Frustrated!

[Kld331]

Hi all!

I’ve been lurking and reading up on pool advice but I’m stuck.
We moved into a home that has a 30,000gallon unground pool that was never closed after last summer. It was GROSS.
We had a small pool company and attempt to retrieve the blue water - even doing a partial drain and refill - but algae is still present.
I took matters into my own hands and went at it myself.....thanks to all of the wonderful help I’ve gotten through these forums already.
I’ve been shocking the pool blindly, having ordered my Taylor K-2006 kit, awaiting its arrival. It finally came today and this is what I got for readings.

The chlorine is HIGHHHHH but there is still, what I believe to be, algae at the bottom of the pool. How is it possible with brushing, vacuuming, shocking, cleaning the four cartridges and backwashing the filter - that it’s still there?!

CYA - 50ppm
pH - 7.3
TA - 150ppm
CH - 170ppm
TC - 25
FC - 23.5

I’m including a picture - the shallow end is blue but cloudy - but the deep end definitely has a green stuff at the bottom. We are completely surrounded by trees, too. This can’t be pollen, can it??? It’s been awful this year in MA!

Any help or guidance is tremendously appreciated. I’ve been educating myself and reading up endlessly and I’m at the point where I don’t know what more I can do!

Thanks in advance!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum! :handshake:

Your FC is not all that high. Just barely above SLAM Process level. Read the SLAM Process article. Maintain your FC at 20 ppm until you pass the three criteria.

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Please add a signature. Read Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

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[Mendy48]

You're FC is not high. You need to continue to SLAM. With a CYA of 50, maintain your FC at 20ppm. Use PoolMath to determine how much chlorine you’ll need to maintain shock level by frequently testing your FC level. Also, make sure you leave you pump running 24/7 while SLAMing your pool (proper circulation/filtration of the pool water is recommended). Continue vacuuming and brushing pool each day while in SLAM mood. The more often you brush, the faster it will go.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP!

having ordered my Taylor K-2006 kit, awaiting its arrival. It finally came today

This was the #1 best thing you could do. You are now 100% in control. We'll continue to help, just ask away.

 

[BattleOfYakima]

Congratulations on getting a recommended test kit!

Thanks for posting the test results! Did you perform the CC test? It is performed right after the FC test on the same water. Instructions on the same page: FAS-DPD-Chlorine-Test

When the FC is over 10, the PH test is invalid - so we don't actually know what your PH is. Could you do a PH test on the water you used to fill the pool please? Just turn on the hose, water the yard or the pool with all the water that's sitting in the hose itself, then once you're getting "fresh" water from the pipes, fill the test tube and perform the PH test as usual. While this will not tell us the PH of the pool, it gives us an idea of what we're dealing with.

Does your filter have a PSI gauge?

We will help you! You got this!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

My first thought was "What kind of filter do they have??" and then "Is the filter slow or is it faulty?"

Please advise.

Maddie

 

[Kld331]

Thanks so much for all the responses! To answer some questions...

We have a Hayward C3030 cartridge filter that seems to be working well! I’ve had to clean out the cartridges daily to get all the gunky stuff it’s sucking up.

We do have a PSI gauge and it’s reading at a 3.0...

I tested the water from the hose after letting it run for a bit and I got a pH of 7.5 (it’s in between 7.4 and 7.6).

I did test the CC when I did the testing but forgot to include it! Sorry!!! It was 1.5ppm.

I also updated with my signature! We’re unsure of when the pool was installed but I can try to dig that information up!!

Thanks again, everyone!!

 

[borjis]

You're getting really close...just hang there. Done before you know it.

 

[an1vrsy]

Welcome to TFP! One other thing that can lessen your frustration is to see your progress. You have taken the first photo of your progress. Take photos of your pool daily from the same angle and you'll actually see the progress. It reminds you of where you were and how the pool is changing for the good.

Keep at it.

 

[BattleOfYakima]

We have a Hayward C3030 cartridge filter that seems to be working well! I’ve had to clean out the cartridges daily to get all the gunky stuff it’s sucking up.

Would you call it a slime? Or just gunk and stuff?

We do have a PSI gauge and it’s reading at a 3.0...

When you get a chance, clean the cartridge really thoroughly then put it back in close it all back up normally, then turn the pump back on, open the air relief/vent valve/air screw to be sure you got all the air out of the system, and then check the PSI gauge again. Record that PSI in your notes or this thread as the "Clean PSI" then, as explained here in pool school, calculate your "Dirty PSI" by multiplying your clean PSI by 1.25. So for example, if your clean PSI was 10 PSI, then your Dirty would be 10 x 1.25 = 12.5 PSI. Then don't clean the cartridge again until the PSI gauge gets that high. Allowing the cartridge to get a little clogged up actually helps it capture the smallest dead algae that's floating in your water causing the clouding. So daily cleaning may be slowing you down, unless you are increasing by 25% in 24 hours... The important addition to the 25% rule is this - Put your hand or the brush head on the pole in front of one of the water return jets when the filter is clean and get a feel for the water jet's strength. It should always be about that strong. If you notice it being much weaker before your PSI rises by 25%, then go check the PSI at that time and lower your Dirty PSI to whatever that is or a tad lower. We want to maintain strong circulation.

I tested the water from the hose after letting it run for a bit and I got a pH of 7.5 (it’s in between 7.4 and7.6).

That's good news. Do you currently own any liquid muriatic acid or dry pool acid?

I did test the CC when I did the testing but forgot to include it! Sorry!!! It was 1.5ppm.

A CC of more than 0.5 is how your pool talks to you and asks for a SLAM Process process and to be patient and NOT to add any pool store magic potions. For your CYA of 50, according to the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA], you need to test FC multiple times per day and add more bleach/chlorine to bring the level back up to FC 20 each time. Most people find at least 3 testing opportunities (think breakfast, dinner, bedtime) with many bonus points awarded for more FC test & bring back to FC 20 when possible.