Bought a house with a pool! Lots to learn

[markymarkt]

Hi all,

I've recently bought a house with a pool and I'm now madly trying to work out how to maintain it.
I think I've added the necessary details to my signature but please let me know if I'm missing something.
Over the last few weeks after i took possession I've simply been adding 1/2 L liquid chlorine twice a week and vacuuming the pool daily based on the advice of a pool guy we had visit us.
It looks like this hasn't been sufficient and after a big storm on Friday which deposited a load of debris in the pool there is a very obvious green tinge to the pool - see photo below.

My test kit arrived yesterday, I'm in Australia so I've bought a Clear Choice Labs Total kit based on seeing it referenced in the forums here a few times.
My first test results taken just now are:
CYA - just above 30
FC - 1.5 ppm
CC - 1 ppm
pH - 7.8
TA - 100 ppm
CH - 125 ppm

Working my way through the forum here I think what i need to do is first lower the pH to 7.4 and then SLAM the pool. Am i on the right track here?


, inground

 

[Newdude]

Hey Mark and Welcome !!!

Working my way through the forum here I think what i need to do is first lower the pH to 7.4 and then SLAM the pool. Am i on the right track here?

You got it !!!

Remember it’s a process. The more you do and the more often the FC is M-aintained….. the quicker it goes.

Many folks come in thinking once or twice a day is enough. It’s really a 24/7 thing. Don’t worry, everybody *has* to sleep one way or the other. Lol. But do the best you can and your efforts will help your battle.

 

[markymarkt]

Thanks for the encouragement!

I did have in my mind that testing and adjusting twice a day would be enough so that's a great tip that more often is better.
How long should i wait after adding chlorine the first time before testing again so that it is evenly distributed through the pool?

We have a long weekend here so I have 2 days where I'll be able to do whatever needs doing as often as required.

 

[mknauss]

At the start of the SLAM Process, you can test and add every couple hours.

 

[Msch99]

Take pictures! Helps keep your moral up because it is easier to see improvements that you wouldn’t notice otherwise.

 

[Newdude]

20-30 mins is good for any adds to mix. You’ll be doing it a lot and want to conserve some supplies right now but once it’s all good you want to always verify you hit your target after adding anything. Otherwise you think you accomplished XYZ, but didn’t.

The Slam needs more attention at the start so hopefully your long weekend gets you to the easier parts where the FC mostly holds on it own. Once all the gunk is dead I mostly dead you shift to waiting to filter it all out. It’s actually more frustrating to sit and wait, but it’s nice to get 6-8 hours between adds so you can have life/work etc going on too.

 

[ccbill]

Before you retire for the night add enough LC to give you a few ppm margin above the SLAM level, then test in the morning.

 

[markymarkt]

Thanks for everyone's input.
I was able to test and adjust the chlorine every two hours on the first day and then on day two dropped that down to every 5 -6 hours.
After 48 hours it was passing down to less than 0.5ppm CC, less than 0.5ppm overnight FC drop and looking crystal clear.

 

[poolnoobgrandma]

Thanks for everyone's input.
I was able to test and adjust the chlorine every two hours on the first day and then on day two dropped that down to every 5 -6 hours.
After 48 hours it was passing down to less than 0.5ppm CC, less than 0.5ppm overnight FC drop and looking crystal clear.

We need the "after" picture!!!

 

[Newdude]

After 48 hours it was passing down to less than 0.5ppm CC, less than 0.5ppm overnight FC drop and looking crystal clear.