Newb (me) took pool from swamp to swimmable in 2 weeks - thanks y'all! + Some questions

[GTS]

Thanks to TFP and a hint of advice from a pool equipment tech, my pool went from green to clean in 2 weeks against all odds, colorblindness and never having done this before be Darn.

Used Taylor K-2006 for testing

Chemical Inventory:
Liquid chlorine 10% gallon bottles for shocking
Muriatic acid 14.5%, because LSD wasn't recommended
Clorox Cyanuric Acid Pool Stabilizer (unused, but purchased, surprised I didn't need it yet)
Diatomaceous Earth galore
Calcium Chloride for calcium hardness (will use once it arrives)
Washing Soda (unused so far)
Baking Soda (unused so far)
3" chlorine tablets in a cute dog chewed on shark floaty

1) did anything I say cause concern (e.g. chemicals listed or omitted) for someone going through this process?
2) what other chemicals/products, ideally generics am I missing to round out managing the pool myself for the first time?

 

[Texas Splash]

Pleased to see you made great progress going from green to blue. Hopefully you found the SLAM Process page not only informative, but also saw it through until you completed and passed all 3 SLAM criteria. That's always the key. When you do that, the water is crystal clear and the season takes care of itself. If you have any questions about your pool or water chemistry, don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy.

 

[V___25]

Great progress! Do you intend to use the tabs on a regular basis or you will you be using LC or SWG? If your CYA is in good shape now, you don't want to continue to use those tabs.

 

[GTS]

Pleased to see you made great progress going from green to blue. Hopefully you found the SLAM Process page not only informative, but also saw it through until you completed and passed all 3 SLAM criteria. That's always the key. When you do that, the water is crystal clear and the season takes care of itself. If you have any questions about your pool or water chemistry, don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy.

I ran a modified SLAM , referencing the page before adding liquid chlorine, then getting started before having the K-2006, so I haven’t fully abided by it admittedly. My numbers looked good so far, but will be testing all values thoroughly again today, and hopefully having verified CC < 0.5 and OCLT < 1ppm this week at the latest. How does that sound since I did this rather haphazardly/impatiently? I cut first and am measuring later hoping it all works out.

@V__25, I don’t understand, my 3” chlorine tabs I thought increased chlorine (FC?) levels, not CYA. I was under the impression chlorine tabs were for “set and forget” maintenance of chlorine levels. Is it better to use liquid chlorine daily or at some other interval as opposed to tabs?

 

[Texas Splash]

How does that sound since I did this rather haphazardly/impatiently?

Ha ha. Well, life gets in the way right? If the time comes where you know you need to perform a SLAM Process, just be sure to invest yor efforts 100% so you don't waste time & chemicals. Your water should be as clear as the ones in this thread. Good luck!

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Please).

first time owning our own pool and not used to seeing water as clear as it is. About the only time I get in a pool is on rental homes or friends pools and they are always cloudy looking. I have people come over on carm days and look down at the pool from the deck and ask when is it getting...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[V___25]

I ran a modified SLAM , referencing the page before adding liquid chlorine, then getting started before having the K-2006, so I haven’t fully abided by it admittedly. My numbers looked good so far, but will be testing all values thoroughly again today, and hopefully having verified CC < 0.5 and OCLT < 1ppm this week at the latest. How does that sound since I did this rather haphazardly/impatiently? I cut first and am measuring later hoping it all works out.

@V__25, I don’t understand, my 3” chlorine tabs I thought increased chlorine (FC?) levels, not CYA. I was under the impression chlorine tabs were for “set and forget” maintenance of chlorine levels. Is it better to use liquid chlorine daily or at some other interval as opposed to tabs?

I'm not a chemist but in my dumbed down terms the chlorine in the pucks has to stabilized somehow and to do that, they use CYA. So yes, they will increase your FC but also your CYA. In the PoolMath app, you can use the Effects of Using calculator to determine what the increase will be. For my pool, 1 8oz (3") tab raises FC by 2.3 and CYA by 1.4. Over the course of 4 pucks in the floater, I'm going raise my CYA by 5.6 ppm. You can set it and forget it but you're going to eventually have a problem with high CYA if you don't drain and replace water.
Here's the link to the smart people chemistry stuff in the Wiki.

TFP methods recommend use of LC daily or a saltwater generator. Nothing is truly set it and forget it though - LC has to be added daily and with a SWG you do need to monitor the salt and added the large bags of salt occasionally. But LC or a SWG will not cause a large build up of CYA over time.

 

[GTS]

The tablet vs liquid chlorine makes sense thanks to your explanation + some other reading (such as this article, which tilted toward tablets due to their vested interest).

Also in the future I will more diligent about SLAMming correctly and not go as dukes of hazard on it.

How should I approach long time stains or damage like the below, including knowing how to evaluate what’s a stain vs some other type and classification of “damage?”

 

[Texas Splash]

The stains in your photos appear to be organic in nature. You could try rubbing a stain with a chlorine tablet for a few minutes, or sprinkling some cal-hypo granules on a stained area. They should bleach out if they are organic unless they are embedder deep enough under calcium. If they are organic, then you'll need to maintain a slightly higher FC level than normal and brush consistently to help the chlorine penetrate the stains.

Another test we often recommend is for iron by rubbing a Vitamin C tablet on a stain. Yours don't look like iron staining, but you can try if y ou wish.

 

[mknauss]

Are you sure those are stains -- the appearance is more like gunite showing through worn/eroded off plaster from long term poor water chemistry management.

 

[Oly]

Check out these short vids....
This first one is key to keeping your water clean.

 

[GTS]

Thanks y’all, I’ve got a lot to learn and y’all are too kind. I think some are stains (from recent weeks when the swamp occurred), but some I figure are longer term damage I inherited with the pool. Assuming I can solve the organic stain problem, what can be done about the gunite/plaster long term wear/damage? Anything while the pool is filled or needs work when drained?