Help me! Swamp...

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You are correctly adding chlorine to SLAM level. It works hard to kill bacteria, algae, viruses, and organic matter. This process uses up FC (chlorine either bound to CYA or available to sanitize) and this used up FC becomes CC (chlorine not able to sanitize and bound as stinky chloramines). Luckily, at SLAM FC levels these CC are broken down by FC and burned off by the sun during the day. So your tests showing CC kind of confirm you are killing stuff off, and it's waiting for the sun to burn it off.
 
40000gallons said:
Thank you very much for your help till now. I have found the link to order and will get the TF 100 XL kit. I am excited for it to arrive, I hope it comes soon!
Click to expand...

Not trying to shame you or anything, just want accurate context for advice. So, did you order it yet?

In the mean time, is it just pool store testing and OTO chlorine test (5 yellow drops) or a DPD test kit, or strips?

There is no wrong answer, it only helps get better advice for your exact situation.
 
Hi guys . An update... The pool has been blue for three days now! Once I got my kit I started testing two times a day. Maintained FC at shock levels and one day woke up to a blue pool! Few days of vacuuming and now letting the chlorine drift down.
Now my questions are :
1. what next? ( my guess is keep testing and keep FC 3-5). Anything else?
2. Should I consider bromine?
3. Does anybody have experience with Remington solar shock ionizing system? They say with that pool maintainance is much easier and you can cut down chlorine use by 80%. The reviews look good on Amazon.
4. I do have brownish spots at the floor of my pool on the shallow end. I suspect that they are where algae settled down. What is the best way to remove them ? I have tried scrubbing with the vacuum but they are stubborn And not coming off. What should I do? ( or should I start a separate thread for this issue ? I will try to upload a picture of the stain.

thanks! I was loosing hope but the pool looks beutiful thanks to all your help!
 
You'll get the best possible advice by posting an updated set of test results when your FC drops to 10 or less, and also if you confirm that you received your TF100 test kit and used it for the test results given. Use the following format to present your numbers.
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Recommendations here will be based on Trouble Free Pool Care (TFPC) and will be based on: Pool School - Recommended Levels and Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals. Of course it's your choice if you want to experiment with alternate methods, but recommendations here will be based on TFPC. I suspect you'll want to get your pH in range, and then raise the CYA a bit, and yes FC 3 is a good target for now, based on the May 22 test, if I remember right, at around CYA 30, provided that CYA result was derived from the TF test kit. (please confirm)

Good test results (along with your pictures) will help with diagnosis of the stain as well.

Great to see your pool looking good!! :)
 
Here's another helpful thread, in case it's also helpful... No chlorine in my pool to assist my ionizer nor am I suppose to

You can also follow links in that thread to get in-depth information.

The summary answer that works for me is: Avoid ionizer because I want a safe pool without risk of green hair and metal stains.
 

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How deep is your wallet? Bromine is very costly AND is a lot harder to maintain than chlorine. Look for the words "white mold" for the biggest problem.

The best, cheapest, easiest method for caring for a pool is using TFP guidelines and chlorine. If you want that to be even easier you can get a SWG (salt water generator).

It is up to you and we will try to help you with whatever you choose but we are not well versed in adding it. More on taking it out.

Kim:cat:
 
I am so proud of you getting the test kit, turning your pool blue, and passing an OCLT!!!
As for the solar sanitizer, weigh the risks and rewards sincerely. If the risks outweigh the benefits, sell it on eBay, Craigslist, or in the classifieds. If the rewards outweigh the drawbacks, then be sure you understand how to use it, clean it, and test for levels in your pool so you can STOP using it before you cross the line you don't want to cross, then sell it.

Eventually, you'll sell it IMO so why not do it now when demand is greatest. Sams Club had a Pre Memorial Day sale and had this one on sale for $99 and it sold out. I had never heard of the tech, got excited, researched, got disappointed, skipped it. No way am I going to deal with green hair for these women and kids in my life, no way am I going to pay $100 then $40 each year or two just to eventually get yelled at and have to deal with stains and exotic pool contaminants.

Too bad too. I really thought science made progress.
 
Thanks. Somehow I was under the impression that the third B in BBB stands for bromine and that once you add boric acid it makes the water smoother and acts as an algae static. There is a whole page in these forums extolling its virtues. Having dealt with a green pool once.... I want to make sure that it does not happen again. So boric acid is not the way to go ? How often do you guys test chemicals ?
Thanks
 
bromine and boric acid are not the same...............I have some links for you. If I have already given them to you just ignore me LOL They should help you learn what we use on our pools and why.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

We are trying to get away from the BBB because too many people bought (me included LOL) all three items even if they did not need it.

I do not use boric acid acid because my cats like to drink out of the pool.

Kim:cat:
 
The advice I got here was to get the water chemistry settled in (and my knowledge of the trends) for a full season before using borates, so that's what I'm doing. It's called TFPC (Trouble Free Pool Care), cause there is some confusion with the other way. For me it's SWC, MA and Brushing, so I would be SMB, haha. Those are great TFPC links that Kim posted.
 
Bromine is an alternative sanitizer to chlorine, not commonly used in pools but sometimes used in hot tubs.

Borates/borax/boric acid is what you are referring to on this page, Borates - Why and How

BBB stands for Bleach, Borax amd Baking Soda. With borax being used in that instance to raise PH.
 
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