Green Swamp progress

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jmitchell151

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May 12, 2015
27
Augusta, GA
I didn't close my pool down over the winter since I had the wrong size cap for my skimmer...no cover, no chemicals...

The science project grew lots of interesting aquatic life including some kind of gray worms and little tadpole looking creatures plus LOTS of algae!!! The pool was really dark green when I started to follow the directions on this site for turning your swamp into a crystal clear pool.

I have an above ground pool that is 18x33 oval and 44" deep with a sand filter. There is also copper ionization system which I don't think has ever worked properly.

First I adjusted the pH 7.2. I added 4 lbs of CYA to bring the level to ~40ppm. Next I added 3x121oz of 8.25% bleach to get to approximately 12 ppm FC. I checked every 30 minutes to keep the FC at the 12 ppm level for the first 4 hours. The water quickly went from a dark green to a white-gray. After 2 days I had added a total of 9 121oz 8.25% bleach containers. I continued to add 2-3 bleach jugs a day. Yesterday I let the bottom vacuum run and there were still quite a few leaves in the bottom. I also scraped the bottom of the pool really good. The water seemed to turn a bit more green. As of this evening I have added a total of 19 121oz bleach containers.

This evening I got my FAS-DPD kit which confirmed the dilution i was doing was giving approximately the correct readings. FC is dropping about 4 ppm per day. FC was 7.5ppm and CC 0.5. The pool is still very cloudy and you can only see down 8-12 inches.

Is the progress that I am seeing normal? How long should it take for my sand filter to get the water clear after all the algae is dead? Thanks in advance for any advice and help you can provide.
 
Re: I'm trying hard...

Welcome to the forum :wave:

Its really hard to say how long the clearing will take once it's all dead but this isn't unusual. When they get bad like this, it just takes time, and lots of FC.

The key is keeping the FC at...or just above SLAM level as much as you possibly can. As often as you can to be sure you minimize dropping below SLAM value. Letting it slip to 7.5 costs you more time because the Algae is constantly fighting back and trying to grow. Keep the SLAM value as best you can, and it will get better.
 
I measured the FC this morning around 7:30 and it was at 16 + 0.5-1.0 CC. I left the bottom vacuum running all day as there are still a few leaves on the bottom of the pool. Tonight when is measured the FC around 22:00 it was 7.5 with CC of 0.5-1.0. The water looks more white than it did yesterday. Tomorrow marks 1 week since I've started the process.

Is it normal to still see such a large drop in FC during the course of the day after almost one week of trying to maintain the SLAM target?

Should my FC target be 16 or 12? I was originally targeting 12 but with further reading it seems like 16 is the right target. My CYA is 40.

Where can I find DE to add to my sand filter? I would like to speed up the filtering process.

Any other recommendations to make this go faster?

Thanks!!!
 
jmitchell151 said:
I measured the FC this morning around 7:30 and it was at 16 + 0.5-1.0 CC. I left the bottom vacuum running all day as there are still a few leaves on the bottom of the pool. Tonight when is measured the FC around 22:00 it was 7.5 with CC of 0.5-1.0. The water looks more white than it did yesterday. Tomorrow marks 1 week since I've started the process.

Is it normal to still see such a large drop in FC during the course of the day after almost one week of trying to maintain the SLAM target?

Should my FC target be 16 or 12? I was originally targeting 12 but with further reading it seems like 16 is the right target. My CYA is 40.

Where can I find DE to add to my sand filter? I would like to speed up the filtering process.

Any other recommendations to make this go faster?

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
16 is the correct shock level for 40 CYA. Seeing drops in FC is not only common,we want to see it. That shows we are killing something. The loss will get smaller as time goes on because there will be less to kill.

This early in the SLAM would not be advisable to add DE to your sand filter. That is something you do at the very end after your CC are less than .5 and you pass OCLT and are just looking to help clear the water.
 
Welcome, jmitchell!
You mentioned there are still leaves at the bottom. This could slow you down a good deal because the chlorine will also be trying to break down those leaves, so do try to get them out using a leaf rake ;)

You mentioned checking your FC in the morning then at night -- having dipped way below the slam level. While in the beginning of a slam its indeed normal to lose that much, you don't WANT to be ;).

For any kind of Slam, but especially a swampy slam, its important to remember to Maintain! Every minute you spend at LESS than your Slam/shock value allows algae to outpace you. (So yesterday you may have spent half the day not really being in slam mode.)

So even if you're at work, if you can get home for a lunch break to bring the FC back up to your target that will speed things up.

Another thing that would help is to dose a few ppm higher than your required slam level. And on the weekend, hit it hard every 2 hours checking and bringing it back up until it holds longer and longer.

These things will all make it go much faster!
Cheers to a clear pool soon.
 
Thanks for the tips. I've tried to get all the leaves out that I can and the water is back to more of a grayish-white. Overnight the FC dips very little (from 18 to 17.5) but during the day I'm seeing a drop down to around 7 or 8 by the time I get home from work. I don't think the sunlight of the day is causing that much of a difference in the drop. What are your thoughts as to why I'm seeing such a drastic drop during the day but not at night?

Thanks,

Jason
 
During the day you will see more loss as the bleach/ FC is doing its job eating the algae and the sun will take some too. You will reach a point where you have better holds. You will only lose 2-4ppms. Once you know all the leaves ect are out it should move a little quicker since there will be nothing for the FC to eat.
 
Ok, so yesterday I tried really hard to get this thing done. I bumped the FC to 17 around 8 AM and brushed the pool good. I also raked to get as many leaves as possible out (not too many left in). Below is the results through the day. Now the good news is the pool is looking better - the bad news is in one day I used up all my titrating reagent!!! So now all I have left is my yellow (OTO?) test. What I've been doing is a 1:4 dilution with this test so I can get it approximate reading of the FC level. Based on this, I think I may have passed my OCLT test last night...but of course it's not very accurate. More titrating reagent will be here Tuesday evening. What can I do in the meantime to ensure I don't lose the progress made?

8:00 AM 17
12:30 13.5, added 121 oz 8.25% bleach
1:20 18
2:20 14, added 121oz
2:50 19.5, CC<0.5
3:30 18.5, brushed pool again
4:20 17, added 60 oz bleach. This was the last accurate reading obtained
5:30 ~17 (titrated a 1:4 dilution, 8 drops left the sample with very slight pink tint)
9:00 OTO test on 1:4 dilution looked approximately the same as it did at 5:30

This morning 7 AM, OTO test looked same as last night on 1:4 dilution. I added 121 oz of bleach anyway.

Thanks for your tips!!!

Jason
 

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Just got back from the pool store because the told me that had some of they R-0871 in stock (they didn't). I took a sample for testing while I was there and let them know I was expecting the FC to be in the neighborhood of 15 ppm. Got my results back with a FC of 5. They also told me my CYA was 0, even though I added 4 pounds a week ago. I told him this and he replied that the numbers don't lie. So glad I've done a little reading on this website so I know not to listen to them! The guy in front of me told them his pool was green - his FC was 0 and the guys advice was to do a floc treatment...

Anyway, I have no idea what my FC is. I'm certain they were just reporting 5 because that's the max reading on the test they did. By my estimate using a 1:4 dilution and the OTO test I'm trying to keep things on the plus side of 16 until the titrant I ordered gets in. I've added a total of 3x121 oz of bleach today as that was what I was averaging a couple of days ago.

Can anyone suggest a better strategy for me until I know what my actual FC levels are again? I don't want to lose the progress I've made so far, nor do I want to overdose on chlorine so much that it creates a problem.

Thanks,

Jason
 
Got my titrating reagent yesterday and the pool was at 10.5. I bumped it up using 242 oz 8.25% bleach. Tested the pool at midnight and it was 18.5. This morning a little before 7 AM is was still 18.5 and CC is <0.5. I think that means I passed my OCLT?!? The water is still very cloudy, but I have a sand filter. Since the water is not clear does that mean I still need to maintain the SLAM level until the pool clears? Can I add something to speed it up? The bad news is I'm going out of town for a week+ on Friday. I do have someone who will be able to check the pool once a day for me at least.
 
Well if your CYA is 40, you could use some pucks in a floater till you get back. I'm not sure on the exact amount of cya each puck adds, but maybe someone here can tell us. Going up toward 50 isn't the worst thing.
 
jmitchell151 said:
I think I have someone who can keep adding bleach for me once a day - what level do they need to maintain if the pool is still cloudy?
Click to expand...
How much have you been adding? I have found it easier when someone is doing it for me to just leave pre-measured bottles and ask them ot pour one in a day. If you have been putting in 1/2 a bottle a day, set up 7 bottles, half full.

When you get back (please don't do this while you are away) You can try adding DE to your sand filter so it filters smaller particles and clears the pool faster. I actually use cellulose fiber DE replacement powder.
 
tim5055 said:
How much have you been adding? I have found it easier when someone is doing it for me to just leave pre-measured bottles and ask them ot pour one in a day. If you have been putting in 1/2 a bottle a day, set up 7 bottles, half full.

When you get back (please don't do this while you are away) You can try adding DE to your sand filter so it filters smaller particles and clears the pool faster. I actually use cellulose fiber DE replacement powder.
Click to expand...

I've been adding 3 x 121 oz per day to keep it at 16 ppm. Do I need to keep it that high now or can I let it drift down even though it's not clear yet? I did pass the OCLT last night.
 

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