Help!!! Yikes!

[tessv]

What were your OCLT results? When?

Last night’s


The night before

 

[mknauss]

Can you read heads or tails?

 

[duraleigh]

. is there something I’m missing???!!!

Remember the basics of what we teach. Chlorine is consumed by either organics in your pool or UV from the sun. Since you eliminate the sun during the OCLT, the only possible explanation for your 1.5 ppm loss is organics (which you don't want) in your pool.

You must stay the course until the FC kills enough of the organics (and you clean and brush and backwash to get them removed) that you will pass the OCLT. You are close.

 

[tessv]

Can you read heads or tails?

The way it landed, it’s hard for me tell (bad astigmatism and no glasses ?)... phone camera looses focus zooming on it...

Tossed another in a little closer to the side—that one I can tell is tails...

 

[tessv]

You must stay the course until the FC kills enough of the organics (and you clean and brush and backwash to get them removed) that you will pass the OCLT. You are close.

Thanks, @duraleigh... will do. Have to be away from home today for a family reunion. Will dose up the chlorine and cover the pool to minimize UV loss during the afternoon.... will run the bots & brush again tonight when we get home...

*can I leave the quarters in the pool or do they need to be fished out?

 

[mknauss]

*can I leave the quarters in the pool or do they need to be fished out?

Always good to remove any metal from the pool.

 

[tessv]

Always good to remove any metal from the pool.

Will do. Thanks.

 

[tessv]

Will do. Thanks.

Uh. Not an easy task without diving for them. ?

 

[mknauss]

Hehe -- you are right ---

 

[kimkats]

That is clear!! GUrrrrrrr on the oclt...........adult words for you!!!

 

[mariane]

Maybe ducks are swimming in your pool.
That happened to me, why the water was clear and failed OCLT. The ducks were having an early morning swim!

 

[tessv]

Maybe ducks are swimming in your pool.
That happened to me, why the water was clear and failed OCLT. The ducks were having an early morning swim!

Oh NO, @mariane! But... awwwwww ?.

We have an autocover and are out in the country-ish... we would have ALL KINDS of critters in the pool if we left it open overnight ?.

 

[tessv]

YOU GUYS!!!! WE DID IT!!! WE PASSED THE OCLT!!!! Wooooooooohoooooooo!!!!
THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU (ESPECIALLY @kimkats, @duraleigh , @JoyfulNoise, @mknauss, @JamesW, @ajw22, @mariane, @Wobblerlorri, @dw886, @HeyEng and @Paul & Crystal) FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL COACHING!!!!!!

Plan for today is to keep the pool open with salt cells off through the high sun hours—that should burn our CL down to safe levels... will test my pH this morning, and if I’m not up to 7.8, will let the accessories run until I am, then add some MA to keep working on TA... I think my target can safely be 100-110... but that’s going to take awhile, too..

For the week—lots of rain in the forecast again... but hopefully the tiles arrive and that ledge gets completed. The amount of water we drain for the tile install should help both TA and CH come down a little...

Anything else you guys suggest? Any adverse side effects???

Here’s the grand summary of the total chlorine additions (SWG estimate is off, because I learned how to log that sometime midway through)... in case someone tackles this in the future and like us is unable to drain a large amount... it took about 12 days total from ammonia break through SLAM to go from black to safe...

 

[mariane]

 

[tessv]

@mariane YES!!! Happy Dancin’ for sure!!!!

 

[Paul & Crystal]

Thanks for the shout out! You will love your new TFP pool. Have a great summer ?

 

[kimkats]

So that was the SCREAM I heard all the way over here!!!! I can see your huge smile all the way over here!!! to the MAX!!!

Kim

 

[tessv]

If it is ammonia, the pH and TA will drop as chlorine is added.

So, that can help confirm that you have ammonia.

Get your system operational, get the pH to below 8 and begin SLAM.

Monitor TA as you go to see if it drops during the SLAM.

I suspect that you probably have ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

@JamesW... Hi! Circling back to this post—question for you about your suspicion of hydrogen sulfide in the pool...
We’ve noticed “the smell” occasionally—mostly between noon and 4, when the pool cover is closed, which makes me think there could be yuck water in the cover well OR that the cover absorbed some of that odor and the direct sun makes it emit that scent??? But something else is happening now that both salt cells are up & running—LOTS of huge white flakes coming out of the returns... lots... (wish I had grabbed a pic before throwing the bots in today—but here are some now)
Shallow end

Deep end (sorry about all the reflections)


I’ve tried reading a bit about both sulfates and phosphates, but I’m not really confident enough to decipher the implications/relevance; however, I wonder if this may be a case where addressing them would be helpful???

Anyone else on the team have ideas/thoughts????

Thanks!

 

[JamesW]

Any hydrogen sulfide should have been oxidized into sulfur or sulfate. Sulfur might precipitate out.

Get a sample of the flakes and put a drop of acid on them to see if it bubbles, which will usually mean calcium carbonate.

Are the flake mostly white or do they have any yellow or other colors?

What are the current chemistry readings?

Are the flakes only coming out while the cell is generating?

What is the water temperature?

Is the heater on?

 

[Wobblerlorri]

YAAAAAAAAAY on the OCLT, but boooooo on your mystery precipitate. We'll get it identified for you, and handled!