Ready for War

[jcowart]

Yes, you don't want to fall under 24 very long. If you over shoot thats fine. More does not really mean it will work faster. Way more will waist chlorine to the sun. When you first start you may see a big drop between test. That's why it was good you started on the weekend. You can test more often. As it starts to hold you can go longer between test. Algae forms a cover around its self. That's why you need to brush like your doing. It can get in light housings and also be behind the weir door of your skimmer. It only takes one spot forgotten to mess the slam up. Check everything. Also contrary to what the pool store says. You can swim up to shock level.

 

[kimkats]

So long as you can see the boys under water it should be safe for them to swim IF your FC/CYA is just under SLAM level.

Safety first and always with the boys.

3&4?? Boys?? You poor thing LOL! I teach Kindergarten so KNOW what you are talking about. Try 18 5&6 yr olds at one time! My poor ears LOL BUt I love it!

Kim

 

[jaja06]

Saturday 3/21 4:15pm
FC - 23
CC - I messed it up this time (added 5 drops of 0003 like normal, but then I mindlessly started adding 5 drops of 0871). I think I'll stop bothering with the CC though until I think I'm ready to stop the SLAM.

Added a gallon of chlorine to try to keep it up for a few more hours of sun and algae killing. I'll check again after 7:30 when the sun goes down. 1 gallon adds 6-7 ppm of FC so that seemed reasonable to me. Looks like about 5ppm was used from 2-4pm! Earlier today it was only about 1ppm used per hour. Probably because of the more intense sun in the afternoon?

The previous owners seem to have caulked the pool light in place (but the caulk is now partly gone) and my husband was having trouble getting it out. You think it'd be ok for him to get in the pool for a couple minutes if he showers right after, so that he can get better leverage?

Kim, oh that's awesome, I hope we can get them in the pool Monday or Tuesday then! The boys are such a blast but quite a handful sometimes. I always marvel at you early-education teachers!! I can barely get through a meal with 2 of them, so I have no idea how you can survive a whole day with 18, over and over again!

 

[kimkats]

Just make sure hubby wears something that he does not care about!

You could have him do it a couple of hours after you added chlorine. The water is safe to swim in IF your FC/CYA is UNDER the SLAM amount.

I have taught Kdg. for 30 years. I think I have another d 5 yrs in me. At least that is what I say today after being on Spring Break for the whole week LOL.

I would not worry about the CC like you say. Just FC for right now.

Kim

 

[Patrick_B]

Yep, Kim is right, forget the CC for now...absolutely.

 

[jaja06]

OK no more CC right now. The most time consuming/annoying part of this is getting the right amount for the sample. I either dump out like 2 drops at a time and take forever, or I accidentally dump out too much and have to start over.

Saturday 3/21 7:45pm
FC - 26.5

Haven't decided what to do next - leave it be and check in the morning to see how it's going, or go ahead and add chlorine to make sure it doesn't drop below 24 overnight?

- - - Updated - - -

Looking at last night, FC was at 21, I added a gallon which should have raised it to around 28, and then in the morning it was 27.5. So maybe I'll leave it for tonight?

 

[kimkats]

It is up to you BUT the more/longer you have it at SLAM level the "faster" it will go. Notice that faster is not really fast in a SLAM

Kim

 

[jaja06]

OK, I'll add 1/2 of gallon chlorine now then. I'm not in a huge rush, but I do want to make sure it actually works. Even if I didn't lose any tonight I'd probably still be inclined to give it another day of shock level FC just to make sure.

 

[jaja06]

Well good thing I did add some chlorine before bed.

Sunday 3/22 7:15am
FC - 23.5

This was the first time though I wasn't quite sure of my endpoint with the FC test. I do know it was at least 23. I added a whole gallon of chlorine because I'm starting to get worried that I'll run out of reagent before my refill comes so I want to try not to test too much today (I ordered Friday night with USPS shipping, so not sure if it might have been shipped yesterday?). I'm probably down to a little more than 1/3 bottle.

I brushed again and today I noticed the styrofoam in the skimmer door was coated with green. I didn't see a way to take that piece out to replace it, but you gotta love google! Pull it out and replace it with a piece of pool noodle I'll try to get that done today.

 

[Patrick_B]

If it doesn't work you can pick those up pretty cheaply.

Push your FC endpoint until it is clear and stays clear for several (7 or 8 seconds) and it's done.

After several more, it will turn pink again, but this is normal.

 

[kimkats]

Good that you found that on the door. I can't wait to hear what the light looks like or rather inside it. I bet that will be a source of some algae.

Kim

 

[jaja06]

Got a new floater on the skimmer door today. My husband got in the pool and tried to get the light out and said it isn't going to budge. Screws are stripped, etc

Added 1 gal Cl at 10:30 and again at 2:30 but I didn't test again until the sun went down.

Sunday 3/22 7:30pm
FC - 25

Glad my guessing game worked out well today. I'll add a gallon to keep it up for the night and check again in the morning.

 

[kimkats]

okay so here is my idea for the light-------------------turkey baster with chlorine in it to squirt RIGHT into the area around the light. Just an idea to make sure you get ALL of the algae gone.

When it warms up maybe he can keep working on it a little at a time to get it out. Pliers, easy out, ect to get it out.

Kim

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

You might as well keep at it with the light as you'll need to get it out sooner or later and sooner would be better for getting the pool clean.
That why when it goes back in you'll use something that makes the next removal easier.

 

[jaja06]

Monday 3/23 7:20am
FC - 30 (This was from a diluted sample - 50/50 well water and pool water. I'm getting really paranoid about running out of reagent)

Thinking out loud here: I have to go to work and won't be home until at least 4:30. I don't think I lost much Cl last night, so I'm hopeful that we're almost done, but obviously I want to keep going today and then I'll try the OCLT tonight. Looking at yesterday, I added 3 gallons Cl and went up 1.5ppm Cl throughout the day...so it used roughly 18 ppm during the day. On Saturday I added 2 gal and lost 1ppm, so used about 14ppm that day. I'm starting around 30 today so I think adding 1.5 gal (~10ppm) should hold me above/around 24 through the day. Looks like we're supposed to be a little more cloudy today too, not sure how much difference that makes.

Kim, I was thinking something along those lines for getting Cl into that light! I don't have a turkey baster (every Nov I think I really should get one...). Maybe I'll splurge and get one now I'll talk to hubby more about exactly what the problem was and if there's anything we can do. He's pretty persistent though and likes to please me, so I believe him when he said it wasn't going to happen. Maybe we'll have to do a partial drain to get a power tool in there. I was also considering re-sealing it with caulk (I thought I remembered that it's possible to use a certain kind of caulk under water?) as a temporary fix until we re-do the pool/patio.

 

[kimkats]

I have never used this but....................this is what I found when I typed in underwater putty.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1390299

The BEST thing would be to get the light out. After that put chlorine around light and use this putty as a temp fix.

Kim

 

[jaja06]

Looks like my reagent will be here Wednesday. I'm hoping I have enough to test again in the morning. So these are both based on diluted samples:

Monday 3/23 7:15pm
FC - 24

Added .5 gal Cl in case we do lose some tonight. But I'm going to do an OCLT so I checked again to get an accurate baseline:

Monday 3/23 9:00pm
FC - 27.5

We'll see what the morning brings!

 

[jaja06]

Getting close?

Tuesday 3/24 7:15am
FC - 25

Lost 2.5 ppm Cl overnight. Added 2 gal to keep it up for the day again while I'm at work.

I talked to hubby more about the light. I asked if there was any way to get it out and he said he'd have to drain the pool to get power tools at it. I asked about sealing it with caulk/putty and he didn't think that would seal it. But at least now he knows how much I want it out or at least sealed and he'll be thinking of any other ideas. I explained that even with the high Cl the algae will keep itself protected unless we can physically brush it. And based on how the skimmer looked, and the fact that when there was visible algae in the pool it usually also showed up on/around the light, I can just imagine what it looks like behind there. I'll see if I can stop and get a turkey baster today at least...

 

[pooldv]

I am going to say this just to be on the safe side, I'm sure your hubby knows. You cannot do a partial drain and use power tools. It is either a partial drain and battery operated tools or full drain and power tools. End of public service announcement.

 

[jaja06]

Oh he did say "drain the pool" and I'm the one who assumed partially (as in below the level of the light). And I was also assuming battery operated tools are a category of power tools. Is my girl-ness showing?? Thanks for making it clear though - safety is always the priority!