Not Sure Where I’m at in the Algae Fight

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A

AmandaGrow

0
May 7, 2018
24
FL
Sorry this may be a little long. New here and totally lost! Want you to know what I’ve done so you can help me figure out what to do next.

First note: I’ve had my pool for 7 years. First 3 had a pool company, last 4 relied on a pool store and have hated every minute. Always adding something, always fighting to keep pool water clear. Finally ready to learn and do it right.

4/30 - new pump installed. Pool sat for 4 months with no pump/chemicals (a whole different story). Water was a murky dark green. Advised by pool store to add 12.5 gal liquid shock and 2 bags of YellowStop and to bring water sample in a few days. Done.

5/2 - guy who installed pump stops by to fix leak and said YellowStop won’t work and said I need to add a whole jug of algaecide. Done.

5/5 - pool is blue-ish. Water sample taken to pool store:
TC = 1.0
FC = 1.0
CC = 0.0
pH = 7.4
TA = 100
CH = 350
Stabilizer = 0
Told to add 2 gal of liquid stabilizer/conditioner. An hour later add 5 gal liquid shock, then an hour later add 8 capfuls of Pool First Aid. Also told to make sure my “tube” had tablets in it, it does and is set on 3 (of 5). Run pump for 48 hours before cleaning filter. When I cleaned the filter I’m pretty sure all the stabilizer was washed away.

5/10 - talked to pool store again. Pool still cloudy. Told since stabilizer was liquid that it didn’t wash away, that it was probably whatever is making my pool cloudy (it was a milky white substance I’ve never seen before or since). Told to add 12.5 gal liquid shock and anothe 8 capfuls of Pool First Aid. At this point I really started to read the TFP forums.

5/14 - Today my pool is a beautiful blue but still cloudy. My pump has been running constantly for over a week. I can finally almost make out the 3rd step but can’t see the bottom. I’ve been cleaning my filter almost everyday and brushing everyday. After all my reading I did order a test kit and no longer trust the pool store (not that I really did before).

Where do I go from here? I know I need to retest my water and will do that as soon as the kit arrives. Or should I make a run to the pool store? Do I just keep brushing and cleaning the filter everyday? Keep the pump running 24/7? I expect the kit to be here Wednesday.

Thanks for all all your help!
 
Hi Amanda and welcome to the forum. :wave:
Where do I go from here?
Click to expand...
Not to the pool store!
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So what now? Simple .... add maybe one gallon of regular bleach (NO additives) to the pool each day until your kit arrives. While waiting, stick close to those Vital Links you see below in my signature. Those are your pool's lifeline. Do not add anything else right now until you get the test kit and post a full set of numbers for us to review. You've already dumped a lot of $$$ at the pool store on their snake oils, but no more. Regular bleach is your friend. My only concern now is hoping that you didn't add so much algaecides and other pool store junk that it increased your copper level too high. We'll see. For now, ... one gallon of bleach, read, and wait. We'll be around to help when you post those test results. :)
 
Given my experience this year, I say bleach and brushing are your best friends. You should also run to a big box store and get 5 lbs of stabilizer, for $20 or so, and put that in over the next couple days. Check Pool Math to make sure you add the right amount to go from 0 to 30 or 40.

Otherwise, add a gallon of bleach daily until you can test, brush multiple times a day, and run the pump 24/7.
 
Thanks!! I just checked the tracking on my kit, still Wednesday. Was hoping it would come sooner. Lol.

I’ll pick up some bleach tomorrow and start adding it. Ive been reading the Pool School info all afternoon and I downloaded the Pool Math app.
 
Welcome to TFP Amanda!!

Wow, already got your kit on the way. I am so sorry for all you have been through even just this year. It gets better. Much better. Feel free to post pics and chat us up as much as you need until your kit gets here. We are excited you're here.
 
So my kit came today But it’s been storming all afternoon! Boo! Quick question: I purchased a Taylor K-2006 based on reviews. What came is a Leslie’s 81329. Are they the same thing? It looks similar based on internet pictures, but I want to make sure they didn’t do a bait and switch before I dig into it.

Never mind!!! Found answer after posting this! Plus thought I ordered the C version but when I looked at it again I realized I didn’t ☹️
 
I assume you ordered it from Leslie's?

I will defer to others for comparisons but Congrats!!

The good times are about to roll!
AmandaGrow said:
So my kit came today But it’s been storming all afternoon! Boo! Quick question: I purchased a Taylor K-2006C based on reviews. What came is a Leslie’s 81329. Are they the same thing? It looks similar based on internet pictures, but I want to make sure they didn’t do a bait and switch before I dig into it.
Click to expand...
 
Got it from PoolSupplyWorld.com because I had a coupon from buying a new tank bottom for my filter (which was broken while having a new pump installed, though he said it was broken before he started....). I did look at Leslie’s website and it does look identical to Pool Supply World. Hmmmm
 
Looks good. Are you ready to perform a battery of tests and post your results? We are all chomping at the bit.

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

AmandaGrow said:
Got it from PoolSupplyWorld.com because I had a coupon from buying a new tank bottom for my filter (which was broken while having a new pump installed, though he said it was broken before he started....). I did look at Leslie’s website and it does look identical to Pool Supply World. Hmmmm
Click to expand...
 

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Hi AmandaGrow,

Welcome to TFP. There is something in this thread that I noticed that I just wanted to heed a little bit of caution on. But first I just want to inform you of what stabilizer is, what it does, and how it functions

Stabilizer is also CYA or Cynuric Acid. It is a buffer that holds an inter- relationship with your chlorine to function and sanitize effectively. Too much of it added to your pool will require you to maintain higher FC chlorine levels to sanitize. Too little CYA and your FC chlorine levels will deplete very rapidly from either sun light exposure, or organics in the pool consuming the chlorine. More importantly, once you have a certain level of CYA in the pool, you cannot remove it unless you drain some water and then refill it with freshwater. Typically the acceptable ranges are 30-50 PPM for a Non Salt Water Chlorine Generated pool, or Non SWCG and CYA 60-80 ppm for a Salt Water Chlorine Generated or SWGC pool.

Here is the CYA chart at TFP for your reference.
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Madyogi advised to purchase 5 lbs of stabilizer. Its ok to have it on hand just in case, but I would strongly recommend running your first test with your new kit to confirm and verify your CYA and Chlorine levels first before adding any additional CYA or Stabilizer, and hopefully too much algaecide was not added into the pool, since some, but not all of it contains copper sulfate. Algecide is a preventative measure, it does not clear algae, so we have learned here at TFP. Pool First Aid isn't that bad. I've used it in the past, but is someone unnecessary if you maintain proper water chemistry with the BBB method and proper filtration.

Here at TFP you want to focus on learning and utilizing the test kit, and pool math calculator to balance and maintain proper water chemistry. I have the Taylor K-2006 as well. It goes through the CYA reagents and FAS-DPD. reagents pretty quickly. The TF-100 is a more comprehensive kit.

As Texas Splash has indicated. Please do not add anything else until we receive those initial test numbers, and one or all of us will give our input on the next step of the process.

If you have a moment, please review the Pool School section of TFP on the main page to get a grasp of how to maintain proper water chemistry.

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

So kindly get us those test results.
And any questions, like if you need help understanding your test kit, we're here to help. :)
 
Ok- here we go! I just tested and here are my results:

FC - 38.5
CC - 1
pH- 7.4
TA - 75
CH - 350
CYA - 60

Water is currently blue but still cloudy. I can make out the 3rd step nicely now (final step before bottom).

I should note I did the FC 3 times! I never thought I was going to stop adding drops. I stopped the first time after 40, the 2nd time after 100. I was sure I was doing something wrong. Did some reading and switched to the 10ml test. Added 77 and finally clear! Needless to say I will be buying more drops ASAP.

Also, it has been dreary and rainy for 2 days with no sign of the rain letting up in the next week. It is rainy season in Florida. I did add a gal of Bleach yesterday and the day before per Texas Splash. Other than that nothing has been added since my original post.

So, where do I go from here?

Thanks so much for all the help!
 
Very good Amanda. :goodjob: So for now, just focus on the FC level. With a CYA result of 60, your SLAM FC level is only "24", so you can let that drop a bit now. Try to keep it at 24 which will work fine and save you some bleach. It should drop rather quickly. No need to test anything else at the moment. Continue to brush and watch your filter pressure and all the other things on the SLAM page though.

- - - Updated - - -

Initially our concern has been algae. My only other concern is the pool store products that were added early on before you found us. In your 15K pool, too much of those algaecides and Yellow Gone items could pose a potential concern with copper. Too much copper and it reacts with the chlorine to make stains, change the color of the water to a bright blue/green hue, and can even make blonde hair green. So I'd like for you to maintain the SLAM FC at 24, but also give us an update on the color of the water tomorrow. Maybe try to post a pic of it as well? All that rain may work in your favor to get some of that out of there. So if you end-up exchanging water to keep from overflowing, that's not a bad thing. Let Mother Nature do her thing, but once the sun comes back make sure to check the CYA as it may have dropped slightly which could effect your FC SLAM level later.
 
Hi madyogi,

Yeah I caught early in the thread that the pool store advised AmandaGrow administer 2.5 gallons of liquid stabilizer, and didn't know if the initial pool store test results CYA was 0 initially and then raised, or 0 after the CYA or stabilizer was administered.

You would think AmandaGrow's pool was a Ferrari the way it goes from 0-60...CYA in 3 seconds flat with pool store advise..lol

Told to add 2 gal of liquid stabilizer/conditioner. An hour later add 5 gal liquid shock, then an hour later add 8 capfuls of Pool First Aid. Also told to make sure my “tube” had tablets in it, it does and is set on 3 (of 5). Run pump for 48 hours before cleaning filter. When I cleaned the filter I’m pretty sure all the stabilizer was washed away.

5/10 - talked to pool store again. Pool still cloudy. Told since stabilizer was liquid that it didn’t wash away, that it was probably whatever is making my pool cloudy (it was a milky white substance I’ve never seen before or since). Told to add 12.5 gal liquid shock and anothe 8 capfuls of Pool First Aid. At this point I really started to read the TFP forums.

Just wanted to make sure the appropriate test were conducted and confirmed. Because there is no guesstimating on that component, unless of course you feel like draining half your pool and refilling it.

Nothing on you madyogi. You are awesome. Just crossing my i's and dotting my t's....Or is it the other way around?...lol...
 
TodAy we have had a day of thunderstorms. I need to brush but haven’t had a long enough break between the heavy rainfall. I did manage to snag a water sample and a picture.

The FC is now 28 (down from 38.5 yesterday). The water continues to be cloudy but I can clearly see the bottom in the shallow end.

9472FB82-6711-4D59-9128-786B6215844B.jpg

Feeling like I can finally see the light at the end of tunnel! My son is very eager to jump in.

This forum is a Godsend!
 
AmandaGrow said:
TodAy we have had a day of thunderstorms. I need to brush but haven’t had a long enough break between the heavy rainfall. I did manage to snag a water sample and a picture.

The FC is now 28 (down from 38.5 yesterday). The water continues to be cloudy but I can clearly see the bottom in the shallow end.

Feeling like I can finally see the light at the end of tunnel! My son is very eager to jump in.

This forum is a Godsend!
Click to expand...

Congrats Amanda!! Not only great information but that ever so valuable emotional support to get us all the end lol. Almost there!
 

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