Yesterday I notice my pool seemed a little cloudy and I don't have a good test kit yet. I have the test strips plus the chlorine & PH test kit from Walmart. The Chlorine level was low so I went ahead and shocked the pool with the stuff we got with the pool. This afternoon when I got home, the water seemed clear but there was stuff all over the bottom of the pool. Looked a little brown like dirt, when I vacuumed the sock on the filter was green. So I think it's probally algae. I went ahead and put in some Halt 50 its for algae, the stuff that also came with the pool. I'm planning on using the BBB method, but wanted to use all the stuff up that came with the pool. I checked the Chlorine this afternoon and according to the test kit it was 5.0 which thats as high as it goes. I know its hard to tell me what to do without test number but if I order the test kit tomorrow, I probally wouldn't get it until late this week. What can I do until then.
I think it might be algae
- Thread starter tina12
- Start date
It sounds like you had a mild algae bloom, killed it by shocking, and the dead algae settled on the bottom of the pool.
Without real test numbers you are just guessing, but given that you need to guess for a few days I would try to keep the chlorine level above 3 and hope for the best.
When you get your test kit post your numbers and we can say something much more specific.
Without real test numbers you are just guessing, but given that you need to guess for a few days I would try to keep the chlorine level above 3 and hope for the best.
When you get your test kit post your numbers and we can say something much more specific.
Pool looks pretty clear can't see anything on the bottom but when brush you can see a little dusting of green (algae I guess). Just got my test kit in and here are my numbers.
FC 1
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 170
CH 260
CYA 30
I know by the Pool Calculator I need to add 131 oz. of 6" bleach. I guess I need to get my TA down to 100, but don't really understand how to do that. I also need stabilizer. Any suggestions
FC 1
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 170
CH 260
CYA 30
I know by the Pool Calculator I need to add 131 oz. of 6" bleach. I guess I need to get my TA down to 100, but don't really understand how to do that. I also need stabilizer. Any suggestions
Your chlorine level is too low. You need to always keep the FC at least at 2, and it should be higher than that normally so you don't run any risk of going below 2.
Other than that you numbers are alright, not ideal but not in need of any quick adjustments. CYA of 30 is between 30 and 50, so that is fine. TA is a little high, but with a vinyl liner there is no rush to correct that. PH is ideal. CH is fine.
Other than that you numbers are alright, not ideal but not in need of any quick adjustments. CYA of 30 is between 30 and 50, so that is fine. TA is a little high, but with a vinyl liner there is no rush to correct that. PH is ideal. CH is fine.
- Apr 5, 2007
- 425
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I'd follow th advice that JasonLion gave you. Your quite fortunate to be at the start of an algae bloom instead of right in the middle of a large bloom. The key will be to hit the algae with chlorine and maintain that level until you have no chlorine drop overnight. You base your shock level and your maintenance level of chlorine off of your CYA. You can use ChemGeek's CYA chart, that you can find in my signature.
dan
dan
Tina,
If you're seeing small amounts of algae when you brush, I would suggest you bring your chlorine up into the 15 + range and hold it up there until your pool is sparkling. It sounds like you don't have much (algae) so it won't take very long but you need that high chlorine to get rid of it. Three things to look for in balanced, nice looking clear pool water.
1. No CC's (you've got that)
2. A clear pool (your close, but not quite)
3. The ability to hold FC overnite with less than a 1 maybe 2ppm drop (I don't think you'll be able to do that yet)
Shoot that chlorine in there in a big dose and I'll bet your pool will sparkle and the "dust" your seeing will disappear.
If you're seeing small amounts of algae when you brush, I would suggest you bring your chlorine up into the 15 + range and hold it up there until your pool is sparkling. It sounds like you don't have much (algae) so it won't take very long but you need that high chlorine to get rid of it. Three things to look for in balanced, nice looking clear pool water.
1. No CC's (you've got that)
2. A clear pool (your close, but not quite)
3. The ability to hold FC overnite with less than a 1 maybe 2ppm drop (I don't think you'll be able to do that yet)
Shoot that chlorine in there in a big dose and I'll bet your pool will sparkle and the "dust" your seeing will disappear.
Update. Pool looks a little clearer, but still not crystal clear like it was. I've been brushing everyday. No real visible signs of algae, but when I brush it looks like there is a dusting all over the bottom. My CYA is 30 and I've been shocking to 12 for about 4 days now. Yesterday morning the FC was 12 and then when I got home it was 6. Brushed, brought FC back to 12 and then this morning it was 9. I work during the day and really can't do much to the pool until I get home. Is there something else I need to be doing to get this under control.
The FC loss overnight indicates that there is still something growing in the pool.
Try taking FC up a bit higher, say 15 or 17. That should help with the fact that you can't raise the FC as frequently as you should.
Try taking FC up a bit higher, say 15 or 17. That should help with the fact that you can't raise the FC as frequently as you should.
Yesterday afternoon around 4:30 I checked the FC and it was at 9, so I added two 96 oz. of 6" bleach. Checked it at 8:30 and it was 15. So this morning at 6:30 check it again to see if lost any FC's overnite and the lever was 20. How can that be. Pool still looks about the same. I know it takes alot of patience, but how long will it take to clear it up.
FC can't go up unless you add chlorine or did the test wrong. So I am not sure what happened there.
There are two possibilities I can think of. Either there is something wrong with your filter, or your high TA is causing calcium clouding. Have you been backwashing/cleaning the filter? Are you sure the system is in filter position and not circulate (if you have a mutli-position valve)?
To lower TA, bring the PH down to between 7.0 and 7.2 with acid, that will lower both the PH and the TA. Then aerate the pool, which will cause the PH to rise without increasing the TA. You can aerate with spa jets, waterfall, fountain, aiming a return up so it breaks the surface of the water, air compressor, kids playing, etc. This cycle is then repeated until the TA is where you want it. I suggest aiming for a TA of around 100.
There are two possibilities I can think of. Either there is something wrong with your filter, or your high TA is causing calcium clouding. Have you been backwashing/cleaning the filter? Are you sure the system is in filter position and not circulate (if you have a mutli-position valve)?
To lower TA, bring the PH down to between 7.0 and 7.2 with acid, that will lower both the PH and the TA. Then aerate the pool, which will cause the PH to rise without increasing the TA. You can aerate with spa jets, waterfall, fountain, aiming a return up so it breaks the surface of the water, air compressor, kids playing, etc. This cycle is then repeated until the TA is where you want it. I suggest aiming for a TA of around 100.
The acid will work very quickly. I would give it half an hour to an hour with the pump running to mix in and then you can retest.
I just had my husband to do another test for FC levels and I must have been asleep this morning when I took them. The FC is 14, just down 1 from last night.