First pool, its a swamp lol and a couple questions

[Dozyn2]

I just bought a house with a pool. Seems to have been professionally closed, just several years ago. Then all the parts (skimmer baskets, jets, sight glass, pressure guage, drain plugs, and on and on) are missing. I have looked through all the manual and replaced everything missing I can see. Looking through the system I have found a Gizmo in the skimmer, the return ports have caps and there is a plug in the pump basket as well as the filter drain plug is missing. I have purchased replacements for the all the missing drain plugs, strainer baskets and a couple gaskets I need. I opened the filter and noticed that the sand level was about 14 inches from the top. I know the manual recommends 6", is/will this be an issue? Once I pulled the cover I saw almost 3 inches of algae growing from the liner and a baby frog just hanging out. Fortunately I found this forum and have not been suckered by a pool company or supplier yet. I want to open this myself and have already had a water test done (results below). This weekend I'm going to try and begin to open the pool, any suggestions? Where should I start?
FC: 0.1
CC: 0
pH: 7.2
Hardness: 39
TA: 24
CYA: 2
Copper and Iron .1ppm

 

[Swampwoman]

Welcome to TFP! Have you read up a bit and purchased a tft100 test kit or Taylor k2006? You will need a fas/dpd kit like these to get started the TFP way if not, you can find one here: TFTestkits.net .

Seven years ago we bought a foreclosure with a similarly neglected pool. Hopefully I can help you avoid bumps in the process — you’re already ahead of me in that you found TFP before spending a boatload

I don’t want this to be like drinking from a firehouse for ya, so I’m going to start with a few simple things but then will check back in later today with more specifics about how to manage things that might arise.

So first, assess the volume of debris, and post a pic if you can. If your pool was covered and it’s just algae, you might be fine to just SLAM Process. BUT if you have 20 wheelbarrows or so of leaves on the bottom like I did, I’m going to suggest you at least weigh the pros and cons of instead using a trash pump to get the crud off the bottom (and thus also refilling while pumping off the crud.)...then slam

With hindsight, I’d have saved myself a lot of back breaking labor had I done this. But you do also need to consider the water table and note that it is NEVER advisable to completely drain a vinyl pool. The max at any time in a normal location without water table pressure is down to a foot in the SHALLOW end. BUT using a tarp, it is also possible to refill with clean water while pumping off icky water below in order to maintain the counter pressure against a high water table. More on that IF you need it

The second “pre rehab” topic in a pool that sat long is ammonia. I’m not sure I trust a CYA reading of “2’ and if cya degrades it’s usually due to a type of bacteria that converts the cya into ammonia. If you have ammonia, it will take 10x the chlorine per ppm of ammonia to clear it before chlorine will hold decently.

There are two avenues to test for this. The fist is to just buy an ammonia test strip from a fish/pet store and post back the results.

The lesser hassle is to just test frequent additions of chlorine - I’ll give you a step-by-step on this if you need it but if you determined there’s LOTS of debris and you’re going the trash pump/refill route, you don’t need to concern yourself with it.

In the mean time, cheers to clear. I’m posting a pic of my recovery so you can see that either way - pump or haul - it’s very possible to turn a blackwater swamp to blue

 

[Dozyn2]

Thank you for the heads up. Fortunately the pool seems to have benn covered the whole time since closing. There is a wonderful line around the pool marking where the cover has been. I haven’t yet found much debris in the pool, but I haven’t had much opportunity to start using my basket. My plan is to start this Sunday and I will post some pics as I go. i also have the taylor 2006 test kit with the FAS-DPD.

 

[Swampwoman]

Excellent. Post up your test results when you start and provided you’re going to proceed to slam and not drain, just do a quick check to test the FC holding as follows to save yourself any headaches/lack of progress later on.

Though we refer to this as the ammonia test, it’s actually not really much different than a normal slam except you test and add chlorine a lot during your first hour to see rate of loss. The important thing to note is that you aren’t bombing the pool, just bring it up to level, then again, then again...feeding the chlorine this way if there is ammonia just helps clear the ammonia without dosing your FC so high that it would damage the liner.

But make sure your filter is running to do this so the chlorine mixes in. At the start of the slam you’ll need to watch the pressure on your filter and backwash it every so often.

Normally you backwash any time the filter is 25% above its clean pressure but you’ll have no way of knowing what that is so let’s just say arbitrarily to backwash it at 20 psi.

If the pressure drops a lot check your pump basket for debris, the Re-prime and restart pump. Sometimes crud gets in the pump basket. If you need more deets, let us know With mine, we kept the drain line 3/4 closed in the beginning to avoid clogs, but left the skimmer line wide open.

At any rate, here’s the ammonia check startup.

Have lots of plain, unscented, no additives bleach on hand. Bleach mfgs add so much stuff to their bleach now days I’m tempted to tell you to get trade pool bleach/liquid chlorine from a pool store...higher percentage too. It’s up to you but just read the label carefully - no additives or they’ll foam and muck up your water.

Ammonia steps record
Diagnosing:
1. Test CYA level and record result
2. With pump running, dose FC to Shock SLAM Process per level per Pool School - [fc/CYA][/fc/cya] then retest FC after 10 minutes. If FC level drops by more than 50%, then proceed with treatment for ammonia.

Treatment for Ammonia:
1. Begin a SLAM and dose FC up to SLAM level. Do not add additional CYA at this point.
2. Retest FC at 10-minute intervals.
a. If FC loss is greater than 50%, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level and continue retesting FC @ 10-minute intervals.
b. IF FC loss is 50% or less, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level. Go to Step 3.
3. If CYA is below 30 ppm, add enough CYA to bring level up to 30 ppm.
4. Continue SLAM as directed in the SLAM article until the SLAM Criteria of Done are met. Test as directed in the SLAM article - no longer need to test FC at 10 minute increments at this point

 

[Dozyn2]

Since my first test showed low cya should I add to bring up to an appropriate level before attempting the ammonia treatment?

 

[kellyfair]

Not yet. The bacteria that causes ammonia eats CYA. So if you have ammonia, you want to get rid of it before adding more CYA.

 

[Swampwoman]

Yes, please check first. You may be fine but the fact that it is SO low is suspicious. Plus I. Don’t think the reported result is from your own test kit, right, since anything under 20 can’t really be read. So do the cya test as well.

 

[Dozyn2]

Yes, the test result was not my own. I had it done at a hardware store and it was a computerized test system. I did pick up an ammonia test from a pet store, and it showed between 0 and .25 ppm ammonia and it was a reagent not a test strip. I just spent today brushing and clearing out the pool and there was very little debris in it thankfully. Mostly algae and some small branches and leaves. I wasn’t able to get the last of what i needed today so tomorrow is the day. Hopefully all goes well. Thank you for the suggestions and Ill test before i start and update.

 

[Revlus]

Good luck.... you are obviously in very good hands here. Try to find a cheap source of bleach somewhere too. You'll likely need many gallons before all is said and done. For MY area in NJ... A good price I'd say is $3 for a gallon of 12.5% sodium hypochlorite, sometimes called pool shock. Not so good is $3 for 6% sodium hypochlorite found in many regular stores... ya know... Clorox and the like.

 

[Dozyn2]

Yeah, the local big box hw store had 10% for just under $4. Still looking for better prices local

 

[Dozyn2]

So I started the process of opening the pool. First I tested the ammonia, and then I followed swampwoman's suggestion/direction for removing ammonia. Surprisingly the test showed low ammonia so I only had to "shock" that one time and could move to the SLAM.So far I have brought TA, CH and PH close to balance and have added CYA and chlorine and am following the SLAM procedures from this site. Time will tell but it seems like everything is working as it should. Thank you to everyone who has given me direction and to those who have filled this forum with so much help and information.

 

[kellyfair]

Great! Don’t forget to take a photo daily so you can see your progress!

 

[Dozyn2]

I've been taking photos several times a day just to make sure I am seeing what I am seeing. lol

 

[kellyfair]

Don’t be stingy... share!

 

[Dozyn2]

removed photos, moved to post below.

 

[Dozyn2]

What was under the cover

Cleaning before SLAM

A couple hours into SLAM:

End of Day 1:

This morning, start of day 2:

Start of day 2

End of day 2:

 

[Swampwoman]

It’s starting to turn a bit! Be sure to stay just a bit above your shock/slam level per the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] to ensure a speedy recovery. Every minute you’re not maintaining that level gives the algae a chance to overtake the FC. That’s what the M in slam is for: to maintain

Don’t go overboard though...just a few points above so that it doesn’t drop below before the next time you add chlorine.

 

[Dozyn2]

So this is what I found today. Starting to clear up nicely. My FC is not dropping nearly as quick and my CC has increased a bit. overnight I lost about 2ppm and then from 8am-Noon only about 2ppm. As a side note, my filter pressure has now dropped and is holding steady at 10-11 psi. When I started it would always be 12-14psi until it needed a backwash. I'll keep the FC at shock level tonight and check in the morning, but it seems like I have been successful (fingers crossed) So total time in SLAM will have been 3 days. Thank you everyone for the advice and hopefully soon I will have a clear trouble free pool ;0

 

[Swampwoman]

Your making nice progress but make sure you continue the SLAM Process until the water is so clear you can see the screw head on the drain in the deep end You will be a few days out from that yet I suspect, though it will be easier as FC holds longer. Once very very clear, perform the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

Glad to see the process going smoothly for you!

 

[Revlus]

Yea, good work! As a reference... my already fairly clear pool... just a bit cloudy really... took 6 days to SLAM before I successfully passed the OCLT test. It's been roses ever since.... so be sure to finish that SLAM

How's it look now?