Finally got my pool filled up. It's a 16 x 48. I went to a pool place in town and they told me what to add. I added 2 bags of shock, something for algae, and put a stabilizer in a sock hanging from the side. I did this all last night around 6. After we did this it poured down rain. We left the cover on also. This morning you can't see the bottom of the pool. It looks clean just not clear. This is my first pool so I'm not sure if this is normal. Does it take awhile for the shock to work? It was so pretty before I added chemicals. I did buy a test kit but haven't taken a reading this morning yet. Please help a newbie understand.
New pool
- Thread starter Msretail
- Start date
Would recommend to read the ABC's of pool,water chemistry in Pool School. You do not need powdered shock and it is probably why your once clear pool is now.... Cloudy. We use liquid bleach from the laundry aisle. You can learn about this in Pool School.
jtburf
0
Is your filter running?
It's very important for your equipment to run to both clean and distribute the chemicals.
Next with out knowing how or why do not just simply dump chemicals in you pool.
Get a test like the TF100, use pool math, read everything on this site you can find.
Also build your sig so we all know about your pool and the equipment included.
John
It's very important for your equipment to run to both clean and distribute the chemicals.
Next with out knowing how or why do not just simply dump chemicals in you pool.
Get a test like the TF100, use pool math, read everything on this site you can find.
Also build your sig so we all know about your pool and the equipment included.
John
What kind of shock (what does it say on the bags for chemical composition)? How much stabilizer did you put in the sock?
And, what exactly was the "something for algae"?
And, what exactly was the "something for algae"?
I put in the store's brand of algae prevention, 8 ounces. Not sure what the shock bag said, I've thrown the bag away and can't find it. I put 16 ounces of stabilizer in the sock. I took my water in to be tested before I added anything the chlorine level was low, and the ph was high. I did a test this morning and the ph was still over 8 and the chlorine level was not even on the scale. It was a orange color instead of yellow. I'm not sure what this means.
Powder shock is probably either dichlor (adds chlorine and stabilizer (CYA)) or cal hypo (adds chlorine and calcium). One-pound bags are common. Adding two pounds of either of these chemicals to your fairly small pool has probably put your chlorine levels into the 20+ range -- the orange color on the OTO test also suggests high chlorine levels. Do not swim in the pool at the moment. The chlorine levels will go down with sunlight and the passage of time.
It would be nice to know which kind of shock you put in -- if dichlor, it has already put stabilizer into your water, and the stabilizer in the sock is adding more. I don't think the total will be horrible (maybe into the 40+ ppm range, which is about as high as you want to get), but I'm only guessing at your pool volume.
Try looking at PoolMath http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html and play with the numbers yourself. There's a place, down near the bottom, where you can enter different quantities of different pool chemicals, and see how they will change your pool chemistry. Make sure you enter your pool's volume at the top of the calculator (no commas -- e.g. type '10000' NOT '10,000' for a 10,000 gallon pool).
pH, by the way, will not read accurately when free chlorine is above 10, so don't worry about the pH level you see at the moment.
edited to add: The fact that you see cloudiness leads me to guess that your shock was more likely cal hypo, and that you are seeing cloudiness from the calcium. If that doesn't clear up, lowering pH at some point in the future may help. If it were me, I would wait for the FC to come down, get an accurate pH reading, and proceed from there. Hopefully others more knowledgeable about the cloudiness issue will chime in...
Usually you just let it come down on its own. You can add hydrogen peroxide to lower it.
Why lower it? If it is to swim be aware that it is safe to swim with chlorine between minimum and shock level for you CYA level on the Chlorine CYA Chart
Why lower it? If it is to swim be aware that it is safe to swim with chlorine between minimum and shock level for you CYA level on the Chlorine CYA Chart
i took the sock out earlier because I was scared there was too much chlorine. I just did another test and now it is just clear no chlorine at all. My ph level shows pink an 8. I dropped 1 drop of the acid demand and it registered 7.4. So according to my test kit I should add 1/4 pint of muraic acid. Is this correct? My water is still cloudy. Should I add regular household bleach and if so how much. This is all so confusing. Please help!
f3justusc
Well-known member
Bleach IS chlorine. Adding bleach at this point will do nothing but make your chlorine level higher. At this point, I would leave the pool alone for a day and just run the pump and let the chlorine level come down on its own. As has been stated, your PH level is reading high because your chlorine level is so high. You can add muriatic acid to bring it down but then, you may have to raise it once your chlorine level is within range. Leaving it alone for a day is not a bad thing.
If you are certain that you CYA/stabilizer level needs to be raised, you can put the sock back in, it is not going to hurt anything. You definitely need to get your test kit out and learn how to it. It will definitely seem daunting at first but lots of people are here to help you. Once you use the kit, you will feel so much more in control of your pool and you will not need the pool store.
If you are certain that you CYA/stabilizer level needs to be raised, you can put the sock back in, it is not going to hurt anything. You definitely need to get your test kit out and learn how to it. It will definitely seem daunting at first but lots of people are here to help you. Once you use the kit, you will feel so much more in control of your pool and you will not need the pool store.
You need a test kit instead of a guess strip. You can get the best kit for your money at TFtestkits.net. If You do not educate yourself in pool school, we can only do so much until you're back at the pool store looking at the dude behind the counter like a deer in head lights.
Relax, and try testing your chlorine level again. I assume you are using an OTO test kit - where you have a container with two columns of water, and you add drops to one side to test chlorine, and different drops to the other side to test pH? Your earlier mention of seeing orange on the chlorine test led me to that assumption. It seems very unlikely that the high levels of chlorine you measured yesterday after adding the two bags of shock would disappear so quickly in a newly filled pool.
Just a comment on lowering pH, if you find you need to do that down the road. I wouldn't mess with muriatic acid for a small seasonal pool. It's nasty stuff to handle, so unless you are already comfortable with MA, you may find it easier to use "dry acid" or "pH down" from the pool supply section. Dry acid adds other chemicals to the water, and so isn't generally recommended here, but for a seasonal pool this doesn't matter as much.
First things first, though - determine your chlorine level, and add plain bleach if it has indeed dropped too low. Find out what kind of shock you put in (e.g. look at the same product at the store you bought it), so you know whether you have stabilizer (CYA) in the pool. While CYA levels are low, you have to check chlorine levels, and bump up as needed, more frequently.
Start reading in Pool School, so you understand what you're measuring, and why you should, sooner rather than later, get one of the recommended test kits. Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions!
Just a comment on lowering pH, if you find you need to do that down the road. I wouldn't mess with muriatic acid for a small seasonal pool. It's nasty stuff to handle, so unless you are already comfortable with MA, you may find it easier to use "dry acid" or "pH down" from the pool supply section. Dry acid adds other chemicals to the water, and so isn't generally recommended here, but for a seasonal pool this doesn't matter as much.
First things first, though - determine your chlorine level, and add plain bleach if it has indeed dropped too low. Find out what kind of shock you put in (e.g. look at the same product at the store you bought it), so you know whether you have stabilizer (CYA) in the pool. While CYA levels are low, you have to check chlorine levels, and bump up as needed, more frequently.
Start reading in Pool School, so you understand what you're measuring, and why you should, sooner rather than later, get one of the recommended test kits. Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions!
Hey Msretail, how's it going with the pool? Hope you've had a chance to enjoy the water, not just worry about chemistry ��
Finally have my chlorine levels right and my ph right. I was able to float yesterda. It was great! Today rain all day. ? Do you test your water on rainy days, and do you run your pump? I thought I should run the pump. I just don't want to get it out of whack. Water is still a little cloudy but was clearing up. Now with the rain not sure what it will do. Also another question. With above ground pools do you keep your covers on? We have a lot of trees around us so it has made it easier to keep debris out. By the way thanks for all the help you guys have given. I couldn't have done this much without you.
f3justusc
Well-known member
I have found that normal amounts of rain have little impact on my chemistry. My pump is on a timer and therefore, it runs everyday rain or shine, which feeds a constant stream of chlorine.
I basically live in a forest in Florida. The trees drop junk when it rains and they bloom when it shine. We repeat this process everyday so my cover, cut into strips for easier removal, is always on the pool if it is not being used. My robot is also always close to the pool because the "tree junk" always finds a way into the pool. I accept this as my fate.
I run my pump/filter every day - on a timer.
I don't have an automatic chlorinator, so I manually add chlorine every day. Most days I test, and then add what is needed to keep me in the sweet spot.
However, I write down all of my test results and what I then added. I know what my pool needs on average. If the weather is bad, I don't bother to test, I just add the "normal" dose of bleach and call it done. If the weather is REALLY bad, I don't even go out to the pool shed for the day. I keep my normal FC levels high enough that I can miss a day (or two) and have no worries - especially if the weather is bad so there is no sun and nobody is swimming (I loose about 1.0 ppm of FC per day on average).
-dave
I don't have an automatic chlorinator, so I manually add chlorine every day. Most days I test, and then add what is needed to keep me in the sweet spot.
However, I write down all of my test results and what I then added. I know what my pool needs on average. If the weather is bad, I don't bother to test, I just add the "normal" dose of bleach and call it done. If the weather is REALLY bad, I don't even go out to the pool shed for the day. I keep my normal FC levels high enough that I can miss a day (or two) and have no worries - especially if the weather is bad so there is no sun and nobody is swimming (I loose about 1.0 ppm of FC per day on average).
-dave