Just refilled pool - should I do a non-clorine shock first or just clorine shock?

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M

mjustison

0
Aug 7, 2017
30
Burbank, CA
Hi,

I'm a new pool owner (inherited from the house we bought) and we came to realize that the water probably hadn't been changed since it was installed 5 years ago.
After getting a proper test kit I realized that my CH and CYA were off the charts. My CH was about 400ppm and CYA was also probably in the ballpark. Over the weekend we drained, cleaned and refilled and now we're back at square one.
I started by getting some descale and clarifier in there and running the filter constantly. I had to add some muriatic acid since the pH was above 8. I checked again this morning and we're in the 7.6-7.8 range. (TA is a bit high at 170ppm but I'm less concerned with this).
I have some non-chlorine shock that I was going to start with but since it's been filled since yesterday without any real sanitizer in there, I'm concerned about another algae bloom. We had a bad one when we first moved in.
Is it a good idea to start with the non-cl shock or should I just go for the gusto and shock it with chlorine? Basically I'm not sure how much it's helping me to have the non-cl stuff in there first.

Thanks in advance for your advice!
-Mark
 
Do not use the non- chlorine stuff. It messes with your ability to test your FC and CC.

Use liquid chlorine. You need to get some CYA in the water too. Start at 40 ppm in S California. Then use liquid chlorine to bring to the proper level of FC based on [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. Once you are settled there and you wish to SLAM Process do that and run a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

Can you fill out a signature? Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

Non sure what you used for 'clarifier' but those items are not recommended here. Can mess up your filter and water chemistry.

Take care.
 
Add the stabilizer now. Add the dry powder to a sock and hang it in front of return. Squeeze it a few times and it will dissolve fast.

And if you are doing a SLAM - you should lower your pH to 7.2 with muriatic acid. However, as a new fill, you most likely do not need to do a SLAM. Try getting your FC to 10 ppm or so after dark, test, and then in the am before the sun hits the pool, test again. If you have <1 ppm FC drop, you are good to go. If greater, do the SLAM.
 
Hi Mark,

The folks here love to help out and you will be your own pool expert in no time.

Fill out your pool info in your signature so we are all on the same page with your system. mknauss posted the link for noobs and I will post it again....Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

CYA will protect your chlorine from the sunlight so work on getting that up slowly and right away get your water sanitized with liquid chlorine. A pH of 7.8 will not hinder your chlorine's ability to sanitize your water but once your FC is above 10 your ability to accurately measure your pH will be difficult. This is important if you need to SLAM and is why you want to first lower you pH before you start a SLAM, if you need to.....let's find out first.

First check your over night FC loss as described by mknauss.
 
Oly said:
Hi Mark,

The folks here love to help out and you will be your own pool expert in no time.

Fill out your pool info in your signature so we are all on the same page with your system. mknauss posted the link for noobs and I will post it again....Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

CYA will protect your chlorine from the sunlight so work on getting that up slowly and right away get your water sanitized with liquid chlorine. A pH of 7.8 will not hinder your chlorine's ability to sanitize your water but once your FC is above 10 your ability to accurately measure your pH will be difficult. This is important if you need to SLAM and is why you want to first lower you pH before you start a SLAM, if you need to.....let's find out first.

First check your over night FC loss as described by mknauss.
Click to expand...


Currently circulating my initial dose of stabilizer this morning. I had to wait off on the shock since I had to get my pH under control. It's now hovering in the 7.2-7.3 range and I'll be throwing in a gallon of Cl tonight.
Since the bottle says what most pool chems say (wait two hours before entering, etc), it doesn't really indicate how long it takes for it to register. If I throw it in after dark (about 7:30pm in SoCal), how long do I have to wait before I do my first FC test? I can't really test tomorrow morning without a control sample first.

Thanks again!
 
I shocked last night. I tried to bring it up to 10ppm but I got to about 8ppm (I tested about 90 minutes post-shock).
These were my numbers at around 9:30pm:
FC: 8ppm
CC: .05 or .00 ppm (hard to judge)
pH: ~7.2-7.3
CYA: <30

I tested again this morning before the sun hit the pool and my FC was about 6-6.5ppm and my CC was zero to the best of my understanding.
What does drop from 8 to 6ppm overnight indicate? Did I test too soon after I shocked last night? Is my CYA level still too low? I did throw in a bit more stabilizer this morning so hopefully I'm back around 30ppm now. I won't be able to test till this evening.
 
Your overnight FC loss is on the high edge and indicates you have a bio-load in your water consuming your FC. Research the SLAM method to sanitize your pool water.

Do you have a ladder in your AG pool? Did you clean your filter and plumbing prior to the refill? You may have equipment that is harboring the algae from a previous algae bloom prior to your purchase and drain that needs to be eradicated.

For now keep your chlorine additions up in the evening and continue testing the FC an hour after adding then again in the morning and again after 24 hours and prior to adding more chlorine. Before you start the SLAM check your equipment then stock up on reagents and chlorine.
 

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Oly said:
Your overnight FC loss is on the high edge and indicates you have a bio-load in your water consuming your FC. Research the SLAM method to sanitize your pool water.

Do you have a ladder in your AG pool? Did you clean your filter and plumbing prior to the refill? You may have equipment that is harboring the algae from a previous algae bloom prior to your purchase and drain that needs to be eradicated.

For now keep your chlorine additions up in the evening and continue testing the FC an hour after adding then again in the morning and again after 24 hours and prior to adding more chlorine. Before you start the SLAM check your equipment then stock up on reagents and chlorine.
Click to expand...

I scrubbed everything down but the filter innards. I gave the ladder a good scrub but can't guarantee I got it all. That and I let the water go unsanitized from Sunday till last night. I think my goal before I raise the Cl again tonight is to get the CYA level in check and aim for 40. Then I'll continue the slam until my loss is less than 1 ppm. I can't imagine I'm too far-gone. The water looks great and I don't feel anything slimy clinging to the walls.
 
My guess is your ladder is full of algae. I had an AG pool and a ladder like this. I think it had sand inside to weigh it down. I pretty sure it comes apart. I would pull it out of the pool, disassemble it, clean and sanitize it inside and out.
 
Oly said:
My guess is your ladder is full of algae. I had an AG pool and a ladder like this. I think it had sand inside to weigh it down. I pretty sure it comes apart. I would pull it out of the pool, disassemble it, clean and sanitize it inside and out.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't shocking the pool kill the algae inside it? I'm pretty sure it's weighted with sand. There was some sand around it when I turned it over to clean it. I gave it a pretty darn good scrub. I'm honestly not sure how much i can disassemble. The posts and steps might be hollow but there's only so much I think I can take apart.
 
Yes it would but if the water enters slowly that will take some time and if the algae is thick in there, even longer costing you time and $$. Better to attack the source directly and stop it from bio-loading your pool water asap.

Check it closely, they put the sand in there somehow and if you can clean it out it will make your job much easier. Regardless, pull it out now and see if it affects your FC loss going forward.
 
Oly said:
Yes it would but if the water enters slowly that will take some time and if the algae is thick in there, even longer costing you time and $$. Better to attack the source directly and stop it from bio-loading your pool water asap.

Check it closely, they put the sand in there somehow and if you can clean it out it will make your job much easier. Regardless, pull it out now and see if it affects your FC loss going forward.
Click to expand...

How would I go about cleaning it if the parts are hollow but permeable? i.e. they can let water in but there's no real way to clean them? Just flood them with clorox somehow?
 
Yes, pull it out of the pool. Look for seams and screws that hold overlapping joints together. I'll bet it comes apart probably down low on the sides of the step ladder. When you had it out did water drain away from the inside? If so have a good look at the joint where it leaks. You may have located the algae nursery.
 
I dropped in about an hour ago to see if I could remove the ladder myself. While I was unable to I can confirm that there were cloudy plumes emanating from it and some green, slimy stuff coming out of the cracks. Good call on the algae-ridden ladder. So much for my nice, clean water.
Looks like my CYA is up to 35 so once I get that ladder out of there I'm going to try and get the Cl up to 10.

...and then I have to figure out how to sanitize the ladder.
 

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