Ahhh RAIN!

[lynzizzle]

Soooo it's been raining here for just about 2 weeks straight, that being said, also insane amounts of humidity seeing as how it's still in the 80's. My pool was VERY MUCH filled but never overflowed ... I kept the pump running, and kept adding chlorine as the rain fell. Then all of a sudden my pool went from crystal clear to cloudy and green (in the deep end). However, the shallow end is still clear and blue. SO CONFUSED!

All that being said, once it stopped raining I checked the PH, which was super high (off the chart) so I added a gallon of 10.5, left to get MA, came back and added 1/2 gallon MA. PH came down to 7.6 and have been adding chlorine every couple hours since, to no avail.

Someone please help.

PH: 7.6
CYA: 50
CC: .5

Lots of brushing and backwashing happening.

 

[JVTrain]

How about your FC levels? Did they ever drop down too low during this rain spree? Usually rain doesn't affect chemistry levels too much, it's more often that rain affects pool owners not wanting to check chemistry. The high pH was likely due to the extra aeration provided by rain. Every drop that hits the pool aerates it a little bit. Hundreds of thousands of rain drops can aerate and drive pH up quickly, especially with moderately high TA levels. What is your current TA? Post a history of your FC as much as you can during the rain and your current TA level.

 

[lynzizzle]

FC did drop drastically one day (the heaviest of rain days. Literally poured for 3 hours straight to where I couldn't even see the pool!)

I'll post a complete spectrum of test results this evening.

 

[jblizzle]

Rain does not preempt the requirement to maintain adequate FC. If the FC dropped, then stuff could certainly start to grow.

 

[lynzizzle]

Test results and photos:

FC - 5
CC - .5
TA - 440
CA - 550
CYA - 50
PH - 8.2+

deep end

shallow end

Added another half gallon MA due to high PH at 6:20 pm


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[jblizzle]

OK, you lowered the pH. Verify the level in 30 minutes and then you need to get to SLAMing.

 

[lynzizzle]

PH - 8.2+ at 7:15

Added 2 gallons 10% and sent husband to store for more MA


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[JVTrain]

That TA is crazy high. Verify you're performing test correctly. If it is correct, your pH will rise rapidly with any aeration. SLAMing is most important now, but should address TA after.

 

[SunnyOptimism]

Agreed with JVTrain. With a TA that high, it's going to take A LOT of acid to reduce you pH and keep it down. That is why your acid demand is so crazy high - you add acid, the pH drops a bit and then it shoots right back up.

Killing the algae is your first order of business. You need to get your pumps running 24/7, add enough bleach to get you to shock levels and maintain those FC levels. First day or two are critical as you'll need to make FC measurements every two hours or so to keep your FC at the right level.

Keep an eye on your filter as well because you're going to want to backwash it to clear out the junk.

Once you get back to sparkly clear again, we can address the TA.


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[lynzizzle]

TA has always been that high and no one ever said anything about it before during or after my slam :-(


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[JVTrain]

TA has always been that high and no one ever said anything about it before during or after my slam :-(


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Went back and looked at your SLAM thread from starting out. It was high then too and should have been mentioned. The focus was on clearing the algae and things getting missed happens. Sorry.

Your pH was likely high quite often since the first SLAM?

 

[lynzizzle]

No not at all just after this huge rain


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[SunnyOptimism]

At this point TA should not be focused on. You need to kill the algae.

The high TA is only going to make it hard to keep your pH low. High TA means a larger acid demand to make your pH drop. We can fix that later.


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[SunnyOptimism]

One thing you can do while you SLAM - can you test your well water that you use for fill? I'm only asking because I'm wondering where the high TA is coming from....


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[lynzizzle]

How do I test my well water? Just do the TA test with hose water?

Added 1/2 gallon MA at 10:00 last night - Pump running continuously

This mornings FC reading: 20

Added 1 gal bleach

Will be backwashing this evening

 

[JVTrain]

Yep. Test the hose water. Let it run for several minutes, then collect water in a clean container. Rinse the container several times with the well water before filling.

 

[easttn]

Rain doesnt affect the chemistry levels much if your numbers are low numbers. In other words the farther away from 0ppm you get the more effect rain is has on it. If my pool results were TA 440 and CH 550, then an inch of rain would drop them to TA 430 and CH 537 and 3" of rain would drop them to TA 408 and CH 510. A pretty good difference but it wouldnt have affected my CYA level much and the FC alot less.
Play around with this calculator. It will give you a general idea of what happens.
http://jfhtm350.webs.com/pool/FillWaterCalculator.html

 

[lynzizzle]

Hose water TA = 580!!!!!!!


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[JVTrain]

Yikes. Likely means that each time you have to refill or add water, you'll go through quite a bit of acid to bring that number down. While it's high, you'll experience faster pH rises than normal with aeration. You said earlier that your pH rise wasn't very much. If you don't have any water falls or deck jets, your aeration will be low. The most aeration you'll get in that case is having swimmers in the pool splashing or as you have seen, rain causes alot of aeration. The rain chemistry itself doesn't drive the pH, it's the aeration and the outgassing of carbon dioxide as a result of the rain drops hitting the surface. High TA contributes to higher carbon dioxide outgassing, faster pH rises. That is why a TA of 100 or less is recommended for manually chlorinated pools and lower than that (50-70?) for SWCG pools, as the SWCG itself creates aeration while chlorinating.

EDIT: Rain water itself is usually very low in TA. If you have a way of collecting rain water and diverting into pool without it contaminating the pool with organics (like storing in barrels for too long or dragging particulates, dirt, etc.), that might be a good option for refilling pool. Obviously, it's hard to come by large quantities of rain water when you need it...

Funny how the rain water itself would be good for the pool, but the aeration it causes is bad for pH rise with high TA...

 

[JVTrain]

Also... as someone in the stone industry, Indiana is known for it's limestone deposits and quarries. It's a fantastic natural resource. However, it's likely the reason your groundwater TA is so high. Limestone is primarily made of calcium carbonate, one of the key contributors to TA in water. Since your local aquifers are in constant contact with this mineral, it drives the TA upward as it's dissolved in water.