new to pool life

carolvk12 said:
Now i have had my solar cover on during this (before I started this high level shocking) I hope that there isnt any algae on that. Should I shock tonight and cover it so it gets zapped with the chlorine? I dont think I had mustard algae when I read on here. It was never on the walls. and it wasnt only in the shady spot. who knows maybe all my pool toys need a bath

I know nothing about covers but your plan sounds smart - sunlight for killing CC's and cover and toys in the pool some to kill anything on them once you get close to the end of the process.
 
Just went in pool because I wanted to no if I could see across wise under water. from the top it looks clear! Well under it isnt so much still..pout. It does seem a differnt color i cant see half way across my pool. but got in a brushed the bottom for a third time today found a few specks I may have missed earlier. Alomst time for checking the chlorine level. How long does this usually take? a week?
 
every day from night addition to morning addition to night addition i am consuming chlorine. obviously during day is from sun wind etc. at night is where I want no loss to be sure I have killed all the algae? Off to go add a gallon of bleach .
 
carolvk12 said:
every day from night addition to morning addition to night addition i am consuming chlorine. obviously during day is from sun wind etc. at night is where I want no loss to be sure I have killed all the algae? Off to go add a gallon of bleach .

Mostly Correct. Details here: pool-school/overnight_fc_test
 
So i should be testing at night adding then retesting? I havent been bec,uz i am waiting for more drops i dont have any more now used them up it takes me about 45 drops each time so i would test add and use what the calculator said it would be
And prob testing a few times during day also?
I pray they come today i added bleach at 930 laast night and at 8 am this is what i had
Fc 23
Cc 0
Went down 2.5 from what the calculator figured id be at with what i addded.
Small spots on bottom brushed can see it mix in with water in the center when i. Brush i guess u say it plums? It is dark colored laying on bottom not yellowy but when i brush i can see the color go in the water at times am i killing it?
 
No problem on not testing as frequently when you are low on chemicals. Test before adding then add based on calculations and test again in the morning until you have drops to spare.

The water needs to be clear and look algae free before doing The OCLT anyway.
 
Ya i am still getting spots on bottom of pool not so many but is still settling.
The water is clear as a bell looking down into it thats y i swam last night becuz my water has looked mostly clear through this all! With the eception of under neath if i didnt go under the water i wouldnt no what it looked like lol i dont lose much at night maybe i should have my cartridge filter sprayed out again ? I did it friday now its tuesday? Or safe to wait? I know alot of people hve cloudy water this year could hear them talkin about it to pool store man ill keep on need to go buy out store again of bleach i think i have went through 7 jugs in 2 days
 
Got my testing stuff today! A day or so with out reading makes it hard i just added bleach and brushed alot . Came today and tested and i was 25.5 fc yes! It is dark and dreary and rainy today less gunk on bottom but i do notice dead spot by ladder is usually a yellowy green color?? It is decreasing in size though . Is is normall when i brush even after all the bleaching shocking to see a color plum? It is only in the middle of pool that i notice this. ??? Also when doin cya test u keep droppin even if u see a hint of the black circle right?? I drip and drip look drip wait and look drip ? I think i am at 60 to 65 that test is a hard one!
 
Tested at like 330 today when i got my regents was
fc 25.5
tested just now at 9.52 pm and it was still
fc 25.5
Rainy no sun shining today.
I guess thats why no loss?
well see what the number is upon sunrise tomorrow.
Hoping that it holds!
Ive never brushed my pool so much ever.
Is there a good brush head that any one uses?
This one will flip sometimes. like it dont stay locked in place.

also can you drip more than one drop at beginning of fc test when you know you are going over 30 drops?
like ten at a time? as long as you swirl good after?
 

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Some people do add more than one drop at the start of the test. I've got a method where I constantly stir and I don't tend to drop extras anymore but I did at one time when I was stirring and then dropping and then stirring.
 
Ok my water is looking incredible. So clear that is from top. I dont know about under and i wont no for a week or so as it got cold here and rainy and the temp is now 58 degrees. Yikes yesterday it was windy out and the ripples looked like diamonds lol BUT in the center still when i brush i am seeing some color plum up i dont see it layin on the bottom but i do when i brush im sure there is some dead stuff laying on edges today. I did my best but not so great to broom it but it rained all day and it was to wavy to see into very well. I was at 25.5 fc when i checked just now but i added 5 cups 6 percent im trying to keep it higher with the rain and wind
 
So yesterday my daughter who is 9 went into the pool at 68 degrees so see what the water looked like she said clear as a bell. Im trusting her on this as i am not going in at that temp. I believe her becuz I can see the seams in my liner now lol. I am not getting any pluming of algae anymore when i brush. I have just blackish dark grey spots that i am still brushing into the water. I think I have killed the crud and I can relax a bit. sigh. I am pretty sure I need to perform the over night test to be sure from what I read. Now should I keep a high reading and shock my solar cover? i would be just putting it on maybe over night. taking it off flipping it over and shocking other side. ?? or is this un necssary?
I have beautiful water now. no combined chlorine.
last i checked my fc was 22.5 cc 0 earlier today
OUt to test post results soon. maybe someone will give me some insite?
 
Ok thanks i vacummed the pool still seeing dead algae in spots it is blackish raised the bleach up a tad and put cover on.
How long does it take to kill the algae ? On the cover? I know it has some cuz the rain water on it turns yellowish where it washes it off in a puddle.
Unfortently i dont have a reel i sit it next to my pool in the rocks not so good im guessing next year ill invest in a reel of some sort
 
carolvk12 said:
You can not use the cartridge with different chlorine.Ok

Ideally, you should switch to adding liquid chlorine / bleach daily and stop using the tablets.Is that what all of you do now? no chlorine in floaters? or pucks in basket? Just add chlroine everyday? hmm interseting

Where are you located? Do you drain your pool in the winter? I am located in Michigan. Our pool season is quite short. We drain out about 20 inches of water and winterize and cover refill the amount gone thus would be diluting some?
If you have a short season and replace a lot of water each year, you may be able to get away with using the tablets.Well I have the cartridge that is being used and then one more to use for this season. When it runs out I will not buy anymore. they cost me 20 bucks a pop and last maybe 2 to 3 weeks tops. I have 120 dollars in those this year I just like how if we go away I can be assured it is suppling chemicals. Is there a spot u can direct me to about doing your pool with out using tablets or pucks?

the chemical automation/liquidator section has posts from people who have installed stenner pumps. I use a 15 gallon drum along with a stenner pump that injects chlorine into the pool regularly. I fill the chlorine drum with 9 182oz bottles of bleach once every two weeks or so.

With your short swim season if it rains a lot, pucks might not be that bad. Your CYA will go up during the season, but will possibly disappear during winterization. When you open use your test kit to figure out where you are at and use bleach only to shock and open the pool.
 
carolvk12 said:
so then you use the test kit testing chlorine every evening? and add.. so I will need a giant bottle of titrant next year for sure. i dont mind checking the chemicals. and adding if I know what I am doing :-D
what I have learned so far.
You must know your cya in order to know what you need your chlorine levels at to avoid a algae out break.
I can use bleach from store
my ph is high becuz my chlorine is at shock level
Brush the pool when dealing with algae.
a good test kit is worth a million bucks
This forum has helped me more than pool store guy.

I will re read the bbb area again,

When I first started I checked twice a day, after a few weeks I got a feel for how much I was losing each day. So now I check every 3 days or so.
 
Well I added some more bleach this am after i vacumed and put my cover on. I made sure all the edges of the cover are in the pool. It has been a dark rainy day again here in michigan. bah humbug.
I am at
fc 24.5
cc 0
I will need to take cover off to see and clean up anything that drops if there was any algae on the cover( which there was) Im thinking maybe Ill let it sit tomorrow on and then peel it back hoping for a few warm days to get the pool warm again.
I am amazed how good my water looks. I can see the seems in my liner. Ha now that is clear water!!

so if i am done shocking how long does it take for the fc to come down?
If I dont add any more. I think I am gonna keep my fc at 8 being my cya is 60-65.
will be nice when i dont drop 50 drops every time i check..
would two days be enough to sanitize my cover?
 
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