. I don't really know how to tell mustard from other algae, so I went along with it. I added 109 oz of 6% bleach. This should have brought FC to 24.
AM I going too far with the bleach? With my current tools I don't think I can test with any confidence past 15. I have probably rendered the pool unswimmable past the coming weekend.
Regards, John Luke
