Hello,
First time posting. And I should mention up front that I'm colorblind. Enough that I have a difficult time reading water test results, but not so bad that I can't tell that my pool liner has gone from being a lovely blue to the ugly green you see in the attached pictures.
So, how did this happen?
On Friday, I had my water sample tested by Leslie's. My pool was very murky from having not been covered or maintained over the winter months. I did clean a significant amount of leaves from the pool. Leslie's told me that there were metals (copper) and high phosphate levels in the pool. The cure as prescribed by Leslie's was a full bottle of Metal Free and No Phos. I dumped both bottles in the pool, making sure to follow their instructions. After 24 hours, I backwashed. After 48 hours, I returned to Leslie's for another test. This was yesterday - Monday. I was very happy to hear that no copper was detected. Test results came back as follows:
Free Chlorine 0
Total Chlorine 0
pH 7.2
Total alkalinity 60
Calcium Hardness 120
Cyanuric Acid 0
Iron 0
Copper 0
Phosphates 100
TDS 400
This time Leslie's prescribed 10 pounds of Alkalinity Up, followed by 2 pounds of Power Powder Plus Shock and finally 8 ounces of Ultra Bright clarifier. I increased alkalinity Monday afternoon at 5pm and shocked at 9pm. I allowed the pump to circulate overnight. The water was looking very blue when I woke up today. The deep end was only slightly hazy. Somewhere between clear and cloudy, but definitely on the clearer side of that spectrum. So I added the clarifier around 8am and went upstairs to my office. By lunch, the clarity of the water had not changed, but the color of my liner had considerably. I don't think the pictures I've taken quite do it justice, but believe me when I say that it's not blue.
What was my mistake?
How do I correct it?
How do I avoid it in the future most importantly?
Also, if anyone can recommend a good solution for a colorblind guy who still needs to read water test results - please do!
First time posting. And I should mention up front that I'm colorblind. Enough that I have a difficult time reading water test results, but not so bad that I can't tell that my pool liner has gone from being a lovely blue to the ugly green you see in the attached pictures.
So, how did this happen?
On Friday, I had my water sample tested by Leslie's. My pool was very murky from having not been covered or maintained over the winter months. I did clean a significant amount of leaves from the pool. Leslie's told me that there were metals (copper) and high phosphate levels in the pool. The cure as prescribed by Leslie's was a full bottle of Metal Free and No Phos. I dumped both bottles in the pool, making sure to follow their instructions. After 24 hours, I backwashed. After 48 hours, I returned to Leslie's for another test. This was yesterday - Monday. I was very happy to hear that no copper was detected. Test results came back as follows:
Free Chlorine 0
Total Chlorine 0
pH 7.2
Total alkalinity 60
Calcium Hardness 120
Cyanuric Acid 0
Iron 0
Copper 0
Phosphates 100
TDS 400
This time Leslie's prescribed 10 pounds of Alkalinity Up, followed by 2 pounds of Power Powder Plus Shock and finally 8 ounces of Ultra Bright clarifier. I increased alkalinity Monday afternoon at 5pm and shocked at 9pm. I allowed the pump to circulate overnight. The water was looking very blue when I woke up today. The deep end was only slightly hazy. Somewhere between clear and cloudy, but definitely on the clearer side of that spectrum. So I added the clarifier around 8am and went upstairs to my office. By lunch, the clarity of the water had not changed, but the color of my liner had considerably. I don't think the pictures I've taken quite do it justice, but believe me when I say that it's not blue.
What was my mistake?
How do I correct it?
How do I avoid it in the future most importantly?
Also, if anyone can recommend a good solution for a colorblind guy who still needs to read water test results - please do!