I did everything wrong, HELP!

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C

corrid

0
Jun 16, 2017
7
Norwalk, CT
So my pool has been nothing but a headache!

Bought it 5 years ago from Namco. Last year the liner was so riddled with holes we decided to replace the 4 year old liner with a better quality liner, not from Namco.

We hired a pool guy last year who I thought was good, but expensive.

He never closed our pool properly, and I didnt know what I was doing, so my pool sat uncovered all winter, and never got a real closing, I just lowered the water level and disconnected the filter.

This year, I decided I needed to learn how to do it myself, so I went to the pool store to "learn".

I have a 18x33 above ground pool, about 15,000 gallons. I put 6 bags of shock in, and my black pool turned clear! It was awesome. And then I saw the massive amount of leaves and filth on the bottom. And thats when I did something really stupid. I couldn't find my net, so I decided to take my brush and just mix that stuff on the bottom up, and let the filter get it out. Big mistake!

My pool has been bright green for 2 weeks now. I threw more shock bags in, and nothing.

I got a hth 6-way pool test kit, and found out my alkalinity was basically nonexistent. The water never turned green from the indicator, and a single drop of titrant made it red.

So off to walmart i went to buy alkalinity up.

While i was there, apparently looking like the idiot that I am, an older gentleman told me to look at the ingredients of the hth alkalinity increaser in my cart, then told me to look at the ingredients of baking soda. He pointed out I was paying 3x more for the pool packaging. He told me to get a 12lb bag of baking soda, dump it in the pool, and then told me to google trouble free pool.

So here I am.

pH: 7.5
CYA: 50
Alkalinity: 60
FC:0

I dumped 4 gallons of Walmart 8.25% bleach in Thursday and added another 3 last night. I am attempting a SLAM, but my only test kit right now is the hth one. I cannot find the better ones locally. I will order a better one, but I need to start this now. My wife and son are NOT happy My wife wants to call back our pool guy from last year. I am not opposed to that, but he was $50/week, and I still had to supply the 5 pucks and 2-4 bags of shock he used every week on the pool. He also had another guy that worked with him that would come sometimes, and he would add 4 pucks to my pool, yet like 10 pucks went missing, which is annoying.

Any advice you can give me would be very much appreciated!
 
Welcome to the forum! All of our best stories start with, "My pool is nothing but a headache." A few of the moderators will be by shortly to review some basics but I'll add my two cents:

1) The goal of the Trouble Free Pool method is to self-maintain your pool in a few easy steps and saving money.
2) Your pool guy may have been nice, but based on the above he was not doing you any favors with his method.
3) The most beneficial tool / investment you can make in your pool is a pro testing kit: TFT-100. Use search box above. As soon as you can provide those pro results, your pool is days away from being the best on the block.
4) We suggest you stay AWAY from the pool store. They are in the business to sell you things.
5) Please add a picture of your pool or link a picture so we can see what we're working with.
6) please add your pool and equipment details.


Welcome to TFP
 
It's going to be hard for anyone to give advice until your test kit arrives. We need to know your current chlorine & CYA (stabilizer) levels. The shock & pucks may already have the CYA levels too high.
You need to:
Order a test kit.
Find the leaf net & get as much of the solid matter out as possible.
Run the filter 24/7, vacuum & brush often.
Add a gallon maybe even two of liquid chlorine a day until the kit arrives.
Post the results after you get the kit.
 
Welcome to the forum! :wave:

You will find some useful links in my signature below.

I suggest you start with Pool School, and do some reading while you get a PROPER test kit coming. No, they are not cheap, but considering you WERE used to paying $50/week to someone that did a poor job to begin with, your total cost to get your pool clean, and keep it that way will be WAY less in the long run with the proper test results. Not to mention the fact that you will ONLY be adding what is needed... not some unknown snake oil formula that is guaranteed to do little more than drain your wallet!

Trust me, I came here a few years ago with the same issues you are having now, and have saved a TON of cash, have had less issues with my pool... To the point that my neighbours have noticed, and have started asking me how I do it. :)
 
My CYA is 50. My current chlorine is high, but how high is a mystery, as my current test only goes from 0-5. But the water after the oto drops is like bright orange/red, instead of the light yellow that the 5 window on my tester shows.

I have ordered a test kit, but I am losing my wife's patience. I agree my pool guy was not doing me any favors. Right now I am trying to find a way to get the pool clean before my wife calls the pool guy because she loses faith in my "internet group" LOL
 
I got a leaf net last night, and ordered a new vacuum similar to the kind my pool guy used to use, with little wheels, as opposed to the triangle thing with bristles at the bottom.

The filter has been running 24/7. Should I be running it at 0.5HP or 1.5HP?
 
corrid said:
My CYA is 50. My current chlorine is high, but how high is a mystery, as my current test only goes from 0-5. But the water after the oto drops is like bright orange/red, instead of the light yellow that the 5 window on my tester shows.

I have ordered a test kit, but I am losing my wife's patience. I agree my pool guy was not doing me any favors. Right now I am trying to find a way to get the pool clean before my wife calls the pool guy because she loses faith in my "internet group" LOL
Click to expand...

Trust the guys here. When they say throw out your kit and get a different one, do it. When they say ignore your pool guy and buy XYZ at WalMart, do it. Their methods may not be the quickest/easiest when you're having a problem, but over the life of your pool using their methods will result in you spending far less time maintaining your pool and far more enjoying it.

The TroubleFreePool method is one of the few things in life I evangelize about.
 
you can keep it at 0.5HP for the majority of the time... step it up when you add bleach/acid for an hour to make sure that you get it all mixed in properly.

Get as much as you can with your new leaf net out of the pool NOW.

If your CYA is at 50, do NOT use anything that has a conditioner/stabilizer in it... 50 is workable, but you don't want it any higher for a SLAM. (talking about pool store shock, and/or pucks/tabs)

Your chlorine may not be high at all for your CYA... at your 50.... your chlorine would have to be at 20 for SLAM, and 6-8 on a daily basis to maintain a healthy pool. Your test kit is not able to test that high.

An option that you could use while you wait for your good test kit to come is to mix your sample water from the pool with PURE distilled water 50/50 and test the chlorine again... it is not perfect, nor as precise as the proper test... but it should put you in the ballpark for where your chlorine is at. (Take the result, and double it for your number.)
 

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according to poolmath... adding 121oz of 8.25% bleach will raise your FC by 5.3 assuming your calculations are right and you have 15000gallons in your pool

without testing, you are shooting in the dark as to adding anything into your water. We can't say how much chlorine is getting consumed right away by what is in there, so we don't know how much you need to add.
 
Tell your wife to give you 2 weeks of no guff. And for you, You need to follow the directions of TFP to the letter and she'll come around. If you don't do your homework in Pool School, this will be a painful and expensive process for the both of you.
 
what does your pool look like right now??

Post a picture of it, so we can get an idea of what you are dealing with (The water)

You said that you have ordered a proper test kit, right?

If in fact, you had a high chlorine count (as you stated)... and given the fact that you added 3 gallons of what I am assuming is 8.25% bleach to it... you should be seeing a change in the water colour? green to hazy turquoise, or hazy blue?

There is NO magic pill that will make the water better overnight without having unwanted consequences.

We NEED proper test results to be able to help you out, and get a Happy Wife back... after all... Happy Wife=Happy Life! ... I learned this the HARD way!
 
So while I wait for the test kit, I have been testing with my hth kit. That kit has a 0-5 scale. It says to put 5 drops in. I have been putting 1 drop in instead, and multiplying my results by 5. I know its not perfect, but I am hoping it gets me close enough for now? I have been keeping the chlorine between 4 and 5 with a single drop of oto.
 
I would be putting 2 gallons in in the morning, and another 2 just as the sun is setting.... of 8.25%, or better, while you wait for your test kit.
 
So I found out while washing my cartridge filter, that there is a large hole in the filter. The water is passing right through it and coming out just as dirty as it went in. My chlorine level is staying high and the pool is not nearly as green, more like brown now. I am ordering a new filter cartridge. Hopefully this is the missing piece of why my SLAM didn't seem to be working.
 
The filter is not the main problem with your green water, it is a chemistry issue. The filter does need to be fixed, but until you get your test kit you are just guessing not slamming.
After you get your test kit and start proper testing and chemical addition you will make great progress.
 
I started my first pool experience this past March with a new liner and newly filled pool. We had friends who have a pool and use a pool store to maintain their pool. Fortunately I found this group before the pool was completely filled so I asked my husband to let me try to maintain the chemistry of the pool. I asked him to give me 2 weeks and if the water wasn't balanced by then that I would turn it over to him. When we were with our friends he would refer to my "internet experts" in much the same way it sounds like you wife is referring to us. Ask her to give you two weeks after your test kit arrives. Even encourage her to read the forum. In our household my husband refers to himself as "hardware" and I'm "software". Because of that, he does the vacuuming and cleaning of the pool and I play the mad scientist with chemicals and reagents, etc. Perhaps you can encourage your wife to take an active role in balancing the water. My husband is sold and no longer refers to this group as "internet experts" and he proudly tells people that I maintain the pool water with the help of my friends.
 

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