Hi there!
We just bought a house with a pool in St. Cloud, FL. After sitting vacant for 5 years, we were lucky to not find "Major" problems with the pool, other than a green swamp. Following a friend's advice, we "shocked" the pool and cleared it up in about a week.
Finding TFP has been a blessing. There's so much to learn!
Here's what we've done so far:
(All the pool details are in the signature)
1. We had Pinch a Penny come look at the pool and its components. They determined that there was something wrong with the filter and it needed to be replaced. (Original filter from 1996). We had them replace it. (Thanks Dad for the housewarming present!)
2. A friend gave me a "bucket" of granulated "TriChlor" and I've been putting in a "scoop" every week. Except for last week, when I put in a gallon of 8.25% bleach. I still have half a bucket of the granulated stuff that I'd like to use up. Maybe someone can tell me if it's worth it or not.
3. My husband fixed a small leak.
4. We replaced the lightbulbs and installed new drain covers in both the pool and the spa.
5. There seems to be a seal leak in the pump. We believe it will need to be replaced eventually since this is probably the original pump from 1996.
6. We fought off an annoying mustard algae bloom with daily brushing and lots of chlorine. **When the bloom first started, Pinch a Penny sold me a bottle of "All in One" and instructed me to put half of the bottle in and run it overnight. I did, but honestly don't think it did anything other than foam up the pool three days later. Fortunately, the foam went away after we put the weekly dose of chlorine.
7. The automatic cleaner is connected once a week (the day I add chlorine) and left to do its job for about 30 minutes.
8. Current challenge: STAINS - There's rust stains from "nails" that fell in during the boarding process. There's also some stains that look like mustard algae that doesn't brush off. These are mostly on the walls of the spa and on the curved part where the walls meet the bottom of the pool. In addition, there's a white line on the tiles in the spa.
9. Another challenge: ANTS - They love to gather around on the tiles and inevitably end up floating on my pool. Yuck! I'm having to hose off the cartridge almost on a daily basis.
10. Might be important to note: The skimmer is currently missing the "flapper/weir" door as well as a skimmer basket. I will be ordering those online soon.
11. The timer is not functioning properly and will be replaced soon so in the meantime we are turning the pool on and off manually. We usually run it from 3-5 hours a day (in the afternoon).
I will be ordering a test kit soon but, for now, I've been getting my water tested at Pinch a Penny.
Here's the latest test results:
Total Chlorine - 10.0 ppm (High)
Free Chlorine - 10.0 ppm (High)
Combined Chlorine - 0
pH - 7.6
Acid Demand - not tested
Base Demand - not tested
Total Alkalinity - 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness - 165 ppm
Stabilizer - 80 ppm
Total Dissolved Solids - not tested
Salt - N/A
I was told to add "Calcium Hardness" since my calcium is low, however, I did not buy the product and I'm hoping to balance it out another way. (Haven't learned how yet)
I'm wondering if what they call Stabilizer is the same as CYA?
Although there are no water heaters now, there are traces of a previous solar water heater and a gas water heater as well. There's also a chlorinator that is not connected and after reading some articles here, I'm thinking twice about getting it re-connected.
All comments and advice will be greatly encouraged and appreciated. I will take ALL the help I can get!
Thanks in Advance!
We just bought a house with a pool in St. Cloud, FL. After sitting vacant for 5 years, we were lucky to not find "Major" problems with the pool, other than a green swamp. Following a friend's advice, we "shocked" the pool and cleared it up in about a week.
Finding TFP has been a blessing. There's so much to learn!
Here's what we've done so far:
(All the pool details are in the signature)
1. We had Pinch a Penny come look at the pool and its components. They determined that there was something wrong with the filter and it needed to be replaced. (Original filter from 1996). We had them replace it. (Thanks Dad for the housewarming present!)
2. A friend gave me a "bucket" of granulated "TriChlor" and I've been putting in a "scoop" every week. Except for last week, when I put in a gallon of 8.25% bleach. I still have half a bucket of the granulated stuff that I'd like to use up. Maybe someone can tell me if it's worth it or not.
3. My husband fixed a small leak.
4. We replaced the lightbulbs and installed new drain covers in both the pool and the spa.
5. There seems to be a seal leak in the pump. We believe it will need to be replaced eventually since this is probably the original pump from 1996.
6. We fought off an annoying mustard algae bloom with daily brushing and lots of chlorine. **When the bloom first started, Pinch a Penny sold me a bottle of "All in One" and instructed me to put half of the bottle in and run it overnight. I did, but honestly don't think it did anything other than foam up the pool three days later. Fortunately, the foam went away after we put the weekly dose of chlorine.
7. The automatic cleaner is connected once a week (the day I add chlorine) and left to do its job for about 30 minutes.
8. Current challenge: STAINS - There's rust stains from "nails" that fell in during the boarding process. There's also some stains that look like mustard algae that doesn't brush off. These are mostly on the walls of the spa and on the curved part where the walls meet the bottom of the pool. In addition, there's a white line on the tiles in the spa.
9. Another challenge: ANTS - They love to gather around on the tiles and inevitably end up floating on my pool. Yuck! I'm having to hose off the cartridge almost on a daily basis.
10. Might be important to note: The skimmer is currently missing the "flapper/weir" door as well as a skimmer basket. I will be ordering those online soon.
11. The timer is not functioning properly and will be replaced soon so in the meantime we are turning the pool on and off manually. We usually run it from 3-5 hours a day (in the afternoon).
I will be ordering a test kit soon but, for now, I've been getting my water tested at Pinch a Penny.
Here's the latest test results:
Total Chlorine - 10.0 ppm (High)
Free Chlorine - 10.0 ppm (High)
Combined Chlorine - 0
pH - 7.6
Acid Demand - not tested
Base Demand - not tested
Total Alkalinity - 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness - 165 ppm
Stabilizer - 80 ppm
Total Dissolved Solids - not tested
Salt - N/A
I was told to add "Calcium Hardness" since my calcium is low, however, I did not buy the product and I'm hoping to balance it out another way. (Haven't learned how yet)
I'm wondering if what they call Stabilizer is the same as CYA?
Although there are no water heaters now, there are traces of a previous solar water heater and a gas water heater as well. There's also a chlorinator that is not connected and after reading some articles here, I'm thinking twice about getting it re-connected.
All comments and advice will be greatly encouraged and appreciated. I will take ALL the help I can get!
Thanks in Advance!
