Thanks for the speedy reply, CowBoy! (Izat car as fast as it looks? You need something like that to outrun all them tornadoes! Bring it to East TN, & drive the Tail Of The Dragon!)
Let's see - I'm using Aqua Test Pool/Spa strips and a Home Depot 5-way Pool Kit, and I've got Leslie's for back-up. Measuring my water to a more nth degree may be a good idea for the future (esp. if i go salt), but I think the main ingredients are pretty clear at this point.
My goal right now, is to get the crud gone, or buy a new liner ~$3K. The super high chlorine & super low pH are doing 2 things - 1. killing any residual yellow algae and whatever else may be growing AND 2. seems to be slowly dissolving the crud, which I believe is dried, dead yellow algae.
Your idea on tab placement is appreciated, but I will rarely be using pucks in the future, .
The pucks were put in as follows:
9/11 - tap water
1st day water up to pump level
9/12 9 am - 14 pucks + 6 oz TradeGrade Phosph remover (poison/oxidizer & food remover)
7 lb - should yield FC 16 cya 23.1 when all dissolved
2pm CH 0
TC 10* - Test Note
FC 10
pH 7.2
TA 40
CYA 0 - but I know it's in there; I think my test strip reads CYA 0 if TC is way high
Leslie's #'s agreed with mine - they couldn't read CYA either & he said because FC too high,
So...I'm SLAMing.
6pm - been sunny all day, but puck have been dissolving normally
CL is 9 -
*Test Note - testing CL > 5.0 with hash marks on CL tube (pic) 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 - fill balance with tap water & multiply by 2,3,or 4. Same with pH - use 1/2 (alkalinity mark), fill with tap, test result x2 or use pH papers.
Not my tricks - Leslie's credit.
anyway, 6pm
Sun's down, time for big SLAM CL
6 pucks + 2 Gallons CL + 9lb BiCarb total pucks now = 20
9/13 9am
CH 0
TC & FC both >20
pH 7.2
TA 90
CYA READS 30 - huh? ok.
9/13 6pm
CH 0
TC & FC both >20
pH 7.6
TA 90
CYA 30
Added 1.7 Gallons acid total
9 pm-the shallow end whitened up a lot!
9/14 9am - pucks are >3/4 dissolved - fast! Acid speeded it up.
CH 0
TC & FC both 24
pH 6.0
TA 0
CYA 0
9/15 9am (old pucks gone) added 12 trichlor pucks total pucks now - 32
CH 0
TC & FC both 24
pH 6.0
TA 0
CYA 0 - I agree with your calculation of CYA 32
two 3" 8 oz (1 lb) pucks Trichlor adds 5.5 ppm FC & 3.3 ppm CYA in 10,000 gallons 5.5x0.6=3.3
32 pucks (16 lb) x 3.3 = 44.8 ppm CYA. The CL should be very high, but it's reducing with the sun & hopefully eating the crud dissolved by the acid, and thebugs, grass, pollen, etc., so it's at 24 for now. I'll keep it there for a week, anyways. That yellow Crud came back once - not again!
9/16 - pictures show much improvement; 90% in shallow end, 40% in deep end.
9/17 - taking more pics for comparisons, but can't see overnight improvement.
Need more tincture of time, methinks.
What thinkest thou, Cow?
You know, I think I may just put the cover on it for the year & let the mixture work all winter.
Open pool 1 month early next year & if it doesn't fix, order a new liner.
I think the low pH may be not great for the liner, but it's fix-it or replace-it time anyway.
The skimmers, pipes, filter, etc. will all be empty, so no hurt there.
Looking back - When it was empty, I should have scrubbed the liner with muriatc or other cleaner that would dissolve the crud. Maybe like LimeAway, used in household plumbing, or some other plumbing solvent.
Looking further back - I didn't realize how much the CYA built up by using Trichlor. Only bleach in the future, but will keep CYA 30-50 using up my old pucks.
Also, I didn't recognize yellow algae & should have SLAMed a lot earlier. 30 years, never had yellow algae; gotta count the blessings.
Looking ahead - changing to SALT in the spring. Let's see what that headache brings. Glad I found TFP! There's guys who've done everything before. This thread has helped keep me organized, too. Also, it's made pool ownership feel like more of a hobby than a chore & THAT I APPRECIATE THE MOST! Good job, whoever thought this up! Nice bit of thinking! What other online schemes have you done?
Maybe I'll even dig in my cheap little pocket & see if I can find a shiny dime for ya'll.
Best Regards
