On my own!

[mhouser007]

Pool person quit. Going to do my own maintenance. Below are the numbers from today that I took myself using Taylor K-2006 kit. Pool store told me yesterday when I had them test a sample that TDS = 3200 and nitrates are at 40 and recommended I drain the pool. There is something yellow on the sides and bottom of pool that I assumed was algae but now thinking it might be pollen. It seems to come back after about 3-4 days after I brush, vacuum and clean filter.
FC 6.5
PH 7.8
TA 85
CH 300
CYA 55

 

[woodyp]

Total Dissolved Solids

I received my TF-100 test kit and don’t see anything in there for TDS. Should I not be worried about it if all the other measurents are within spec? i also don’t see anything on there for salt concentration. My IC40 says 3950-4100 but I know the accuracy is +\- 500 ppm. The ic40 recommends 3600...

www.troublefreepool.com

See post #4...paragraph 2

 

[mknauss]

Great job on your test results.

Those results are just fine. Round up the CYA to 60 and follow the FC/CYA Levels. Your TA must be 90 as the test protocol does not result in a value of 85. When your pH rises to 8, drop it to 7.6 with muriatic acid. Use PoolMath for amounts.

How are you currently chlorinating your water? You should be using liquid chlorine now exclusively. You do not want your CYA to rise any further.

 

[mknauss]

If you find the yellow particles are not or may not be pollen, do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test one night. Report the results here.

 

[Dirk]

Hi, and welcome to TFP. Your pool person has done you a HUGE favor. The fact that you found TFP, already have a great test kit, and are reporting your results here, means you are well on your way to providing your pool with the best care possible, way better than you'd find from any pool service company.

One word of caution: don't mix and match pool advice. Commit to one source. And, IMO, that one source should be TFP. Don't dilute or modify the advice you get here with what a pool store might tell you. You should now stay out of those places (unless you're just buying chlorine or something, but you have to ignore their sales pitches). You are in good hands with Marty. He helped me so much when I first found TFP (and he continues to, years later). Just follow his advice to the letter and you'll be good-to-go.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Its only pollen if you *also* see it on your car, lawn furniture, patio....... capisce?

 

[mhouser007]

Your TA must be 90 as the test protocol does not result in a value of 85.

I reported TA as 85 as the eighth drop started the colour change, the ninth completed it. I will round up in the future.

How are you currently chlorinating your water? You should be using liquid chlorine now exclusively. You do not want your CYA to rise any further.

I started with chlorine pucks and they were slow to make a difference so I went to liquid but was told (again at the pool store) that the liquid version of chlorine has higher PH and I was struggling to get the PH down while trying to bring TA up so... I moved to the chlorine crystals. I will switch back to liquid.

Its only pollen if you *also* see it on your car, lawn furniture, patio....... capisce?

I am not really seeing the pollen anywhere else and I went over and checked my neighbor's pool and don't see any sign of what I am seeing in my pool and I know that my neighbor's pool is not well maintained.

If you find the yellow particles are not or may not be pollen, do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test one night. Report the results here.

I feel like it is eating chlorine like mad but I will do the overnight test and report back.

 

[ajw22]

I went to liquid but was told (again at the pool store) that the liquid version of chlorine has higher PH

Chlorine in normal doses is pH neutral. Anyone who tells you differently does not understand the entire chemistry cycle.

 

[mknauss]

Your TA is high so do not adjust it. It will come down as you control pH.
Liquid chlorine is pH neutral.

 

[mhouser007]

Cleaned the filter. Lots of yellow coming out of it. Brushed and vacuumed, then did the overnight test.

Starting FC was 7.6 at 7p (it was dark out). Pool is about 68 degrees btw. Not sure why FC was higher than my previous measurement of 6.5 earlier in the day other than I did still have the floating chlorine dispenser in the pool with a partial puck in it. I took that out before I started the test. FC was 7.8 this morning at 7a just as the sun was coming up.

So should I start slamming, clean filter, brush, vacuum, repeat?

 

[mknauss]

If I read your post right, your FC tested at 7.6 last evening and 7.8 this morning. So no loss. (FYI - use a 10 ml sample and each drop to clear is 0.5ppm FC).

So that result equates to no algae. See what your daily FC loss is for a while.

 

[mhouser007]

If I read your post right, your FC tested at 7.6 last evening and 7.8 this morning. So no loss. (FYI - use a 10 ml sample and each drop to clear is 0.5ppm FC).

So that result equates to no algae. See what your daily FC loss is for a while.

I was using 10ml/.5 and then went to 25ml/.2 thinking it would be more accurate. I will switch back. I will monitor loss over several days taking the reading at the same time each day.

 

[mhouser007]

It's been 2.5 days since I started this thread and I have not added any chemicals to the pool since I posted my original numbers. I have only been brushing the pool, vacuuming the pool and cleaning the filter. I've done this 3 times. I just took another full set of readings and they are almost identical to what I posted in my first posting in the thread. In other words chlorine levels are not dropping at all and the yellow stuff is pretty much gone. I think I will give it a couple more days and hold off on the brushing, vacuuming, etc. to see if anything comes back and continue to monitor levels.
FC 6.5
PH 7.9
TA 80
CH 300
CYA 55

P.S. The FC numbers I got when I did the overnight test were around the 7.6 mark. I used a 25ml sample for that test. All of the other FC readings I have taken, prior to and following the overnight test were all done with a 10ml sample and they all resulted in a 6.5 reading. For fun I thought I would try a side by side FC test tonight, one with 10ml sample and one with 25ml sample. 10ml sample resulted in 6.5 reading and the 25ml sample resulted in 7.6 reading. Weird. I found another thread discussing the same issue with no final explanation of why that might be happening. I made sure in both cases that I had a clean tube, used the same sample water, filled the water so the bottom of the meniscus was at the graduation mark, reagent bottle held vertical, and so on. Anyway I will just use the 10ml sample from now on and go with that.

 

[Dirk]

Except for a few rare situations, when it comes to testing and dosing, close enough is close enough. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t strive for accuracy, you just don’t have to obsess about it.

 

[mhouser007]

Just checked the pool and I can see the yellow stuff coming back again on the walls and bottom of the pool. Not sure what is going on. Is there some way this could still be yellow algae despite the chlorine levels not dropping over the course of 3 days?

 

[mknauss]

Can you capture some of the yellow material? If so, put it on a paper towel and smear it. see what color it is.

 

[setsailsoon]

M,

Welcome to TFP! Looks like our experts are well along in helping you address the current problem. I live just up the road from you in Stuart. As one person mentioned already, you'll see pollen on your car hood if pollen's that bad. I haven't noticed any in my area recently. Only piece of advice I have is to watch out for pool store advice. There are is one person in the store near me that knows and understands the chemistry and basic principles. I hear the rest give out ridiculous advice routinely. Problem is that a new pool owner usually finds this out the hard way then finds this site with a pool mess to clean up out of desperation and mega $. One thing pool stores are good for in our area is their cheap source of refillable liquid chlorine containers. Back before I switched to swg I bought 10 gal (2 5 gal jugs) at Leslie's for $7.99 with their coupon. Just try not to let them talk you into anything else.

Again, welcome and enjoy your TFP pool!

Chris

 

[mhouser007]

I'm definitely avoiding the pool stores now. I'm running around rubbing my hand across the top of my grill, outdoor table and other outdoor flat surfaces trying to convince myself this is pollen. I do see a very thin film of yellowy/greeny/browny dust on the surfaces but it is trivial amounts. Last night before I went to bed the pool looked fine. This morning it does not. There was very little wind last night. It will be tough to collect a sample and smear it as it is very dust like, if that makes sense. When I brush it it turns into a cloud. Other than letting the filter fill up for a couple of days and scraping a bunch off of there I'm not sure how I would do it.

 

[mknauss]

OK. It is most likely that this is an algae. For all forms, you follow the SLAM Process. Confirm your CYA. Be sure you follow the CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test - Trouble Free Pool.

Then raise your FC to SLAM level. Maintain it there. Brush daily.

You most likely will need FAS-DPD test refills. Order at TFTestkits.net. If you did NOT get the C version of the K2006, you should get a CYA refill too.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[mhouser007]

Before I start the SLAM should I lower the PH? It is currently in the 7.8 to 8.0 range. Not sure if that is going to cause my TA, which is at 80, to drop causing other issues. Also I only have pucks, powdered chlorine and powdered shock. I understand I should not use any of those for the SLAM correct? I should be using liquid chlorine or liquid bleach correct?