Hello all.
We started off the summer having to rid our pool of a really bad algae situation. The pool had been left unmaintained for a bit, there is another post on that, but with help from this forum and page we got it clean. My kids swam happily for weeks and the pool was great.
Then a couple weeks ago the weather was bad and we were busy, so we didn't swim. I didn't check the levels, but I made sure to put a bottle of bleach in every few days. This turned out to be a mistake when I found out that our pool was green. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been at the start of summer though. Within a day I had it back to blue and then it was taking forever to get clear (we have a sand filter), but it was clearing up every day. We started swimming in it again and it was great.
Since that last mishap I have been checking levels regularly, keeping the pool properly chlorinated, brushing, and vacuuming regularly. We have a pool party scheduled for Sunday. Last weekend we found out it was going to rain most of this week. I knew that the rain might cause us another green spell so I made sure to extra chlorinate the pool during the rain and get out there right away to brush. Despite the rain it seemed to continue becoming more clear. However late yesterday when I went to check the pool floor was visible, still a tad cloudy, and the water had a green tinge. I am so frustrated!
My husband and I sprang into action to shock the pool. We vacuumed the bottom and I checked levels this morning and sure enough I think we have an algae bloom just starting. The CC was nonexistent last night and today its up to a 0.6 ppm. So it's on the rise. Also we put two whole gallons of liquid pool chlorine (I think its 10%) in last night. This morning the FC was also at a 0.6. It should have been MUCH higher. My cya is a 30 ppm, which I believe is low end of normal. I added a bit of stabilizer to the pool because I would rather see that around a 40.
My pH is completely out of wack, but it has been for awhile. I have been bringing it down but I had some misinformation and was not adding enough acid to bring it down to the level needed. I did a acid demand test today and I have a better idea of how much I need to add to the pool to get it where I want it to be. I would tell you where the pH was at, except that the Taylor kit I have only goes up to an 8.0 and all I can say is that it is somewhere above an 8.
The other item I have always struggled with in our pool is alkalinity. It is currently resting at 390 ppm. Since refilling our pool at the start of summer, I have never been able to get that number down. Any advice there would be greatly appreciated.
TLDR
I hate rain.
Algae bloom starting I believe.
FC 0.6ppm (should have been much higher)
CC 0.6ppm (was 0 the night before)
pH somewhere north of 8.0
CYA 30
Alkalinity 390
I don't test for CH because I have a vinyl pool and from what I read, it doesn't matter?
I added stabilizer to raise my CYA up to a 40 and will recheck this evening. I am about to go get some acid to bring the pH down.
Wish me luck. We have a pool party 6 pm on Sunday. Its currently 1:20 pm on Friday. UGH
We started off the summer having to rid our pool of a really bad algae situation. The pool had been left unmaintained for a bit, there is another post on that, but with help from this forum and page we got it clean. My kids swam happily for weeks and the pool was great.
Then a couple weeks ago the weather was bad and we were busy, so we didn't swim. I didn't check the levels, but I made sure to put a bottle of bleach in every few days. This turned out to be a mistake when I found out that our pool was green. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been at the start of summer though. Within a day I had it back to blue and then it was taking forever to get clear (we have a sand filter), but it was clearing up every day. We started swimming in it again and it was great.
Since that last mishap I have been checking levels regularly, keeping the pool properly chlorinated, brushing, and vacuuming regularly. We have a pool party scheduled for Sunday. Last weekend we found out it was going to rain most of this week. I knew that the rain might cause us another green spell so I made sure to extra chlorinate the pool during the rain and get out there right away to brush. Despite the rain it seemed to continue becoming more clear. However late yesterday when I went to check the pool floor was visible, still a tad cloudy, and the water had a green tinge. I am so frustrated!
My husband and I sprang into action to shock the pool. We vacuumed the bottom and I checked levels this morning and sure enough I think we have an algae bloom just starting. The CC was nonexistent last night and today its up to a 0.6 ppm. So it's on the rise. Also we put two whole gallons of liquid pool chlorine (I think its 10%) in last night. This morning the FC was also at a 0.6. It should have been MUCH higher. My cya is a 30 ppm, which I believe is low end of normal. I added a bit of stabilizer to the pool because I would rather see that around a 40.
My pH is completely out of wack, but it has been for awhile. I have been bringing it down but I had some misinformation and was not adding enough acid to bring it down to the level needed. I did a acid demand test today and I have a better idea of how much I need to add to the pool to get it where I want it to be. I would tell you where the pH was at, except that the Taylor kit I have only goes up to an 8.0 and all I can say is that it is somewhere above an 8.
The other item I have always struggled with in our pool is alkalinity. It is currently resting at 390 ppm. Since refilling our pool at the start of summer, I have never been able to get that number down. Any advice there would be greatly appreciated.
TLDR
I hate rain.
Algae bloom starting I believe.
FC 0.6ppm (should have been much higher)
CC 0.6ppm (was 0 the night before)
pH somewhere north of 8.0
CYA 30
Alkalinity 390
I don't test for CH because I have a vinyl pool and from what I read, it doesn't matter?
I added stabilizer to raise my CYA up to a 40 and will recheck this evening. I am about to go get some acid to bring the pH down.
Wish me luck. We have a pool party 6 pm on Sunday. Its currently 1:20 pm on Friday. UGH
