Hi! I am a newbie, making lots of mistakes, but I've been doing a lot of reading and already learned a TON!
Last week, a local pool company opened our (new to me) pool. It's in ground, sand filter, Superflo VS pump, 20x40, about 27K gallons, vinyl lined. They removed the safety cover tested the equipment, backwashed the filter, and left the pump running. They also added "2 scoops" of non-chlorine shock. The following day, the pool looked the same (or maybe a little worse) with algae everywhere, and you could just barely see the bottom of the shallow end.
So what I did:
1. Tested the water w/ TF-100 test kit. Results: CYA 10 (or maybe lower--looked like there was some CYA, but not much). PH: maybe 7-7.2 range. FC: 0. TA: 70.
2. Started SLAMing with Liquid Chlorine 10%, with target FC 10 based on CYA of 20. I know now that I should have figured out how to adjust the PH, TA and CYA first, but I am a dummy and was nervous to get started and get the algae under control.
3. Since then, I've been testing and adding liquid chlorine 4-5x per day to keep FC >10, running a robot vacuum 4-5 times a day, and also skimming and brushing occasionally for good measure. I'm also keeping the pump on 24/7 (honestly don't even know how to change it from whatever the pool guys set it on). After the first day, it was already doing great, cleared up great, and pressure on the filter hasn't increased noticeably. The filter basket on the robot was gross and was getting hosed out every cycle, so it was doing a great job of picking up the gunk. Since about day 3, CC has been consistently 0, but FC fluctuating a ton because of the sun and low CYA I assume.
4. Since it was eating chlorine so quickly, I got some stabilizer granules and added to the pool in a couple of old tube socks, near an outflow nozzle thing. I started with a 4lb bag, which I added 3 days ago, and have been "milking" them over the pool a few times a day. Not much seems to have dissolved so far though--they are still both pretty full.
5. I tested CYA again last night, and it looks a bit higher (*almost* up to 20) but not quite there yet. Socks are still in the pool.
My questions:
1. I haven't bothered with an OCLT because the water isn't clear yet. It looks sparkling at the shallow end, but the deep end is still not 100% clear, and has looked the same for about 4 days now. I can see the bottom and everything, but it looks a bit cloudy. I feel like I've been in a holding pattern waiting for it to magically clear, but nothing has happened yet. Should I just stay the course? Or could the low PH/TA/CYA be causing issues, and should I be looking at other solutions to fix that?
2. There appears to be good circulation in the pool; I see debris on the surface moving in a good counterclockwise loop, but there's a good amount of pollen, debris, and bugs all over the surface. I've been skimming (along with using the robot pool cleaner), and just got a Betta skimming robot and added that too, but is this an indication that the inflow or whatever isn't working? The water level in the pool does look a little high, and I'm not sure where the inflow is TBH. The pool is surrounded by trees and plants/at the edge of a wooded area, so I'm not sure how much the filter should be doing on its own.
Thanks so much--this site has already helped me a ton, and appreciate the help!
Last week, a local pool company opened our (new to me) pool. It's in ground, sand filter, Superflo VS pump, 20x40, about 27K gallons, vinyl lined. They removed the safety cover tested the equipment, backwashed the filter, and left the pump running. They also added "2 scoops" of non-chlorine shock. The following day, the pool looked the same (or maybe a little worse) with algae everywhere, and you could just barely see the bottom of the shallow end.
So what I did:
1. Tested the water w/ TF-100 test kit. Results: CYA 10 (or maybe lower--looked like there was some CYA, but not much). PH: maybe 7-7.2 range. FC: 0. TA: 70.
2. Started SLAMing with Liquid Chlorine 10%, with target FC 10 based on CYA of 20. I know now that I should have figured out how to adjust the PH, TA and CYA first, but I am a dummy and was nervous to get started and get the algae under control.
3. Since then, I've been testing and adding liquid chlorine 4-5x per day to keep FC >10, running a robot vacuum 4-5 times a day, and also skimming and brushing occasionally for good measure. I'm also keeping the pump on 24/7 (honestly don't even know how to change it from whatever the pool guys set it on). After the first day, it was already doing great, cleared up great, and pressure on the filter hasn't increased noticeably. The filter basket on the robot was gross and was getting hosed out every cycle, so it was doing a great job of picking up the gunk. Since about day 3, CC has been consistently 0, but FC fluctuating a ton because of the sun and low CYA I assume.
4. Since it was eating chlorine so quickly, I got some stabilizer granules and added to the pool in a couple of old tube socks, near an outflow nozzle thing. I started with a 4lb bag, which I added 3 days ago, and have been "milking" them over the pool a few times a day. Not much seems to have dissolved so far though--they are still both pretty full.
5. I tested CYA again last night, and it looks a bit higher (*almost* up to 20) but not quite there yet. Socks are still in the pool.
My questions:
1. I haven't bothered with an OCLT because the water isn't clear yet. It looks sparkling at the shallow end, but the deep end is still not 100% clear, and has looked the same for about 4 days now. I can see the bottom and everything, but it looks a bit cloudy. I feel like I've been in a holding pattern waiting for it to magically clear, but nothing has happened yet. Should I just stay the course? Or could the low PH/TA/CYA be causing issues, and should I be looking at other solutions to fix that?
2. There appears to be good circulation in the pool; I see debris on the surface moving in a good counterclockwise loop, but there's a good amount of pollen, debris, and bugs all over the surface. I've been skimming (along with using the robot pool cleaner), and just got a Betta skimming robot and added that too, but is this an indication that the inflow or whatever isn't working? The water level in the pool does look a little high, and I'm not sure where the inflow is TBH. The pool is surrounded by trees and plants/at the edge of a wooded area, so I'm not sure how much the filter should be doing on its own.
Thanks so much--this site has already helped me a ton, and appreciate the help!