I've got absolutely no clue where to start!

[Strawberryshortcake]

Ahh well! I ordered the little jet return fountain. I can always remove it and it doesn’t cost very much! Well... if i can manage to get the eyeball out ?I’m going to have good ol dad have a go at it because he is more experienced with pool equipment then I am.

I really hope it helps cool a little. It’s up to 91 this afternoon!

Ooh I also found out dad knows how to install liners and has done that before too. So when’s a i finally go to replace this one, maybe I can get some savings doing it ourself! ?That’s a ways off though.

I backwashed today even though filter pressure is fine. Interesting to see it was orange again. I am going to assume that is iron coming out, which is great. Since the stain has gone out totally evenly I don’t mind the coloring of the pool much at all and that means I don’t need to keep trying expensive AA treatments. I may throw a bottle of metal magic in and see if it lightens it any.

 

[kimkats]

Dad in for.the win!!!

 

[Strawberryshortcake]

Hi guys... been a little while! I have come with another question ?

So I needed to add muratic acid for the first time tonight. My ph is 7.8 and my TA has gotten up to 140. My acid is 31%, so pool math instructed 2 quarts and 3 cups. I’ve never handled the stuff before and let’s just say I wasn’t prepared for the odor ?I did have the foresight to put on some gloves beforehand.

Anyway.... the acid was smoking / fuming when I poured it into my measuring cup and into my pool! Is this normal? Was I not supposed to use a plastic cup? It nearly took my breath away so I had to sit the cup down and step back. It’s SUPER 97% humidity too, thanks to the hurricane remnants, so the cloud of fumes was just lingering.

As for other matters with my pool. My chlorine consumption is still ridiculous. I average 1.7-2 gallons a day. Bleach must go in by noon - 1pm before it falls below target and then again before we go to bed so it can last until noon-1pm the next day. I don’t lose any at night. If the day is cloudy or rainy as it has been I only need to add 1 gallon, or less, which is great.

This is all 10% fresh bleach too... I honestly didn’t expect to be needing to add this much bleach every single day and it’s really starting to bother me. I even tried increasing CYA and it made no difference. It almost feels like my cya isn’t doing its job based on the dramatic difference when it’s cloudy.

Again I lose nothing at night and I’ve already gone through another slam thinking it had to be something in the water (almost a week at slam level), passed overnight test repeatedly and the water is crystal.

 

[mknauss]

Muriatic acid fumes can look like that. I do not have humidity but I suspect that is what it does.

But -- with that amount to add, why measure? You needed close to three quarts. Pour in half the jug and a bit. Let it circulate for an hour or until tomorrow and test again. No need to be all that accurate with a large pool.

FC loss can be high this time of year. Lots of factors. One of course is the bleach. I know you say fresh, but it can degrade quicker in warmer temperatures.

 

[IceShadow]

What CYA are you at now?

 

[kimkats]

Make sure to wear some kind of eye protection when messing with that stuff. I do use a plastic cup with it. In fact my m.a. has it's own cup just to be on the safe side. (I don't measure any more but I do still have the cup.) You could set up a small fan so it is blowing the fumes away from your face if there is no wind.

What I do is lower the jug into the water, take the lid off, tip the jug so the m.a. flows out into the water. I do this in front of the return. ALWAYS move slow with this stuff and do NOT get in a hurry.

Kim

 

[duraleigh]

My chlorine consumption is still ridiculous. I average 1.7-2 gallons a day.

I haven't followed this thread but you are correct about your FC consumption.....ridiculous! 1.8 gallons of 10% is about a 7 ppm loss daily in your pool.

You either have NO CYA to speak of or you have algae.

 

[IceShadow]

Or, perhaps the bleach is older/lost potency?

 

[Strawberryshortcake]

I haven't followed this thread but you are correct about your FC consumption.....ridiculous! 1.8 gallons of 10% is about a 7 ppm loss daily in your pool.

You either have NO CYA to speak of or you have algae.

I have a thread (i guess just go on my profile to see the other thread) in the algae section about my bleach usage asking for help.

I did have some algae, it was hiding in the seam of my steps. There is no more there and absolutely no where else it could be, i don’t have any other features or lights. The water is completely crystal clear. I slammed for nearly a week, several days into passing the overnight loss test as well, and ended with a mustard level held slam for 24 hours for good measure.

Ever since it’s gotten hot here, it hasn’t changed. I WAS losing 14-19ppm when the algae was present and 3-4ppm at night. That stopped a while ago now (since the steps were cleaned).


My CYA is tentatively at 60. Some days I see the dot and some days I don’t...but it was around 60, or a little bit less. I upped to 60 from 50 and saw no improvement with my usage.

Bleach is currently from Atwoods and i don’t have the date handy right now but it was made in the current month I bought it. It’s stored in my kitchen, which is really cold (and it’s inside at Atwoods). I experienced the same rate of loss with Walmart’s pool chlorine, and walmart’s great value 6% bleach. So.. if it’s not potent bleach then no one I can get bleach from has good bleach.
I do come to the amount I expect to when I add it and then test.

The UV index here since the end of may has been “extreme”. We’ve been at 90+ with 106+ heat indexes. My pool gets absolutely no shade from about 8 am until dark, just bright, intense sun.

I’ve asked a few times now if CYA can be “bad”. it not gotten an answer, and I suppose it would be “no”. It’s showing up on the test, and I know i’ve added it, but it doesn’t seem right based on what other have said in even desert conditions their pool uses.

If the sun goes away, I don’t need bleach. It’s been 100% cloudy and raining and 76 degrees the past two days and I added bleach around 5pm yesterday... it’s now 9pm and the pool doesn’t need bleach. I lost 1.5ppm in that time. That sort of loss pattern doesn’t match up with algae, correct? I ONLY lose my bleach when the sun is on the pool. I don’t know what else to try.

 

[duraleigh]

FC is consumed by only two things....organics in your pool and UV from the sun.....that's it. UV loss can and does occur when it's cloudy, too, just not as great.

added bleach around 5pm yesterday... it’s now 9pm and the pool doesn’t need bleach. I lost 1.5ppm in that time.

Well, that certainly doesn't match up with the 1.7 - 2 gal of 10% you are averaging.

If your CYA test yields a result of 60 ppm, (and yours does) then you can count on the CYA being there and doing it's job....it doesn't go bad.

Again, I haven't read this entire thread but your addition of FC seems disorganized. I suggest you get very precise and stay on this subject of managing your FC until you have it resolved with this regimen .....

Perform the OCLT tonight. Test at dark and again before 8:00AM tomorrow before the sun hits the pool. That eliminates the UV entirely and you should pass with a 1 ppm loss of FC or less.

Then, with a CYA of 60, calculate and add enough bleach to get to get to 7 ppm FC. (If you are over 7, do not add any more but record your result) Then, test again exactly 24 hours later and add again to bring your FC back to 7 ppm (and again, if you are still over 7 ppm, don't add just record the result).

Please do this three days in a row and post up the results.

Don't look for mitigating factors. You are either losing FC to the Sun, you have organics in your pool, or you have some testing errors. This stuff is pretty good science and it repeats every single day in thousands upon thousands of pools. Your pool is the same as all of ours and we'll get to the bottom of the issue.

 

[splashpad]

As for other matters with my pool. My chlorine consumption is still ridiculous. I average 1.7-2 gallons a day. Bleach must go in by noon - 1pm before it falls below target and then again before we go to bed so it can last until noon-1pm the next day. I don’t lose any at night. If the day is cloudy or rainy as it has been I only need to add 1 gallon, or less, which is great.

This is all 10% fresh bleach too... I honestly didn’t expect to be needing to add this much bleach every single day and it’s really starting to bother me. I even tried increasing CYA and it made no difference. It almost feels like my cya isn’t doing its job based on the dramatic difference when it’s cloudy.

Again I lose nothing at night and I’ve already gone through another slam thinking it had to be something in the water (almost a week at slam level), passed overnight test repeatedly and the water is crystal.

Do you have any way to get a cover or shade on the pool?

What we do is add the FC (the full amount needed to reach top FC for our CYA) in the evening and let it do it's job overnight. We don't add any during the daytime unless we are going to swim. Normally it's not 0/FC when we check & add the next evening, because the 'cleaning' got done the night before (without UV battles) & the CYA protected the 'rest', we don't test & top it off hourly like needed in a slam