Ool Newbie - Notice there's no "P" in it?

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Yeah! You are on your way to a clear pool! I can't wait for you to get your test kit! When you do let us know. We can/will walk you through one test at a time.

You have already spent so much money you can wait with the bleach. If you really want to you can do as said above-add to jugs a day. One in the morning and one at night.

Kim
 
Congrats on the test kit Lynzizzle. The kit is going to be your #1 tool in your pool tool box. You will use it every day a few times a day while SLAM'ing and then there after. This kit will help you know your pool's diet. Its like a puppy Lyn. Its going to need fed and medicated daily because it's sick right now. That analogy may help you understand this a little better. We're going to treat it as a sick puppy and once it gets better and starts looking great and we get the final check up (OCLT) then, and only then can we start to feed it a regular diet of chlorine.

Now, your new test kit is going to show us and you, what is wrong with your new pool and how we together, are going to fix it. :goodjob:
 
So I should stop wasting my chlorine tablets? I'm quickly losing faith. I can't get anything else off the bottom but the bottom is still really dark. And when I run a vacuum down there leaves are stuck to the brushes of the vacuum. ::sigh:: How am I supposed to get this thing clean if I can't see the bottom to clean it, can't get anything else off the bottom and if no chemical will eat it so that it can be sucked up. I'm at a complete loss.

That being said, I keep losing prime on my skimmer when I try to use the vacuum. The jets lose water pressure and every thing. Also, my skimmer furthest from the pump has barely ANY suction at all. I would post pictures, but I don't know how, of the pool color and the pump info but like I said I don't know how to post pix. There seems to be a lot of air in the filter and when I turn the equipment off, both the pump and filter, I want to say, hiss.
 
Re: Ool Newbie - Notice there's no "P" in it?

You should not be using tablets until you know your CYA level. It is essential to understand the relationship between CYA number and how bleach works to give you an effective chlorine level. You do understand that you are raising the CYA level by using dichlor or trichlor tablets? And if using calcium based tablets you are raising the calcium level? I doubt your CYA level is low if you and previous owner used tablets, so use liquid bleach only.

Not being harsh, but have you read Pool School? You do not need to be a scientist to understand it, just patient enough to read and re-read it if necessary.

I am not an expert on pumps but I do know it is bad to have air in the system. I believe it can lead to premature pump failure. If you have a pump manual, please refer to it on how to prime your pump. If you do not have a manual use the internet and look up one by Googling your brand and model number.

- - - Updated - - -

Another thought. Do you have a friend or neighbor who has a pool that can help you with the pump situation? I hade never had a pool until a few years ago and I was clueless. We aren't born knowing about pools, I had to read and learn
 
lynzizzle said:
I can't get anything else off the bottom but the bottom is still really dark. And when I run a vacuum down there leaves are stuck to the brushes of the vacuum. ::sigh:: How am I supposed to get this thing clean if I can't see the bottom to clean it, can't get anything else off the bottom and if no chemical will eat it so that it can be sucked up.
Click to expand...

Do you have a good brush for the bottom ? If the leaves have decomposed into a solid mass the brush followed by a leaf rake seems more likely to help than a vacuum. Don't know how much a "wall whale"-type brush will help on the bottom but some folks have said it helps.
 
Hold off on tablets. They don't just add chlorine. They also add stabilizer (CYA) Chlorine gets used up but stabilizer sticks around and builds up until you have too much and you have to drain water to get rid of it.

The nice thing about the tablets is that if you put them away and keep them dry you can use them later once you have your test kit and know your stabilizer level. Some people use tablets when they go on vacation and they aren't going to be there to put liquid in themselves. Don't worry about that now. Just put those aside, they aren't wasted money, they'll last a very long time.

For picture posting I use photobucket.com. Just upload a picture to photobucket (free to sign up if you don't have one) Once you have a picture uploaded there it will give you links on the right hand side of the page that you copy and paste into your post here and the pictures will show in the thread.

There's a tutorial around here somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.
 
8y7esuvy.jpg
testing adding a pic from Tapatalk app...


*edit*
lol you get a bonus giant rubber ducky pic.

I noticed you are posting from tapatalk right now.

I am not sure how similar the app is between android and iphone but on my app (android version) on the bottom it has the bar for "quick reply" and to the left of that is a plus + sign. Tap the + and it gives you a full screen reply page. There is a menu button on the top right that looks like 3 squares in a stack. The menu includes "attach picture, insert smile, insert url and insert image link".

I chose attach picture and chose a picture from my gallery. It showed the picture and at the top said "upload as Image | Attachment" I tapped "Image" and it put the link for the pic in my post.

I would definitely prefer the photobucket method as it seems simpler but I thought I'd try this since I see you're using tapatalk...
 
lynzizzle said:
I have no idea what kind of brush is a good one. We have. Pool brush that has rubber bristles ...
Click to expand...

Are they actually rubber (probably black) or nylon (white) ? Seems like rubber bristles would be too soft for what you need.

I would think about something like this - should work with your existing pole:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wall-Whal..._sbs_lg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1FWVWTZ2CM4EBE4DQ7X0

EDIT -- ignore the leaf rake question, you answered that on page 1 :D

Anyways, key point is that the VERY best thing you could do for your pool right now is get all that gunk off the bottom, or at least start breaking it apart and getting it into the water so the filter has a chance at it. It takes an incredible amount of chlorine to clean up something like that (I would guess 10-20x as much as you would need otherwise).
 

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Cool pool shape. Looks like a giant puzzle piece. Keep the pump running and scoop as much as you can with a leaf rake. Then brush as often as you can to keep things stirred up and help your filter get the particles out that are preventing you from seeing the bottom. Clarity often gets worse, then gets much better when you keep it stirred up.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
You ARE going in the right direction! It can be done and YOU can do it with our help!

Do all of the tests and let us know the numbers. If you do not understand how to do a test just ask!

HUGS! YOU CAN DO THIS!

Kim
 
Re: Ool Newbie - Notice there's no "P" in it?

y5e2atyz.jpg


Here is the info from the back of the pump ... Can anyone decipher this for me??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

- - - Updated - - -

I was wondering if I can reverse the flow of the water to the main drain by using one of those bladder type deals you connect to a hose and stick in the pipe to perhaps blow out the stuff blocking (if it is blocking, I dont know bc I can't see the bottom) the main drain. Maybe the water blowing OUT of the main drain will help loosen the stuff on the bottom as well?

Also, I bought 6 gallons of bleach this weekend, concentrated. What other products might I need to have on hand for when the test kit comes in and I do my initial test?
 
Buy 15 more gallons. Your pool is going to eat those 6 gallons in less than 2 days!!

When you get down to 6 gallons, go buy more. You do not want to run out of chlorine!
 
So what do I do if I work full time and I can't be home for 3 days straight, like it seems I need to be when slamming the pool. Oh man, 15 gallons. So that many gallons is all I'll need to slam? Like after that, I should be good to go once the process is done?? And if I slam on a Friday and am home Saturday and Sunday should I be good then???
 
You have a 3/4 horse power pump. My pool is under a very large oak tree that drops a ton of leaves every winter. If I don't keep on top of it I have a huge mess to clean every spring. I can't see them at all and just scoop until I only get a few leaves. I keep the pump running and continue the slam process the whole time. A couple of days later I try scooping out more leaves again and usually find a lot. I continue this process until the pool is clear enough to see the leaves. Brush toward the deep end to try and keep the gunk in a smaller area. Vacuum the shallow end every couple of days. Backwash the filter when the return flow is reduced and pressure has a 20% increase over clean pressure.

The slam will go quicker if you can test and get back to slam level every couple of hours during the day, however you can bring it to slam level before work and after work during the week and hit it hard on the weekend. No one can predict how many gallons it will take to slam the pool, but anything you buy will still be used once the slam is completed. You can use the extra bleach to maintain daily FC levels after the slam is completed.
 
100's of Questions - Pool School Extended

1) How do I find out what my clean filter pressure should be? Gauge reads between 10-25 PSI
2) How do I get the air out of the filter and/or pump? I have a gurgling sound coming from the filter and during these times, I get low return flow and low suction at the skimmer. Could this be a main drain blockage issue? Everything inside the filter was replaced 2 weeks ago. A new pump installed last season.
3) How do I make sure the pump fully primes? When I clean out the filter skimmer basket, do I need to refill with water before starting back up? I do sometimes hear/see gurgling in the pump basket/box when I turn off the pump.
4) How do I find out what speed my pump is?
5) Clearning suction lines: Do I stick a socked hose (like a sock I would wear or is there some kind of special sock?) or drain king directly into the hole inside the filter basket box?
6) Check Valve: Where is that located? What are the NORMAL valve settings?
7) Will a vinyl vac work on a plaster pool? What is the difference between the 2?
8) Tri-Chlor: Floater or directly into the skimmer basket - Which is best? And which skimmer?
9) Regarding the skimmer (s): the junk it collects is not going INTO the basket. It is just swirling around the top of it.
10) Diatomaceous Earth: Where to buy? When I first use it, do I have to pour it directly INTO the filter? I read that after the initial usage I am supposed to mix with water and pour into the skimmer but I'm confused as to how I do it the first time.
:confused:

I feel like doing this :brickwall: or having someone do this:hammer: because I feel like I'm:drown:
 
Obviously, by now you have a test kit.

I'd start here:
Bring the PH to where it needs to be.
Then add chlorine to get on the high side of the scale.
Then use an algaecide to kill what's in the pool.

The next day, hopefully most of the gunk has settled to the bottom. Then check your chemicals again, and if you can, vacuum your pool into a waste location other than back into the pool.

You should see some progress. When you get the pool clear, and you've met all the specs you can with your test kit, then have your pool tested at a pool store, and see how you are doing and what you need to do to finish it off. Be prepared for high phosphates.

The bottom line is to kill the gunk, let it settle, vacuum it out of the pool. Diluting the water is a good thing because your phosphates are probably really, really high, so that's more $$

Personally, I'd drain it and BTW, first check that your main drain cover is of the new type (won't entangle hair). If it's not, bite the bullet and replace it. Then lastly, scrub the pool walls with chlorine, then refill it. A pump at Harbor Freight is ~ $ 60.00 or so.

Depending on your options, algaecide + acid + chlorine + shocks + plus phosphate remover + CYA + + + It all adds up. If you start fresh it may be cheaper in the long run, and you will not be fighting an expensive battle with money as your main weapon. The pool store will be glad to finance your fight on your credit card. :eek: . IMO, your money would be better spent on fixing the hardware.

That's my .02
 

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