Hi, this is my first post so please bear with me. I have recently moved to a house with a pool and I wanted to learn how to maintain the pool. I had been reading, researching, and watching YouTubes to learn the tricks until one day, I read about the TFP by chance in another forum while people were talking about Trichlor and CYA. So now, I mainly use the PoolMath and the info on this site. I am still learning about TFP and I am sure other users know how to go through the pages and pages of valuable information more efficiently. So I apologize if my questions are already answered and discussed somewhere in the site.
Ok, about the pool: I tested the water at Leslie's a few weeks after I moved in and was told the water was very old and needed to be drained. 4-5 days after, I saw algae. Since I already wanted to drain the pool, I hired a company to chlorine wash it too. They did it 2 months ago. Since adding liquid chlorine was recommended here for chlorinating, I started doing that and avoid Dichlor and Trichlor products to maintain the CYA because I had fresh water. I got 10% liquid chlorine for $3.64 from Walmart. Leslie's told me to add 2 gallons per week. So I added 1.5 gallons and tested the water 2 days after, FC was zero. So I added 1.5 gallons and tested the water in 2 days, zero FC!
I finished a few gallons I had and went back to Leslie's. They offered me the Chlor Brite (sodium dichloro 99%) which I said I would prefer not to buy them because of Dichlor that would increase CYA. Then they suggested Power powder plus Shock (Calcium Hypochlorite 73% - image attached). They recommended adding one bag of 1lb every week. I did that for 3 weeks. 4 days after adding the shock FC was zero. So I thought it should be related to low CYA. I found a half-empty bucket next to the pump that had a few 3" tabs (not sure how old they are). So this time, I added one 1lb of 73% shock with 2 tabs in the floater. Again FC was zero after 3 to 4 days. I am kind of frustrated and think I am doing something wrong. And the worst thing is I tested the water on Friday and FC was zero and I had no bags left and we had guests and I could not go and buy some. Today (Sunday) I saw signs of algae in some areas and I need help.
Additional info:
Pool Type: Plaster
Pool capacity: 20,000 Gal
Climate: Dry and hot (Las Vegas)
Ok, about the pool: I tested the water at Leslie's a few weeks after I moved in and was told the water was very old and needed to be drained. 4-5 days after, I saw algae. Since I already wanted to drain the pool, I hired a company to chlorine wash it too. They did it 2 months ago. Since adding liquid chlorine was recommended here for chlorinating, I started doing that and avoid Dichlor and Trichlor products to maintain the CYA because I had fresh water. I got 10% liquid chlorine for $3.64 from Walmart. Leslie's told me to add 2 gallons per week. So I added 1.5 gallons and tested the water 2 days after, FC was zero. So I added 1.5 gallons and tested the water in 2 days, zero FC!
I finished a few gallons I had and went back to Leslie's. They offered me the Chlor Brite (sodium dichloro 99%) which I said I would prefer not to buy them because of Dichlor that would increase CYA. Then they suggested Power powder plus Shock (Calcium Hypochlorite 73% - image attached). They recommended adding one bag of 1lb every week. I did that for 3 weeks. 4 days after adding the shock FC was zero. So I thought it should be related to low CYA. I found a half-empty bucket next to the pump that had a few 3" tabs (not sure how old they are). So this time, I added one 1lb of 73% shock with 2 tabs in the floater. Again FC was zero after 3 to 4 days. I am kind of frustrated and think I am doing something wrong. And the worst thing is I tested the water on Friday and FC was zero and I had no bags left and we had guests and I could not go and buy some. Today (Sunday) I saw signs of algae in some areas and I need help.
Additional info:
Pool Type: Plaster
Pool capacity: 20,000 Gal
Climate: Dry and hot (Las Vegas)