Algae Help!

[poolmom21]

And if you do, expect to be buying $$$ worth of "try this and come back if it doesn’t take care of it".
Know what you’re putting in your pool. Know why. We will help!

It’s what we’ve all learned here and are happy and proud to have pools that look like this:

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).

How clear should my water be? A very common question. Here is mine on a calm morning where I could finally vacuum. Yes I know, I'm still manually vacuuming. It took me 7 years to finally get an SWG, I'm working on a robot. :) So now let's see your water clarity.

www.troublefreepool.com

EDIT: Just saw your reply! Can see you’re onboard! Welcome!

Wow! I just saw some crystal clear pools!!! Never has my pool been that clear In the 8 years I’ve been having it serviced.

 

[poolmom21]

And if you do, expect to be buying $$$ worth of "try this and come back if it doesn’t take care of it".
Know what you’re putting in your pool. Know why. We will help!

It’s what we’ve all learned here and are happy and proud to have pools that look like this:

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).

How clear should my water be? A very common question. Here is mine on a calm morning where I could finally vacuum. Yes I know, I'm still manually vacuuming. It took me 7 years to finally get an SWG, I'm working on a robot. :) So now let's see your water clarity.

www.troublefreepool.com

EDIT: Just saw your reply! Can see you’re onboard! Welcome!

Wow! I just saw some crystal clear pools!!! Never has my pool been that clear In the 8 years I’ve been having it serviced.

 

[poolmom21]

Great. Your climate is similar to mine. Your pool should be easy to manage chemistry wise.

Do you have a whole house water softener? Are you able to use softened water for your fill water due to evaporation?

Please fill out your signature. See Create Your Signature - Further Reading

No water softener. We have the auto fill on and or hose water.

 

[mknauss]

OK -- when you get your test kit we can discuss methods to manage the scaling tendency. I see scale deposits on your water line so I doubt the chemistry has been managed to minimize that.

 

[BowserB]

A couple of suggestions. One, keep a record of what you spend on the generic items suggested on this site, as they will pretty much always be WAY less than pool store products with names that say what they're for. Something like "Alkalinity UP" is actually sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) that you can buy in a 13.5 lb bag in the supermarket for half or less compared to the pool store product. Supermarket products like 20 Mule Team Borax, is another example.

Exception is supermarket bleach in the laundry section. I've tried like heck to find chlorine there at a good price and without additives and failed. I've seen "Concentrated" on a bleach label and then in the fine print 6%. I've also seen that kind of label with NO disclosure of actual chlorine concentration. Our local Leslies at one time actually had the best price for 12.5% liquid chlorine, but they started raising the price early in the pandemic and never came back down, so Walmart won the best chlorine price war here with their 10% (in the pool supplies section.)

Another caution. Don't buy dry acid for your pool, since you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator. Read your manual to find out why. To lower the pH you want to use liquid muriatic acid, which you'll see in both 14.5% and 31.5% concentrations--amazingly often at the same price, so the high concentration is clearly the better value. And yes, if you're remembering your high school chemistry class, muriatic acid is actually hydrochloric acid. You'll not often see the latter, as it's normally an unnecessarily purer form (for our purposes) and more expensive.

Finally, anyone who says you need to buy something to reduce the free chlorine in your pool, is someone you should not consult about pool chemistry ever again.

When you have a chance, please fill out your signature with a full description of your pool and equipment. It will help members to advise you.

 

[Oly]

Nice pool. You are wise to learn about your pool system, how to balance your water and protect your investment. With a good test kit and the sanitation equipment you own already you will have a trouble free pool in no time. Take the time and learn to use your new test kit, it is the foundation for proper pool management. Take charge, it is not difficult and so rewarding.

 

[poolmom21]

OK -- when you get your test kit we can discuss methods to manage the scaling tendency. I see scale deposits on your water line so I doubt the chemistry has been managed to minimize that.

Ok. I know the calcium got really bad worsened after the pool servicing company shocked the pool. I believed they added Cal Hypo like 5-6 lbs of it on or around 7/13. I appreciate you helping me. I’ll let you know when I get the kit. We were adviced by Leslie’s on 7/28 to empty a third of the pool and replenish it with hose water to help with the calcium hardness. They sold us a pump and it only took out 10 inches in 15 hours which I then returned and insisted they refund my $150. Which they did but still dealing with CH.

 

[poolmom21]

Ok. I know the calcium got really bad worsened after the pool servicing company shocked the pool. I believed they added Cal Hypo like 5-6 lbs of it on or around 7/13. I appreciate you helping me. I’ll let you know when I get the kit. We were adviced by Leslie’s on 7/28 to empty a third of the pool and replenish it with hose water to help with the calcium hardness. They sold us a pump and it only took out 10 inches in 15 hours which I then returned and insisted they refund my $150. Which they did but still dealing with CH.

Sorry one more Question I found the aqua check 7 test strip. The last two days it was showing 0 FC so I thought they were defective since the 5 way pool master water test showed high clorine. Out of curiosity right now I used the strip test and the FC chlorine shows at 3 ppm. So I am assuming they work. So I guess I did have 0 FC. And the 100% chlorination is helping. Any thoughts on why the water test kit shows high but the aqucheck test strip shows a different range? I know I’ll have more reliable data when I get the t100 test kit. Just curious.

 

[mknauss]

Ignore the test strip data. They rarely luck out and be correct. Follow previous guidance.

 

[Kellyp]

Sorry one more Question I found the aqua check 7 test strip. The last two days it was showing 0 FC so I thought they were defective since the 5 way pool master water test showed high clorine. Out of curiosity right now I used the strip test and the FC chlorine shows at 3 ppm. So I am assuming they work. So I guess I did have 0 FC. And the 100% chlorination is helping. Any thoughts on why the water test kit shows high but the aqucheck test strip shows a different range? I know I’ll have more reliable data when I get the t100 test kit. Just curious.

Welcome poolmom, you just landed on the best pool site by far! Around here we refer to test strips as guess strips. You really can't rely on them at all.

It seems overwhelming and intimidating at first, but really keeping your pool sparkling and sanitary is easier than easy.

Follow the great advice you've gotten from Marty, when your kit arrives asks any and all questions. Members will literally fall over each other to help you. Read all the pool school articles on this site while you wait, you will quickly see its an easy system that takes no time to keep up.

Good luck, we'll be waiting to help!

 

[poolmom21]

Welcome poolmom, you just landed on the best pool site by far! Around here we refer to test strips as guess strips. You really can't rely on them at all.

It seems overwhelming and intimidating at first, but really keeping your pool sparkling and sanitary is easier than easy.

Follow the great advice you've gotten from Marty, when your kit arrives asks any and all questions. Members will literally fall over each other to help you. Read all the pool school articles on this site while you wait, you will quickly see its an easy system that takes no time to keep up.

Good luck, we'll be waiting to help!

Hi, I received my kit...not very happy since the CYA beak was cracked and some of the liquid agents were not closed properly. This was very overwhelming....
So on the blue Clorine and PH test, The Chlorine still shows over 5 ppm.
PH is high in the 8.2+ range, apparently I need about 3 cups of MA to bring it down to 7.6

I did the Chlorine test, FC is 11.5
CC is .5
TC is 12

So what do I do here?

On the CH test, the water didn't turn red like it says it will it turned pink at 22 drops so CH is 550?

Alkalinity threw me off as well as the water didn't turn red but pink. I could see the drops turn red but once I would swirl the water the red would go away, so I kept dropping until the entire water turned color which was pink.

CYA based on a cracked tube I kinda figured I am in the 45 ppm -50 ppm range.

I am not sure what to do next.
Please HELP

 

[Texas Splash]

Okay, so good start. Here we go:
1. Lower the pH to about 7.2 with muriatic acid.
2. Increase the FC to 20 based on a CYA of 50 per the FC/CYA Levels. Use only liquid chlorine or regular bleach.
3. The TA should eventually turn a bright Barbie pink.
4. The CH will go from a light magenta color to a very light baby blue. Keep going until you get to that baby blue.

I'm going to tag @Leebo who will probably email you directly about the cracked item and any leaking reagents. Focus on items 1 & 2 above so that you can start the SLAM Process. Items 3 & 4 won't effect your SLAM.

 

[Oly]

Nice work. The testing gets easier so breath easy.

 

[HermanTX]

Great that you were able to do your own tests. It is unfortunate about the damage. Contact TFTestKits and they should help rectify.

On the TFTestKits site there is a link to youtube video for testing each test. Please refer to that for guidance as well as feedback on the forum.

There is no need to test chlorine in the comparator (in the blue K-1000 box) as that only goes to 5ppm and it is always best to use the FAS-DPD test (powder and drops) for your pool water testing. Just use the comparator for pH testing. Note- if you test your tap water then you can use the comparator for chlorine as that will usually be under 5ppm.

On both the TA and CH test, the trick is to keep swirling as that keeps the solution mixed. It does cause a slight change in color when the drop hits the water but as you noticed it goes goes back to the original color. That is, until you reach the point where it turns color and stays. You will get better as you test more but did great for the first time.

 

[wireform]

Hi, I received my kit...not very happy since the CYA beak was cracked and some of the liquid agents were not closed properly. This was very overwhelming....
So on the blue Clorine and PH test, The Chlorine still shows over 5 ppm.
PH is high in the 8.2+ range, apparently I need about 3 cups of MA to bring it down to 7.6

I did the Chlorine test, FC is 11.5
CC is .5
TC is 12

So what do I do here?

On the CH test, the water didn't turn red like it says it will it turned pink at 22 drops so CH is 550?

Alkalinity threw me off as well as the water didn't turn red but pink. I could see the drops turn red but once I would swirl the water the red would go away, so I kept dropping until the entire water turned color which was pink.

CYA based on a cracked tube I kinda figured I am in the 45 ppm -50 ppm range.

I am not sure what to do next.
Please HELP

Looks like nobody told you to get the speedstir. I'd recommend you order that like yesterday cuz once you use it you'll never test without it.
Smart Stir

 

[poolmom21]

Okay, so good start. Here we go:
1. Lower the pH to about 7.2 with muriatic acid.
2. Increase the FC to 20 based on a CYA of 50 per the FC/CYA Levels. Use only liquid chlorine or regular bleach.
3. The TA should eventually turn a bright Barbie pink.
4. The CH will go from a light magenta color to a very light baby blue. Keep going until you get to that baby blue.

I'm going to tag @Leebo who will probably email you directly about the cracked item and any leaking reagents. Focus on items 1 & 2 above so that you can start the SLAM Process. Items 3 & 4 won't effect your SLAM.

Yes, I will email TFT about the order.

I am so confused, so based on my CYA right now at 50 I need to add more liquid chlorine to bring it to 20? How long do I need to keep the chlorine at 20?

I tried explaining it to my husband and he doesn't understand if our FC is high why we are adding more chlorine and I am having a hard time explaining it to him. Can I simply add liquid conditioner to bring it within range and lower the FC, will that work? He questions the chlorine issue because he says he can smell chlorine when he goes outside to the pool so why add more? I know for a fact that if I lower the chlorine on the SWG or try to add chlorine neutralizer to bring the FC down to 3 ppm (based on pool and the blue kit tests) I will get algae back. I know that but I have never done this and I am beyond confused because I am barely learning and I can't explain it to my husband.

 

[poolmom21]

Nice work. The testing gets easier so breath easy.

this gave me anxiety lol

 

[mknauss]

if our FC is high

Your FC is not 'high'. FC levels are indicated by the CYA level. See FC/CYA Levels. Minimum FC is 5% of CYA. Target FC (normal maintenance) is 7.5% of CYA. And Shock Level ( to combat algae) is 40% of CYA. The minimum and target are for a pool using a SWCG.

Even at FC of 40% of CYA ( in your case 20 ppm), the active chlorine in the water is less than that of most tap water in the USA.

 

[wireform]

Yes, I will email TFT about the order.

I am so confused, so based on my CYA right now at 50 I need to add more liquid chlorine to bring it to 20? How long do I need to keep the chlorine at 20?

I tried explaining it to my husband and he doesn't understand if our FC is high why we are adding more chlorine and I am having a hard time explaining it to him. Can I simply add liquid conditioner to bring it within range and lower the FC, will that work? He questions the chlorine issue because he says he can smell chlorine when he goes outside to the pool so why add more? I know for a fact that if I lower the chlorine on the SWG or try to add chlorine neutralizer to bring the FC down to 3 ppm (based on pool and the blue kit tests) I will get algae back. I know that but I have never done this and I am beyond confused because I am barely learning and I can't explain it to my husband.

A chlorine or salt pool have NO smell whatsoever when all is perfectly under control. When you smell the chlorine, that is the byproduct of the chlorine sanitizing or for a lack of better words "at work" cleaning up what shouldn't be there. That is cause in effect when algae or any other organics is left behind from bathers or when the FC was lower then it should be as per the CYA/FC chart and algae got a grip.

 

[Oly]

Watch these short videos....