I need HELP

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daddycreswell

daddycreswell

0
Jul 20, 2013
130
Lebanon TN
Here whats going on. 18000 gallon liner inground pool with a Compupool SWG. This is my 4th year with a pool and every year I have relied on the pool store. While I think my pool store is great, its a local mom and pop shop that I believe does what is in my best interest, they use Bio-guard stuff be only sell me what they think I need. This year I am really having a problem. 1st thing is my pool is the greenist I have ever seen it, last week the store told/sold me to put in 5 gallon of chlorine, 8 bags of shock, banish algae cleaner, and a sand filter cleaner. Doing all that got my pool to a tourquise color but no futher, the pool would hold chlorine for a few hours and they go away. I only had the little test strips right now, I know I need to order the TK-100. I also think my SWG is not working properly, but I want to get the pool clear the best I can before I tackle the SWG. Today I am going to swap out the sand in my filter becasue I have been told it needs to be changed every 4 years or so. So where do I start first? Please help!2014-05-04 10.40.49.jpg
 
STOP!

Filter sand doesn't wear out. It was a million years old when it was bagged up, so a measly four years in your filter won't do a thing to it.

The SWG might not be working because the water's too cold, or the algae is consuming it faster than it can generate it. But we advocate killing the algae and getting the pool balanced before firing off the SWG anyway. You'll be losing some salt when you backwash the algae carcasses out of the filter, and I suspect there will be a lot.

Order the test kit last week! And get the XL option, so you don't run out of powder before the SLAM is finished.

If you simply MUST do something while you wait for the kit, brush and vacuum and maintain 10 FC.

No more bags of shock, either. You might already be too high on the Calcium or CYA, and you're adding more with each bag. You're working blind!

 
I bet your CYA is going to be waaay to high. Did you order the test kit yet? Read the pool school article on SLAM. You can start that now. Go buy a trunk load of bleach, you're going to need it. We'll have you fixed up inside a week and if you listen to us, you can stop buying all those expensive chemicals from the mom and pop store.

But....if your CYA is too high, you're going to have to drain a portion or all of the pool water.
 
Richard320 said:
Yep. If there's a lot of junk in the bottom, you won't have any trouble loading up the filter even though you're working blind! If you brush things uphill, you stand a better chance of seeing the dark shadowy areas through the green.
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Dark shadows, I'm lucky if I see 12 inches into the pool. I think a pond is clearer than my pool. I used the leaf net first in the deep end got 10 or so good swipes with it. No I am vacuuming to waste. I'm reluctant to stop the breastfeeding from the pool store. At this moment it's hard to see the end result, and I'm 2 weeks out from Memorial Day and a cookout

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2 weeks out? Order the test kit already. Then you will know where your water stands and what to do to correct it. You can't properly shock unless you know your CYA level (there's a chart you know...).
 
I'm reluctant to stop the breastfeeding from the pool store.
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That's absolutely Okay. Stay with them.

What really gets folks into trouble is when they try to blend our advice with pool store advice. You end up in the middle and nothing gets fixed.

Picking one or the other is your best bet.
 
daddycreswell said:
Dark shadows, I'm lucky if I see 12 inches into the pool. I think a pond is clearer than my pool. I used the leaf net first in the deep end got 10 or so good swipes with it. No I am vacuuming to waste. I'm reluctant to stop the breastfeeding from the pool store. At this moment it's hard to see the end result, and I'm 2 weeks out from Memorial Day and a cookout

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First you mention that your pool is the greenest its ever been which implies that you've had algae outbreaks before?? Ugh. A properly cared for pool using the simplest of ingredients and a *real* test kit like the TF-100 will keep you from seeing green! Dare I say that going into my 3rd summer now with my pool and I've never seen green. In fact, I keep more *green* in my wallet by avoiding the pool store route of pool care. :D Wean yourself from Mommy Dearest Pool Store.. you *can* do this! Really!
 

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YippeeSkippy said:
First you mention that your pool is the greenest its ever been which implies that you've had algae outbreaks before?? Ugh. A properly cared for pool using the simplest of ingredients and a *real* test kit like the TF-100 will keep you from seeing green! Dare I say that going into my 3rd summer now with my pool and I've never seen green. In fact, I keep more *green* in my wallet by avoiding the pool store route of pool care. :D Wean yourself from Mommy Dearest Pool Store.. you *can* do this! Really!
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Well when I say it's the greenest I've ever seen, I mean it has never been green to me before. Until this year I've never really had much of a problem with algea. During the winter I tried a leaf net because my cover had torn. BIGGEST mistake I've ever done. I think more leaves got under it than it caught.


Sent from my dumb apple products my work makes me use.
 
After about an hour and half of vacuuming to waste, I have emptied the pump basket full of leafs 6 time.I fill like I am fighting myself. Is there anything I can do in the mean time to maybe get it some what clear? Last week I got it to a touqroise color but never did see the bottom. I don't think I'll ever get it vacuumed out if I can't see the bottom. I should have just drained the flipping thing last week and started over. I have already spent 200.00 and I am no were closer to then were I started. Anyone got a dump truck I can use to haul in some dirt to fill this thing up?


Sent from my dumb apple products my work makes me use.
 
daddycreswell said:
Is there anything I can do in the mean time to maybe get it some what clear? ..............

I have already spent 200.00 and I am no were closer to then were I started.
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Yes, buy the kit so that everything you do chemistry-wise is being done with a purpose. $200 would have bought you the kit, a speedstir, and close to enough bleach to get it clean.
 
daddycreswell said:
After about an hour and half of vacuuming to waste, I have emptied the pump basket full of leafs 6 time.I fill like I am fighting myself. Is there anything I can do in the mean time to maybe get it some what clear? Last week I got it to a touqroise color but never did see the bottom. I don't think I'll ever get it vacuumed out if I can't see the bottom. I should have just drained the flipping thing last week and started over. I have already spent 200.00 and I am no were closer to then were I started. Anyone got a dump truck I can use to haul in some dirt to fill this thing up?


Sent from my dumb apple products my work makes me use.
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If you have that many leaves in the pool, perhaps a manual leaf rake would be a good investment. As much as you can get out of there the better to help speed things along. I am of the opinion that removing them manually is better than repeatedly trying to vacuum them up... no backwashing of the rake necessary, y'know?
http://spaandpooldepot.com/pentair-water-m122-leaf-rake-r121106?gclid=CJ31hdX1l74CFeMF7AodFDIAQQ
 
YippeeSkippy said:
If you have that many leaves in the pool, perhaps a manual leaf rake would be a good investment. As much as you can get out of there the better to help speed things along. I am of the opinion that removing them manually is better than repeatedly trying to vacuum them up... no backwashing of the rake necessary, y'know?
http://spaandpooldepot.com/pentair-water-m122-leaf-rake-r121106?gclid=CJ31hdX1l74CFeMF7AodFDIAQQ
Click to expand...

I have something very close to the same. Having decent look it's just the fact that I can't see the bottom to know where I've been.

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A leaf catcher bag on the vacuum head would help some but then you'd just be dumping the leaf bag instead of the pump basket. Better, but not great.

Leaf rake the bottom, then leaf rake some more. Then leaf rake for a little while, then leaf rake after that. :p Then when you stop picking up much of anything with the leaf rake, try the vacuum again.
 
Daddycreswell,

I feel your pain. I have been there and done that. Trust me these guys are the best. I once met a guy on here who did the TFP method. Had is vinyl liner or over 22 years. Never once replaced it. never had a green pool. and was barely spending money on upkeep for the pool. I jumped on board and when I had my above ground I used the TFP method. My LPS thought I was insane. Friends, family thought I was insane. But it worked. My pool was always clean, My plastic parts never wore out or discolored, our bathing suites never faded. Our sensitive skin never got irritated. The one thing I learned and it was the biggest struggle is PATIENCE. We live in a world where we want and are use to instant gratification. I just bought a house and it has an inground pool. Opened it up and its green. Not use to that with my old house. So I am starting from scratch like you. I netted all the leaves out over and over until i couldn't get anymore. Felt like it would never end but it does. I then vacummed till no end. Just back and forth and kept emptying the basket. The water eventually became clearer and clearer. I kept brushing the sides and bottom as well to keep things stirred up. You want algae free from the sides of surfaces and then the Chlorine can better kill it. If it stays on the sides of the walls and bottom of pools it builds a protective film over it and is harder to kill. So keep at it. Your patience pays off. Your pool will go from green, to light green, to cloudy white, to cloudy blue, to clear. It surprising how fast it goes through the last few colors. You have plenty of time to get it corrected by Memorial day for your cookout trust me. With the help of these guys usually can get it there in a week. But you need that test kit. The strips dont work. You will never go back to them once you use this test kit. It is spot on accurate and so nice to know exactly where you are. In the mean time if i was you while you wait for the test kit. Keep getting out as much as you can, keep brushing the sides and bottom, and wait for your kit. No point putting anything in it at this point without knowing where you need to be. You will just be wasting time and money. Once you test and know where you are I bet in 5 days you are to at least the cloudy blue phase and in another day or so to clear. :) Ditch the LPS people. These guys/gals are the real deal. :)
 
daddycreswell said:
Ok, let's say I've gotten all the leaves out. What do I do next? I have to at least do something till my test kit gets here. All I have right now are the stripes
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I think Richard nailed it earlier:
If you simply MUST do something while you wait for the kit, brush and vacuum and maintain 10 FC.

Did you order the test kit express ship?

chuckle .. I just realized I'm over 400 posts...

Hey JV - Love your avitar!
 

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