Feeling overwhelmed Where to start from here?

[ccurtis74]

Hello,

Unfortunately the wife talked me into a pool in mid 2020 and we had it installed fall of 2020.
Little did I know I bought all the WRONG stuff! After spending hours upon hours the past couple days reading on the forum I've now learned I should have done A LOT more of that in 2020 when purchasing the pool. So needless to say, suckered into 27' round above ground. With Frog system and cartridge filter and just a 2 speed pump. OH and some wedding cake steps to top it off!

So end of 2020 they come and install the pool, all I did then was have the pool filled, dump in the stuff they told me to and put a cover on it. Come spring of 2021 they say just take the cover off, dump in the 4 gallons of liquid chlorine and you should be good to go! HAHA.. little did I know.. Spent all last summer learning and failing at pool maintenance. (never found TFP either)

So fast forward to spring 2022. Mind you I still hadn't found this forum yet. So I go, get a new "mineral" pack for the FROG along with new cartridge filter and some chlorine packs. Get home, scooped out the winter debris dumped in some liquid chlorine and added the new mineral pack and the regular backpack. All seemed to be going well..... until I didn't check the frog back pack for a couple days and it ran empty. So of course when your FC levels are 1.0 or so it doesn't take long for there to be no FC at all. So needless to say.. I all of a sudden have green stuff in the bottom of the pool. I tried granular shock overnight like the pool store told me. Seemed better for a couple days but then came back the green / brown stuff in the pool. Tried Algaecide that they sold me. No luck.

SO here I am.. my water seems clear but there is a slimy film on the bottom of the pool and brown piles of stuff that go "Poof" when you vacuum them and turn into a brown cloud in the water. Luckily for me I've found TFP and have spent hours and hours reading and reading. But its left me feeling overwhelmed with what to do and where to go. So here are my thoughts and questions. Any help would be appreciated.

#1- I've ordered a K-2006 test kit, (should be here Friday) I've also ordered a K-1730 Copper Test kit (Eta Unknow) I know I need to start with testing my water to figure out EXACTLY what my levels are before I start my SLAM. I also have downloaded PoolMath App already!

#2- Should I wait till Friday / Saturday (depending when my test kit arrives) to add liquid chlorine and start the SLAM process? Based off the test strips I have it puts my Cya in the 50-80 range. So should I just add liquid enough to go on a 80cya SLAM level or wait till I have exact test results?

#3- Obviously the FROG system has to go, but I do have 4 of their backpack bottles of chlorine left and would hate to waste chlorine that I paid like $30 a bottle for :\ So could I just remove the mineral pack from the frog system and leave the chlorine bottles in the system and adjust my FC levels to 5-6 like suggested on TFP using a combination of liquid chlorine and the frog system until the frog bottles are gone? Once the bottles are gone then I can just leave it empty and use purely liquid chlorine for the remainder of the summer.

#4- What about the copper that I'm sure is in my pool from the Frog system running for the last 1.5 year and the algaecide they told me to use. Test for that then drain some and refill, drain some and refill using soft water?

#5- During SLAM process should I remove the wedding cake steps? I did take them out this weekend and drill about 25 holes with a 2" hole saw around the areas I felt water would circulate as well. When I had them out I also scrubbed them down with a bleach water and hosed them back off before reinstalling in the pool.

#6 - During SLAM process should I clean the filter nightly? Just take it out and spray it off to rinse off a lot of the green stuff? Or wait till the SLAM is all done?

#7 During SLAM should I vacuum at all or just brush the pool?

#8- All of this has me wanting to switch to a SWG for 2023. I don't want to have to shut down the pool for any amount of time this summer to preform the conversion so I'm ok with waiting till then. But until then, What should I be doing with my pool to prepare for it? Is there anything I should do different?


Sorry for the long long novel. Just have a lot of thoughts and questions right now. Trying not to think this pool ownership is for the crazy people out there. Its very overwhelming for sure!

Thank in advance!!

 

[mknauss]

#1 - great!
#2 - Add 5 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine a day while waiting on your test kit. A gallon of 10% liquid chlorine a day will work.
#3 - The Frog things are Trichlor. They add CYA. So depending on your CYA, you may need to keep them until you can use them at a later date.
#4 - Get a copper test at the pool store. You also ordered a copper test. Do that before starting the SLAM. Elevated FC levels could cause the copper to stain the pool surfaces.
#5 - You can leave them in.
#6 - You clean the filter when the filter pressure rises by 25% over the clean filter pressure.
#7 - Read the SLAM Process
#8 - Switch now. No real down time. Or wait. In your area if there is a Menards, they carry liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, etc at good prices.

 

[jeffchap]

I'll answer what I can and let others fill in the rest...

#2 use Pool Math to determine how much liquid chlorine to use to add 5 ppm of FC to your pool each day until your test kit arrives. That should keep it from getting any worse.

#4 None of our test kits contain a test for metals, so this is the only test we recommend having a pool store perform. You can go ahead and do that now.

#5 Yes, remove the steps during the SLAM

#6 You only need to clean your filter when the pressure rises 25% above the pressure when clean

#7 It doesn't hurt to vacuum as long as you realize that vacuuming to waste will lower both your CYA and FC as you refill, so you need to adjust for that. If you vacuum to filter, it's not an issue.

#8 Conversion to saltwater is as simple as adding salt to the pool and plumbing the SWG inline after the pump and filter. If you have hoses, your talking minutes to install. If you're plumbed with PVC, it's a little more involved but still easily done in an afternoon.

 

[ccurtis74]

#1 - great!
#2 - Add 5 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine a day while waiting on your test kit. A gallon of 10% liquid chlorine a day will work.
#3 - The Frog things are Trichlor. They add CYA. So depending on your CYA, you may need to keep them until you can use them at a later date.
#4 - Get a copper test at the pool store. You also ordered a copper test. Do that before starting the SLAM. Elevated FC levels could cause the copper to stain the pool surfaces.
#5 - You can leave them in.
#6 - You clean the filter when the filter pressure rises by 25% over the clean filter pressure.
#7 - Read the SLAM Process
#8 - Switch now. No real down time. Or wait. In your area if there is a Menards, they carry liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, etc at good prices.

I'll answer what I can and let others fill in the rest...

#2 use Pool Math to determine how much liquid chlorine to use to add 5 ppm of FC to your pool each day until your test kit arrives. That should keep it from getting any worse.

#4 None of our test kits contain a test for metals, so this is the only test we recommend having a pool store perform. You can go ahead and do that now.

#5 Yes, remove the steps during the SLAM

#6 You only need to clean your filter when the pressure rises 25% above the pressure when clean

#7 It doesn't hurt to vacuum as long as you realize that vacuuming to waste will lower both your CYA and FC as you refill, so you need to adjust for that. If you vacuum to filter, it's not an issue.

#8 Conversion to saltwater is as simple as adding salt to the pool and plumbing the SWG inline after the pump and filter. If you have hoses, your talking minutes to install. If you're plumbed with PVC, it's a little more involved but still easily done in an afternoon.

Ok.

#4 -Both of you said get a copper test. I ordered the Taylor K-1730 test kit this afternoon. Not sure when it will be here yet as I haven't received a shipping confirmation. I've found that my local pool store is not the most reliable with their testing. Usually a couple teenage kids in there that don't really seem to know what they are talking about. The next closest store is almost 50 miles and I've never done anything with them before so I'm unsure what testing capabilities they have.

#5 - One of you says take them out, one says leave them in? I'm back and forth on these. IF I leave them in there is no real good way to scrub the "inside" of them. But I also think letting them soak in the high FC levels would help kill any algae that is on or in them.

#7 - I have no option but to vacuum to filter. Cartridge filter and I have not plumbed in any extra valves. Thats why I thought if I vacuumed to filter and then washed it off each night that would help eliminate that much more gunk and the filter has more cleaning capacity.

#8- I see lots of post about recommended SWG's but no guide to determine the steps in which a conversion is done? Is there a post I'm missing? LOTS and LOTS of post about SWG. Can spend hours reading on those. I'm assuming that because my pump is plugged into a 110v outlet, which the outlet is hardwired to a timer I have no Automation to worry about? The market of SWG is huge and nailing down what one I need is going to take some time.

And yes I have a menards that I spend WAYYY to much time and money at. That is exactly where I am headed after work to pick up 12-15 gallons of chlorine. As I already have 3-4 gallons of acid at the house.

Thank you for your help gentlemen its very much appreciated!

 

[mknauss]

The steps are a 'really up to you' thing. They can harbor algae. They can be dead spots and not get chlorinated very well.
My statement on the filter stands. Clean it when the pressure rises by 25% over the clean pressure.

Post a picture of your pool equipment. A plan to install a SWCG can be hatched from there.

 

[ccurtis74]

 

[ccurtis74]

Don’t mind the weeds. Landscaping finishing is one of the projects on the list.

 

[Newdude]

One of you says take them out, one says leave them in? I'm back and forth on these. IF I leave them in there is no real good way to scrub the "inside" of them. But I also think letting them soak in the high FC levels would help kill any algae that is on or in them

Two ways to skin this cat, up to you :

1) Push them to the middle of the pool and flip them like a Rubik's cube. Then, once they are good and swished, flip them forward so the back is the top. The big hole will be about waist high and you can reach all the insides from there. A pole brush like you'd wash your car with would be a big help.

2) You can take them out to have easy access in the yard, but I've done that a bunch of times and it's easier said than done. It definitely requires help, and preferably your helper is strapping.

Also, Welcome Curtis !!!

 

[ccurtis74]

The steps are a 'really up to you' thing. They can harbor algae. They can be dead spots and not get chlorinated very well.
My statement on the filter stands. Clean it when the pressure rises by 25% over the clean pressure.

Post a picture of your pool equipment. A plan to install a SWCG can be hatched from there.

Those what you were looking for as far as my equipment?