Foreclosure and now I have all zeros and stuff...

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B

BadBack

0
Mar 17, 2017
25
North East TX
Pool Size
26000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Saline Generating Systems Breeze 540
Howdy, first post.

I bought a foreclosure a year ago and has an in ground pool. The prior owner really let it go and had to have a lot of concrete work, new liner, etc. It was up and running around June and the guy who did the repairs added a SWG and I only had to add water and an occasional bag of salt. It started getting green a couple of times so threw a few bags of chlorine stuff which cleared it up.

I had a back injury in October which put me out of being able to do anything, much less do house repairs and keep up with the pool. Now that I'm back up and going after surgery, I need to clean the swamp that's developed.

Best I can tell from my dinky Home Depot kit (yeah, I need to order a real one from TFP):

FC=0 (never turned yellow)
Bromine=0 (same as above)
pH=~7.3
TA=60
CH=100
CYA=~20 or 30

It's green and got stuff swimming in it...

It's easy enough to dump a bunch of Clorox in it but was wondering what would be my best path to getting it ready. I've been tempted to order a 12pk of di-chlor as it would fix my chlorine and CYA at the same time from what I've read.
 
HI! I know your pain as we bought a foreclosed home with a pool also BUT did not know about TFP at the time so spent MUCH money on getting it fixed and ended up draining it :roll: Sorry to hear about the back in injury. I hope all is well now.

I would NOT add the bags of stuff as it will raise your CYA. The more CYA you have in the water the more FC (free chlorine) you will need. For right now your CYA is purrfect for a SLAM. Here is the link to it:

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

The most important part of the SLAM is the M as in Maintain the FC at your SLAM level for you CYA of 30.

Please take a picture of the pool looking down at the steps. Do this each day to help you and us see your progress.

:hug: we will get your pool looking like a jewel with chlorine and time!

Kim:kim:
 
Thanks for the pointers.

Took the net out last night and skimmed everything I could off the top.

I dumped 3 3/4 gallons of 8.25% bleach in at lunch and started the pump.

Will be home later and hopefully will be able to see the bottom again at some point, can fish out other debris then.

20170318_092449.jpg20170318_092507.jpg
 
For the chlorine to even have a chance, you are going to have to clean out all that debris. Not sure which net you have. To make it easier to clean up the bottom, they make one with a bag shaped net that can collect an impressive amount of 'stuff' even when you can't actually see the bottom.
 
I've got this leaf net:

https://www.amazon.com/ProTuff-Pool...qid=1490281169&sr=8-12&keywords=pool+leaf+net

Works really well.

There isn't that much debris on the bottom. I know what's there as I was going to get the stuff out but a friend of my dad came over and put the net out for me because of my back. I'm sure some additional has fallen through the mesh but shouldn't be insurmountable.

Tested and it dropped down to about 7FC last night so dumped some more in. Didn't have a chance to test this morning before I had to leave for work, but did backwash.

Getting a little better:

http://imgur.com/CstZDHb

Pic of the equipment (have close-ups if desired):

http://imgur.com/x44JR6K
 
Oh the water is looking better already!

If possible, at least try to do a chlorine dose in the AM, another as soon as possible when you come home, and a last one right before bed. The more often you can dose, the faster this will go.

Its going to look great when you're done :)

Yip :flower:

Addendum: Daily pics right over those white steps are going to show you your progress best. :)
 
Here is yesterday morning:

http://imgur.com/iQcxeJb

And this morning:

http://imgur.com/XE1WwL3

Doesn't seem like much of an improvement from last night.

My chlorine levels last night were about 14, didn't have a chance to check this morning. It should be clear of most debris now, except for what I can't see to get the remnants of.

How of a chlorine level can I safely get without damaging equipment or the liner? It "feels" like I need to add more bleach, but hesitant to get to aggressive and hurt something.

I've been backwashing twice a day, in the morning and at night, I assume that's enough...
 

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I'll double-check my CYA today and make sure it's not higher than what I first thought.

I've been keeping my SWG turned off while doing this. I assume that's the correct course of action?
 
BadBack said:
Howdy, first post.

I bought a foreclosure a year ago and has an in ground pool. The prior owner really let it go and had to have a lot of concrete work, new liner, etc. It was up and running around June and the guy who did the repairs added a SWG and I only had to add water and an occasional bag of salt. It started getting green a couple of times so threw a few bags of chlorine stuff which cleared it up.

I had a back injury in October which put me out of being able to do anything, much less do house repairs and keep up with the pool. Now that I'm back up and going after surgery, I need to clean the swamp that's developed.

Best I can tell from my dinky Home Depot kit (yeah, I need to order a real one from TFP):

FC=0 (never turned yellow)
Bromine=0 (same as above)
pH=~7.3
TA=60
CH=100
CYA=~20 or 30

It's green and got stuff swimming in it...

It's easy enough to dump a bunch of Clorox in it but was wondering what would be my best path to getting it ready. I've been tempted to order a 12pk of di-chlor as it would fix my chlorine and CYA at the same time from what I've read.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum!

BadBack said:
....... My chlorine levels last night were about 14, didn't have a chance to check this morning. It should be clear of most debris now, except for what I can't see to get the remnants of....
Click to expand...

My apologies if it's been mentioned, but I didn't see you mention if you have a FAS/DPD test. You can't SLAM without it.

You definitely have your hands full, but you you'll beat it!
 
This will be a good one!

As for backwashing, it may and likely will be a lot more than that up front. Can you tell what shape your filter pressure gauge is in? You need one you can rely on as this will tell you when you need to backwash. Once you have a proper kit, and have the Pool ready, following a SLAM procedure will fix this for you. Lots of people will be ready to help with any questions or problems you may have. Good luck on it!
 
domct203 said:
My apologies if it's been mentioned, but I didn't see you mention if you have a FAS/DPD test. You can't SLAM without it.
Click to expand...


I have the tftestkits.com $70 thingy.

Measured at lunch and down to about 11FC and 30CYA.

Dumped another gallon of 8.25% bleach in. "Feels" like stuff should be dying more quickly.

Running the pump 24/7. I'm not expecting it to clear up quickly, but would expect it to be less green...

And while I do have a newish gauge, something may be screwy with it. I'm normally running 13-14psi after a backwash and the pressure goes down the more it's used...When it reaches about 10 psi or so I backwash it. I would expect that to be backwards and a greater change in psi...Any pointers on what I've got going on there?
 
Hey folks, getting a little discouraged.

Have had the pump running 24/7 for coming up on 7 days today and still really green with no hope in sight.

I've added DE, brushed twice a day, kept the FC above 12, etc. with no luck. I'm tempted to dump another two gallons in to see what happens but scared to damaging the liner or something.

What am I doing wrong? I've vacuumed as well and have removed as much debris from the bottom as I think is possible. I can't see more than a foot under the surface.

Here's what it currently looks like:

http://imgur.com/KQVamdf


With all the backwashing and vacuuming and topping off the water, surely my CYA has dropped even further, meaning I should be needing less chlorine, but doesn't seem I'm making a dent.

What do I need to do?
 
How often per day are you dosing?

I think rechecking your CYA is prudent here.

Are you using fresh high quality bleach of at least 8.25%? No bargain bleach or bleach from Lowes/HomeDepot/Dollar Store......right??

Yip :flower:
 
I was just reading a different SLAM thread where it took over 3 weeks, so more patience will get you there. What you are fighting is the existing algae making more nearly as fast as you kill it off at first. The dead algae also clouds the water making it seem all that much more murky too.

However, keep at it, keep dosing, and it will work. The more diligent you are, the less chance it has to fight back, and the quicker you will win the battle. Said another way, a steady SLAM level works better than overshoot, undershoot, overshoot, undershoot.

Also, once it passes all three criteria, you may want to just keep it going for a couple days to make sure you have completely vanquished your enemy.
 
When a pool is algae laden.....chlorine will kill it. Honestly, that pool looks like it has never had any chlorine in it.

Are you vacuuming and brushing? are you keeping the FC continuously at SLAM value?

Chlorine is always the answer. Use it evenly but make sure it is in there ALL the time.

Are you running the pump 24/7?

A little overshoot on your FC won't hurt but keep it reasonable.

Your pressure decreasing as you run the pump makes no sense. What triggers you to backwash the filter?
 

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