I have been using the great info on this site to put together a plan to get my pool back (from nature, pool store chemicals, whatever). Doing what the pool installer/store said worked great, until it didn't. Now I have algae (finally!) and a chemistry that reflects things that I now know should have stayed out of the pool (and some chemicals at home that will never see the pool to be dealt with somehow). I did realize a while back that I couldn't just use trichlor all the time like I was told to, so CYA is not as bad as it could be. It is TX, so high-ish CYA may not be so bad.
Last night: 0.2 FC, 0 CC; pH 7.3 (just lowered from 7.5); CH 230, CA 90, CYA 60. Per recent pool company test, Cu is down to 0.2 ppm, phosphates >3000 (they don't believe their own device here, but is consistent with history.
I was planning to SLAM starting Sat evening, so I added ~5 ppm chlorine (48 oz 12.5% bleach).
Key backstory: pool has not held chlorine overnight since at least late June. There was a period of insufficient maintenance before that, and 2 weeks of pool on autopilot. The pool looked and smelled great at all times, which contributed to the neglect (there were squeakier wheels). In late June, 1 lb of Cal-hypo (10 ppm) stained the bottom of the pool. The stain appeared faster than the brush could come out, but disappeared on its own (probably within hours). Eventually, this was traced to Cu oxidation. Three doses of Metal Out later (don't judge, being this stupid got me here to get smarter) I had lower Cu and lots of Phosphates. Bunches of the Cu came out in filter cleanings, but the Cu rebounded to >0.4, but now with kilo-Phosphates. It de-stained the pool, though. After a brief interlude with a phosphate remover the pool store recommended, we decided to stop playing the old-lady-who-swallowed-a-spider game and come up with a real plan.
Fast forward: I still can't drop Ca-hypo in (must be Cu in plaster now?), but I can pre-dissolve it. CuLater seemed to help with the Cu without additives. The pool has remained clear, with visible surface algae starting to appear in the last week or so. Having researched Cu and Phosphates, I had decided that chlorine was 'safe'--it still didn't last overnight, but visible algae was absent, and bleach didn't cause stains. I didn't go there when Cu was so high there was instant staining, since I wasn't sure if that wasn't catalytically destroying the Cl.
Today: After seeing some algae last night and adding Cl and brushing, I saw more in the morning; 0FC/0CC. Bad. I added 10 ppm Cl via Cal-hypo (pre-mixing). The water got cloudier. In 15 minutes, I had 1 FC, 1.5 CC (FAS-DPD). Worse. Much worse. I had assumed the pool was usable (specifically, tomorrow) with Cl addition, even without overnight survival. Maybe you'd argue with that; but if the Cl doesn't last 15 minutes there's no argument to be had. 76 ppm of Cl addition later (in stages, of course, with tests in between and a couple brushings), I may have slowed the loss rate, but not much. I pursued this less aggressively during mid-day (work + UV) but will get back to it soon. It has been variably cloudy; distinctly greenish after a couple Cl additions (I imagine that's the Cu). Update: It lost 90% of added Cl within 90 minutes after last addition; will go to 30 minute cycle this evening.
Finally: the pool installer included an O3 system; the light works. I'm guessing the Cu oxidation means the O3 generation is not working or at least not accomplishing anything. So, this is likely not relevant, but who knows?
My best guess is that the best way to get the pool to hold Cl is to add Cl until it relents, and then SLAM. So, I am going down this path earlier than planned, as best I can at the moment. I have 90 ppm-equivalent in bleach on hand, plus 10 ppm of cal-hypo (the pool can stand a bit more Ca, but not enough to finish this process). Looks like I'll need more.
If there are any red flags and this Cl is just going to waste, please say so. Otherwise, the appearance of algae sure makes me think I should treat this like a crystal-clear 'green swamp'--there's algae/stuff hiding somewhere, and chlorine will win, with persistence. (It does get significant debris input, oak & dust; is skimmed 2x/day and we recently upgraded suction-side cleaner to robot; skimmer baskets & leaf traps emptied, filters cleaned recently.)
Last night: 0.2 FC, 0 CC; pH 7.3 (just lowered from 7.5); CH 230, CA 90, CYA 60. Per recent pool company test, Cu is down to 0.2 ppm, phosphates >3000 (they don't believe their own device here, but is consistent with history.
I was planning to SLAM starting Sat evening, so I added ~5 ppm chlorine (48 oz 12.5% bleach).
Key backstory: pool has not held chlorine overnight since at least late June. There was a period of insufficient maintenance before that, and 2 weeks of pool on autopilot. The pool looked and smelled great at all times, which contributed to the neglect (there were squeakier wheels). In late June, 1 lb of Cal-hypo (10 ppm) stained the bottom of the pool. The stain appeared faster than the brush could come out, but disappeared on its own (probably within hours). Eventually, this was traced to Cu oxidation. Three doses of Metal Out later (don't judge, being this stupid got me here to get smarter) I had lower Cu and lots of Phosphates. Bunches of the Cu came out in filter cleanings, but the Cu rebounded to >0.4, but now with kilo-Phosphates. It de-stained the pool, though. After a brief interlude with a phosphate remover the pool store recommended, we decided to stop playing the old-lady-who-swallowed-a-spider game and come up with a real plan.
Fast forward: I still can't drop Ca-hypo in (must be Cu in plaster now?), but I can pre-dissolve it. CuLater seemed to help with the Cu without additives. The pool has remained clear, with visible surface algae starting to appear in the last week or so. Having researched Cu and Phosphates, I had decided that chlorine was 'safe'--it still didn't last overnight, but visible algae was absent, and bleach didn't cause stains. I didn't go there when Cu was so high there was instant staining, since I wasn't sure if that wasn't catalytically destroying the Cl.
Today: After seeing some algae last night and adding Cl and brushing, I saw more in the morning; 0FC/0CC. Bad. I added 10 ppm Cl via Cal-hypo (pre-mixing). The water got cloudier. In 15 minutes, I had 1 FC, 1.5 CC (FAS-DPD). Worse. Much worse. I had assumed the pool was usable (specifically, tomorrow) with Cl addition, even without overnight survival. Maybe you'd argue with that; but if the Cl doesn't last 15 minutes there's no argument to be had. 76 ppm of Cl addition later (in stages, of course, with tests in between and a couple brushings), I may have slowed the loss rate, but not much. I pursued this less aggressively during mid-day (work + UV) but will get back to it soon. It has been variably cloudy; distinctly greenish after a couple Cl additions (I imagine that's the Cu). Update: It lost 90% of added Cl within 90 minutes after last addition; will go to 30 minute cycle this evening.
Finally: the pool installer included an O3 system; the light works. I'm guessing the Cu oxidation means the O3 generation is not working or at least not accomplishing anything. So, this is likely not relevant, but who knows?
My best guess is that the best way to get the pool to hold Cl is to add Cl until it relents, and then SLAM. So, I am going down this path earlier than planned, as best I can at the moment. I have 90 ppm-equivalent in bleach on hand, plus 10 ppm of cal-hypo (the pool can stand a bit more Ca, but not enough to finish this process). Looks like I'll need more.
If there are any red flags and this Cl is just going to waste, please say so. Otherwise, the appearance of algae sure makes me think I should treat this like a crystal-clear 'green swamp'--there's algae/stuff hiding somewhere, and chlorine will win, with persistence. (It does get significant debris input, oak & dust; is skimmed 2x/day and we recently upgraded suction-side cleaner to robot; skimmer baskets & leaf traps emptied, filters cleaned recently.)
But don't rush the 
