Hi! I am a newbie, this is our second summer with the pool and I feel like I'm being ripped off by the pool store. I stumbled upon this site and just got my Taylor K-2006 test kit today. From my first test the FC is 12 and CC is 2.5 and CYA is 80 ppm. From what I'm reading the CYA is too high and I need to drain 1/2 of the pool. I am on well water that will not fill it up so it would cost me $500 for the water. A little background, the pool started getting cloudy 2 weeks ago and we shocked it with 3 lbs of Calcium Hypo 73%, pool started turning green so a couple days later added a bottle of algaecide and about 5 lbs shock. Another trip to the pool store Monday and came home with yet another bottle of algaecide which we added and 10 lbs of shock (they said the shock we were using wasn't strong enough because we didn't buy it from them). What we got from them was Shockwave Calcium Hypo 68% and added the 10 lbs they said mixing each 1/2 lb in a 10 gal bucket of water before adding to the pool. The pool didn't look any better the next day and the pool store was closed. Following day was told all are numbers looked good and they didn't know why the pool didn't clear up just to give it more time. Started looking online and read about adding bleach so for the past 3 days I added 6 gallons of 8% bleach, after the first day the water was still green but I could see the bottom step. Second day of adding the 6 gallons the water was clear and I could see the liner and stuff that had settled on the bottom. Vacuumed the pool later which stirred everything up and made the water cloudy blue/green again. Last night by the test strip the chlorine was high so I added only 3 gallons of bleach but it must not have been enough because today the water was still cloudy and green and can't see the bottom. I'm concerned about the high CYA reading if I did it right and I'm lost as to what to do now. Please help!
Newbie, firing the pool store, please help clear up green pool
- Thread starter cnsmith627
- Start date
You can perform a SLAM with a CYA of 80, but it will take a lot of bleach. At that level, you need to add enough bleach to bring your FC to 32 and keep it there, testing and adding bleach as often as possible.
Continue until:
- your FC drops no more than 1 ppm overnight
- CC is .5 or less
- your water is clear
At that point, you can let your FC drop to 6-7 ppm, but don't let it fall below 6 or you'll likely have to do this all over again. Personally, I'd err on the safe side and keep it in the 8-10 range.
Continue until:
- your FC drops no more than 1 ppm overnight
- CC is .5 or less
- your water is clear
At that point, you can let your FC drop to 6-7 ppm, but don't let it fall below 6 or you'll likely have to do this all over again. Personally, I'd err on the safe side and keep it in the 8-10 range.
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,765
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
It'll take a lot of bleach, but if you get the FC TO 32, and keep it there, the water will clear.
Once you get the pool clear, you can operate it with a CYA that high. In fact, that's where mine is set most of the time, (because we run SWG pool at higher CYA levels). The only real issue is how much bleach it takes to get to shock level when you do have a problem. So once you get that pool clear, make sure you never let the FC drop below 6 with a daily target between 9 and 11.
Once you get the pool clear, you can operate it with a CYA that high. In fact, that's where mine is set most of the time, (because we run SWG pool at higher CYA levels). The only real issue is how much bleach it takes to get to shock level when you do have a problem. So once you get that pool clear, make sure you never let the FC drop below 6 with a daily target between 9 and 11.
All good and correct advice. I've been on here...wow...seven years now(!)...the advice hasn't changed...and it WORKS.
This Spring we opened our pool 3 weeks later than usual due to vacation. It was horrible despite a double dose of polyquat algaecide last fall. Just kept bleaching and brushing...within a few days it was safe to swim in and within a week it was clear. Same with neighbor's pool. He had it going but then it went green on him. I got sick of him getting pool stored so I volunteered to take care of the chemistry for him. He was dubious about my simple methods but his pool sparkles now!
30' round x 54" high pool works out to 23800 gallons. Pool Calculator Starting from 0 FC, 12 gallons of 10% bleach needed to get to 32. Probably a couple dozen more needed to finish a SLAM. Go clean out your local Walmart or whomever has the best deal on liquid pool chlorine aka bleach.
On a "logistics" note, I prefer to buy chlorine in boxes of 4, easier to transport and less likely to spill vs individual bottles. Got a good deal last week and came home with 8 boxes...32 gallons. Seems like a lot but I'm maintaining 2 pools totalling 33000 gallons. Hardware store guy wanted to know if i had a pool business!
This Spring we opened our pool 3 weeks later than usual due to vacation. It was horrible despite a double dose of polyquat algaecide last fall. Just kept bleaching and brushing...within a few days it was safe to swim in and within a week it was clear. Same with neighbor's pool. He had it going but then it went green on him. I got sick of him getting pool stored so I volunteered to take care of the chemistry for him. He was dubious about my simple methods but his pool sparkles now!
30' round x 54" high pool works out to 23800 gallons. Pool Calculator Starting from 0 FC, 12 gallons of 10% bleach needed to get to 32. Probably a couple dozen more needed to finish a SLAM. Go clean out your local Walmart or whomever has the best deal on liquid pool chlorine aka bleach.
On a "logistics" note, I prefer to buy chlorine in boxes of 4, easier to transport and less likely to spill vs individual bottles. Got a good deal last week and came home with 8 boxes...32 gallons. Seems like a lot but I'm maintaining 2 pools totalling 33000 gallons. Hardware store guy wanted to know if i had a pool business!
Thank you all! Iv'e started the process of slamming and going to get more bleach now. Any idea of how long many days I'll be adding jugs of bleach?
Hard to say really...
In my totally subjective, non-expert, statistically invalid estimation:
An "opening slam" after winter can last a while. But usually this type of "mid-season" slam lasts less than a week with only heavy bleach use the first couple days. It all depends on how far gone you are, and making sure you're FC never drops below shock level. It all depends how far gone you are.
Take pictures daily looking down into the deep end with a pool pole for contrast. And post for us to see your progress. You should see improvement every day. And don't forget the brushing and backwashing.
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,765
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
It will take as long as it takes. Take pictures each day from the same angle so you can track your progress. Once all the algae is dead, it will take a while to clear it out. With a sand filter it takes a bit longer and involves a lot of back washing. A good idea to have some DE on hand. Adding a cup or so after back wash will help speed up that process.
Technically...all pool season..as needed. Humor aside, figure a week, with demand dropping off in a few days.
Please don't laugh too hard, but what is DE and how do I add it? I have been bask washing and rinsing every day.
DE is diatomecious earth. It is a type of media that some filters are specifically made for. You have a filter that uses sand as a media.
DE filters are much better than sand filters. However, in my opinion (and I know I'll incur the wrath of many folks here) are waaaay too much of a hassle. Luckily, we with the plain sand filter, can get the goodness of DE when we need it by adding a little to our sand filters without the hassle of dealing with it all the time. You can buy diatomecious earth at a pool store for sure and big box stores (maybe). Just be sure to get it from the pool section; there is DE for gardens too, which won't help you.
This will greatly improve your filtering ability and it will probably need you to watch the pressure more closely because it will pick up a lot more stuff. You can add near end of your slam, once the algae is dead and your water is that cloudy blue, to clear it up much more quickly than sand alone. Don't add while the water is still green as that'd just be a waste.
There is a post on pool school about adding DE to a sand filter, I'm in the terrible forum app, do finding and posting is hard to do or just give you the link. But look it up how to specifically do it, if you want.
DE filters are much better than sand filters. However, in my opinion (and I know I'll incur the wrath of many folks here) are waaaay too much of a hassle. Luckily, we with the plain sand filter, can get the goodness of DE when we need it by adding a little to our sand filters without the hassle of dealing with it all the time. You can buy diatomecious earth at a pool store for sure and big box stores (maybe). Just be sure to get it from the pool section; there is DE for gardens too, which won't help you.
This will greatly improve your filtering ability and it will probably need you to watch the pressure more closely because it will pick up a lot more stuff. You can add near end of your slam, once the algae is dead and your water is that cloudy blue, to clear it up much more quickly than sand alone. Don't add while the water is still green as that'd just be a waste.
There is a post on pool school about adding DE to a sand filter, I'm in the terrible forum app, do finding and posting is hard to do or just give you the link. But look it up how to specifically do it, if you want.
Every pump and filter combo are different. After a good backwash and rinse check your pressure. That's your clean pressure. As the filter picks up things the pressure goes up. When it rises 20-25% over that, or if you notice reduced flow, it's time for a backwash.
The DE will make it pick up more and faster so you'll hit that higher pressure earlier.
Ok, so this morning I had FC of 31 and CC at .4 and the water is clearing up, you can tell a big difference in the areas brushed. I ran out of R-0871 so I can't test again. I have ordered a refill but until it gets here what should I do? Any recommendations on how much bleach to add to make sure I don't lose ground?
That is unfortunate.
What have you been adding the last couple times? I would keep doing that and slowly scale it down as it gets better.
I would also buy the reagent from Amazon with 1 day shipping. I wouldn't want to blindly add too much bleach and bleach the liner.
Are you using a 25ml water sample for the FC test? Where each drop counts as 0.2? If so, you can switch to a 10ml water sample, one scoop of powder, and each drop is 0.5. Or even a 5ml sample and each drop is 1ppm. Saves a lot of reagent at slam levels.
What have you been adding the last couple times? I would keep doing that and slowly scale it down as it gets better.
I would also buy the reagent from Amazon with 1 day shipping. I wouldn't want to blindly add too much bleach and bleach the liner.
Are you using a 25ml water sample for the FC test? Where each drop counts as 0.2? If so, you can switch to a 10ml water sample, one scoop of powder, and each drop is 0.5. Or even a 5ml sample and each drop is 1ppm. Saves a lot of reagent at slam levels.
Yes, I was using 25 ml so thanks for the tip, that'll definitely help next time! I should have wrote it down but I think I used a total of 10 gallons yesterday, adding less each time I checked it.
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