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

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YippeeSkippy said:
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:
Click to expand...

Thanks for replying.

I've tested CYA 4 times or so with a consistent 30 to 35.

Using Great Value 8.25% from Wal-Mart, literally took bottles out of the boxes from the stocking clerk.

Drunk and gonna go backwash and dump another gallon in.

- - - Updated - - -

duraleigh said:
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?
Click to expand...

Yup, brushed 3 times today. Vacuumed twice yesterday and the day before, but didn't today.

Pump has been running 24/7 since last Monday.
 
The key takeaway here is that that pool definitely did not get that way overnight, and it's going to take a little bit of time to clear it. Hang in there, stick to SLAM and you'll get over the hump soon and start seeing some obvious results. Keep taking pictures every day!
 
How often are you testing the FC each day? The FC is the key. If your FC is not Maintained at SLAM level for you CYA you will not clear the algae :(

If you have to work during the day try for 4 times a day at least-first thing in the morning, right when you get home, after dinner, before you go to bed.

If you are only putting bleach in once a day you will not be be able to clear the pool and if you are just dumping in a jug without testing you are not doing much good either.

Kim:kim:
 
Please post a complete set of current test results, and please reply if you are still backwashing the filter daily. Without a complete set of current test results we don't have enough information to troubleshoot your problem.
 
The more frequently you test and bring FC back up to SLAM level, the faster your pool will clear up. Hourly is optimal if you can do it.

Each time your FC drops below SLAM level, you're losing ground.
 
YippeeSkippy said:
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:
Click to expand...

I've been using the Great Value 8.25% from Wal-Mart.

And dosing twice, if not three times a day. When I get up, when I get home for lunch, and home in the evening. Some days I don't make it home at lunch or too behind to get it done in the morning.

Current readings:
70F water temp

FC 17
CC 0.5
pH: 7.8
TA: 100
CH: 200
CYA: 20

I'm a tax accountant and working seven days a week, no way to be able to check it more often, for another three weeks anyway.

duraleigh said:
Badback, is your pool any better than it was. Do you see any progress?

If not, why do you think your pool is doing this?
Click to expand...

The FC this morning was 14, I put in another gallon when I left for work. At lunch it was 17. After retesting CYA at lunch I should be keeping it around 12, so didn't do anything.

I'm backwashing twice a day if not thrice. As far as the PSI reading, it's been goofy since the pool guy rebuilt it. It's either a bad gauge or something in the valve. Last year I usually backwashed once or twice a week, after brushing/vacuuming.

I think my problem was that I didn't correctly determine CYA and was using an FC goal of 12 when it should have been 16.

I will get home a little earlier today as I have to pick up the dog from the vet before they close so will get an extra dosing in. I want to say it looked a little better at lunch...I brushed again.
 
BadBack said:
I've been using the Great Value 8.25% from Wal-Mart.

And dosing twice, if not three times a day. When I get up, when I get home for lunch, and home in the evening. Some days I don't make it home at lunch or too behind to get it done in the morning.

Current readings:
70F water temp

FC 17
CC 0.5
pH: 7.8
TA: 100
CH: 200
CYA: 20

I'm a tax accountant and working seven days a week, no way to be able to check it more often, for another three weeks anyway.



The FC this morning was 14, I put in another gallon when I left for work. At lunch it was 17. After retesting CYA at lunch I should be keeping it around 12, so didn't do anything.

I'm backwashing twice a day if not thrice. As far as the PSI reading, it's been goofy since the pool guy rebuilt it. It's either a bad gauge or something in the valve. Last year I usually backwashed once or twice a week, after brushing/vacuuming.

I think my problem was that I didn't correctly determine CYA and was using an FC goal of 12 when it should have been 16.

I will get home a little earlier today as I have to pick up the dog from the vet before they close so will get an extra dosing in. I want to say it looked a little better at lunch...I brushed again.
Click to expand...
Keep at it and the chlorine will win, but you are going to need a bit of POP (Pool Owner Patience). You're doing a great job, checking and dosing whenever you can. We all understand that 'life gets in the way'. Remember, 'slow and steady wins the race'.

Post another pic of the stairs, I bet we see improvement compared to the last two pics.
 
BadBack said:
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?
Click to expand...

When pressure drops, it usually means that the pump is not getting enough water from the suction side. This can occur if the basket in the pool-side skimmer is full of debris, or the basket at the front of the pump (under the clear lid) is full of debris. Cleaning those baskets out and then putting them back in will help your pump move the full amount of water that it can. Another possibility is pulling too much of the water from the drain and the drain being partially plugged. Opening the valve to the skimmer will eliminate that possibility. There's a 3-way valve in front of your pump suction which is used to vary the source of water between skimmer and main drain. When there's a lot of debris on the bottom, it's best to close the main drain until you can get most of the gunk out.

During a SLAM, you want your pump moving all the water it can to help circulate the chlorine and get the dead algae into the filter.
 

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I'm curious.

Why does overdosing to keep above SLAM levels not work? Intuition would tell you that if the algae is consuming the FC, wouldn't a greater reserve give you a greater amount of time before you would need to add to stay above SLAM levels?
 
I know! It would seem as if that would be the case but once you get too far over the recommended CYA/FC the sun just eats is up AND you don't want to bleach everything out or cause any trouble with the equipment.

Kim:kim:
 
xyz said:
OK, so if it were at night, this would not be as big an issue. Makes sense.
Click to expand...
No. Just like your medicine, there is a certain, calculated dosage that makes sense. A huge overdose of FC can damage equipment, damage liners, and serves no real purpose.

These guidelines are safe for EVERYONE to use and are intended to still be safe in a variety of circumstances.

TFP is all about precision, accuracy, expected results, etc. There has to be some guidelines for any procedure and our FC guidelines are based on careful calculations and extensive practical experience.

Stick with them.
 
xyz said:
Intuition would tell you that if the algae is consuming the FC, wouldn't a greater reserve give you a greater amount of time before you would need to add to stay above SLAM levels?
Click to expand...
Using that same intuition you might think that you can bake a cake twice as fast by doubling the temperature of the oven. Doesn't quite work that way.
 
Sorry for the belated update, been tied up with work :(

There seems to be improvement. I think with the lowered CYA and increased FC I'm making some headway. I can see my brush head when I'm brushing the shallow end.

Weather has been goofy here so hard to get pictures that are consistent (overcast one day, sunny the next, etc.).

Here's the last few days in order:



http://imgur.com/KRzES1s

http://imgur.com/L0eqZ9f

http://imgur.com/Gs89lTc

http://imgur.com/d2fHRS3

http://imgur.com/ZDLLkPw

http://imgur.com/k9O8EEw

Hard to see, but I can tell a difference in person, though it's still super green...but seems to be less cloudy each day.

needsajet said:
When pressure drops, it usually means that the pump is not getting enough water from the suction side. This can occur if the basket in the pool-side skimmer is full of debris, or the basket at the front of the pump (under the clear lid) is full of debris. Cleaning those baskets out and then putting them back in will help your pump move the full amount of water that it can. Another possibility is pulling too much of the water from the drain and the drain being partially plugged. Opening the valve to the skimmer will eliminate that possibility. There's a 3-way valve in front of your pump suction which is used to vary the source of water between skimmer and main drain. When there's a lot of debris on the bottom, it's best to close the main drain until you can get most of the gunk out.

During a SLAM, you want your pump moving all the water it can to help circulate the chlorine and get the dead algae into the filter.
Click to expand...

Yeah there's just something goofy with my setup. I'm pulling about 75% water from the skimmer, 25% from the drain (lots of debris still falling, pollen, etc.). I empty out the skimmer multiple times a day. And I empty the pump basket every time I backwash. Nothing considerably clogged (except I can't see the drain on bottom, but have been "brushing" it so hopefully it's clear of debris). But my gauge reading only ever increases when I add DE to it.
 
Have you opened up your sand filter to see if there is even sand in there, and perhaps if it is channeled in such a way to be less effective?

Something is not right here, and I don't know what it is?

Wanna drain and refill?

Yippee :flower:
 
I've wondered about the filter but the pool guy installed a new valve last year so surely he checked all that sort of stuff out (he's been doing it almost 40 years).

Here's the steps today:

http://imgur.com/AIhwy2s

And the pool itself:

http://imgur.com/lhBULx1

So it seems like it's getting there. Just slow progress. Been keeping the FC around 14. I can see the bottom of the shallow end and can see about 6 ft down into the deep end. Once I can see the bottom I"ll be able to tell if there is anything left down there to get out.

I really don't want to drain and refill. There is a really bad erosion problem on the west side of the pool, between the pool and house. You can see it in the second picture.

The wall had collapsed and had to have concrete redone as part of the fix. Emptying the pool could cause another collapse I'm afraid. But that may just be me worrying...
 

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