- Mar 30, 2020
- 12
- Pool Size
- 17093
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
My first post. Hi there! Ok, I have been maintaining our pool for a few years just using Leslie's, for the most part. So far, no major issues that I couldn't handle. Although I've always felt that just "winging it" probably isn't the best method and our pool could certainly be better if I hired someone to maintain OR if I took the time to learn myself. I mostly neglected the pool all winter so I was not surprised to discover it had turned green overnight after heavy rain. Unfortunately, this event occurred right when I was headed out of town. Lots of rain when I returned (good excuse to procrastinate further) followed by another trip. This went on for about 10 days, so it was BAD. Very green. Lots of dead leaves, etc. Water was not circulating well. Polaris was also needing attention. Etc. Now that we are "sheltering in place" I have no excuse. Might as well tackle this green pool. Here's what I've done this week: I spent hours scooping stuff out then ran to Leslie's for testing and spent a fortune, as usual. It needed everything, but I started with Green Out (which I've since learned is not necessary) Powder Plus as my sanitizer, added lots of salt and cranked the SWG up to 100. Ran the pump continuously, scooped ;eaves, brushed occasionally and started reading this forum. Ordered the TF-100. Water began to turn blue day 3. Attempted to clean the filter (nightmare). Spent at least a couple of hours hosing it off and while there was a BIG improvement, I was not successful in removing all of what I assume is algae, because it was stubborn and would not come off, like it did in the past. Decided to reassemble and hope for the best, because I knew it would probably be at least 24 hours before I could tend to it further and didn't want to risk the water turning green in the meantime. Added muriatic acid and calcium chloride (per Leslie's recommendation). Continued to run the pump 24/7. My test kit arrived so I've been learning, testing and SLAMming. Can't find bleach anywhere around here so I'm using Powder Plus. (btw, I also have Chlor Brite on hand which I was planning to use for maintance later.) According to the Chlorine/CYA chart, I haven't needed to add much additional chlorine, because my CYA level is very low. It feels like I should be adding more chlorine?? Also, I was able to troubleshoot the Polaris (thanks to TFP) so that is now working and it has picked up so, so much debris from the bottom. My pool is quite blue, but still cloudy, especially when I brush. Is this normal? Just keep at it? Still clearing out dead algae or what? Today my FC was 10, CC 1.5, pH 7.5, TA 50. CYA has been at a 5 ever since the first water test at Leslies. I confirmed this again at Leslies a couple days later and my test kit also confirmed the CYA was still 5 a couple of days ago so I assume it still is. I THINK I read on here that it's good to keep CYA lower while you SLAM, so I have ignored that all week. But just in case... is it possible for CYA to be too low for an effective SLAM? I was waiting until I pass the over night test to add it, but wanted to make sure. Also, is there any chance the chlorine is killing the algae that remains in my filter or do I need to clean that again (please say no.) Anything else I should be doing? I expected this process to take some time, and it seems I'm on the right track, but I want to be sure I'm not missing anything that could speed things up.