In Ground Plaster Pool Opening

[FlyAUTigers]

Good morning,

I've been going back and forth on my older 40x20 30,000Gal plaster pool between DIY, pool store recommendations, and have now landed here as my last hopeful solution. The pool went through a late season closing and an early season open in Alabama which resulted in a lot of debris and algae even with a safety cover to deal with prior to reaching the point it's in today. The water is somewhat clear, especially in the shallow end, but still not clear enough to see the bottom of the deep end. I just received my test kit today and ran through my first test, whether I did it correctly or not is a different story. Through today, I've been using Poolife Turbo Shock and IncrediPool Tabs to get it up and running. My most recent test results are listed below, and this is factoring in that 5lbs. of shock was added to it yesterday. I appreciate in advance anyone's help and advice in getting the water cleared up as I'm ready to take a new approach if it means less trips (and hopefully none in the future) to the pool store.

Tested 05/05/22 09:56AM CST - Alabama
FC 0.2
CC 2.2
PH 7.8
TA 110
CH 320
CYA 0 (Not certain I performed this test accurately, as I filled the tube entirely and the dot did not disappear)
Water Temp 80
Ambient Temp 83

 

[MITBeta]

For the CYA test, you mixed 50% pool water with 50% CYA test reagent (R-0013),right?

 

[MITBeta]

It looks like both of the products you used are calcium hypochlorite.

You need to follow the SLAM Process.

 

[FlyAUTigers]

Correct, using the K-2006, I used 7ml pool water and added an additional 7ml R-0013 and mixed for 30 secs. It never really even began to cloud at all in the mix bottle or comparator tube.

 

[FlyAUTigers]

It looks like both of the products you used are calcium hypochlorite.

You need to follow the SLAM Process.

Thank you. I'm assuming I need to add something to reduce the current PH from 7.8 to the 7.2-7.5 range? If so, what's the preferred commercial off the shelf product to do so?

 

[MITBeta]

Muriatic acid. You should be able to find it at your favorite big box store. You're going to need lots of liquid chlorine, too.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[FlyAUTigers]

Good morning,

Ran another test this morning after adding 6Gal of 10% Liquid Chlorine yesterday and 42oz of Dry Acid since Ace was out of muriatic yesterday. Here's the results as of this morning:

Tested 05/06/22 10:58 AM CST - Alabama
FC 1.0
CC 0.6
PH 7.2
TA 125
CH 250
CYA 0 (Tube again was filled entirely and dot did not disappear)
Water Temp 80
Ambient Temp 75

Should I continue with the SLAM and add more LC or add stabilizer to attempt to bring the CYA up?

Thanks again for the help, it's already much appreciated.

 

[MITBeta]

From the SLAM Process:

SLAMing an outdoor pool is most effective when CYA is around 30 to 40. Below 30 you lose too much chlorine to sunlight. As CYA goes up, SLAMing requires more and more chlorine, which starts to get impractical around 80 or 90. With CYA above 90 we recommend replacing water to get CYA down before you start the SLAM process.

 

[MITBeta]

Add dry stabilizer using the sock method to bring to bring it up to 30. SLAM at 12ppm FC.

 

[FlyAUTigers]

Good morning,

Here's the update after bringing the CYA up via the sock method and SLAM:

Tested 05/09/22 11:50 AM CST - Alabama
FC 15.0
CC 0.0
PH 7.4
TA 125
CH 500
CYA 42
Water Temp 74
Ambient Temp 73

Any additional steps needed at this time, or let the FC burn down? I'm also leaving for the beach this Friday for a week and curious of any preemptive steps I can take to prevent it from running away while I'm gone.

Thanks again.

Add dry stabilizer using the sock method to bring to bring it up to 30. SLAM at 12ppm FC.

 

[MITBeta]

Did you pass the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test? Clear water? CC 1ppm or less?

 

[FlyAUTigers]

I actually overlooked the OCLT but will perform it this evening and tomorrow morning. The water is still cloudy but appears to be improving compared to last week.

 

[FlyAUTigers]

Did you pass the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test? Clear water? CC 1ppm or less?

FC at sundown yesterday was 11.6, sunrise this morning is 11.8. CC is still reading as 0 but the water is still somewhat cloudy.

 

[MITBeta]

If you're passing the other exit criteria and you're just waiting for the water to clear, you might try adding some pool DE to your filter:

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[FlyAUTigers]

If you're passing the other exit criteria and you're just waiting for the water to clear, you might try adding some pool DE to your filter:

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.troublefreepool.com

Followed the DE steps and ultimately ended up adding 8 cups of DE to get roughly a .8/.9 PSI increase as I didn't want to over do it. It should be noted that the sand in the filter was replaced on 04/22. Test results at sundown below with picture:

Tested 05/10/22 1915 - Alabama
FC 7.0
CC 0.5
PH 7.4
CYA 40
Water Temp 76
Ambient Temp 80

 

[MITBeta]

Don't let your FC fall below SLAM level until you pass all 3 exit criteria.

 

[FlyAUTigers]

Don't let your FC fall below SLAM level until you pass all 3 exit criteria.

Roger. Added an additional 3Gal of 10% LC.