still green after 5 days argh!

[tachmedic]

this is my 1st year of opening my pool. took the cover off and WOW! clear water, just a few leaves at the bottom. very impressed! got my pump situted and ready to go, and as i was making sure all the parts were tight, the freak'n sand filter drain plug cracked! so over a 2 week wait period for the new part to come in my now full pool turned into kermits summer get away! had the water prefessionaly analyzed and is as follows:

FC: 3 (free chlorine)
TAC: 3 (total available chlorine)
Salt: 700(way low)
CH: 125 (calcium hardness)
CYA: 0
TA: 70 (total alk)
PH: 7.2
phosphates: 500 '

I added:
250lbs of salt (was doopted into thinking that 50lb bag "was all i needed last year by the pool seller" psht!
21lbs of calcium chloride circulated retested and
added 5.1lb of sodium bicarb
along with adding a total of 2 gallons of bleach over the last 4 days
according to my testing the ph is high 8ish, chlorine greater than 5
day 3 i added green to clear and then added 72 oz of bleach at the time they suggested, i have had my pump going arouind the clock, and my lil pool bot has been running ruffly 6 hours a day to aide in the circulation of the water
*but my water still has a greenish tent and very cloudy

am i just inpatient or should i take a diff route!?!

 

[Azgirl71]

I am sorry you went green waiting on the part. What is your CC?i am assuming your CA is really CYA.

My pool is much smaller and took 13 days to SLAM. I followed the SLAM procedure exactly. I only added bleach, nothing else.

 

[Patrick_B]

Azgirl is right, please break down your Chlorine readings in FC and CC so that we know for sure. We will have to assume 0 CC with TAC and FC at 3, but we want to be sure to help you as best as we can.

Welcome to the forum, we can help you fix this.

 

[jblizzle]

So, a couple problems here:
1. Trusting "professionally analyzed water" ... unless you are the professional, the test results are suspect. You need to invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits if you want to truly take control.

2. The recommendation they made are not good.
2a. There is never a need to add calcium to a vinyl pool.
2b. Your TA was fine, so no need for the baking soda.
2c. Algaecides are not recommended and not the right tool for the job.
2d. You need to get some CYA in the water to protect the FC from the sun.
2e. You need a LOT more chlorine ... at least they recommended bleach.

We recommend following the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process to clear up a pool which requires a good test kit and maintaining elevated FC levels at shock level (which is a function of your CYA, see FC/CYA Chart).

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[Azgirl71]

I say a SLAM is what is going to help you. We need a CYA though to figure out your SLAM shock level. A SLAM is a process not a overnight cure. It will require patience and time on your part.

Your signature says you have a TF 100, is this what you used to get your professional numbers?

 

[tachmedic]

azgirl.. i took my water to a pool store, for the results..... i am editing my post to show the right abreviations..... also they didnt recomend bleach, i got that from here, they recomended shock packs, but from pool school i learned the better and cheaper way.

 

[Azgirl71]

Ok. So you do have the TF100 and are following the TFP methods correct?

 

[ivyleager]

Well, since you have the "shock packs", what type of chlorine is it? Read the ingredients carefully. IF just straight dichlor, that has both chlorine and CYA. You can use that because your CYA is non-existent. It will add a bit of CYA, probably not nearly enough that you'll need to get to your recommended level, but enough now to hold onto the chlorine to make it more effective. Just my 2 cents.

 

[tachmedic]

i didnt use their shock packs... i use liquid bleach and my cl is as high as it will show

 

[tachmedic]

Correct azgirl71

 

[Patrick_B]

Correct azgirl71

Please post a full set of test results with your TF 100 so we can guide you properly. No reason to get store results when you have one, and they don't suggest Bleach because most of them don't sell it. We can't guide you with their numbers to complete a SLAM on your pool.

 

[pooldv]

Jason covered it all in post #4.