Our pool has been black for a month

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

Forgot to answer this:

Curious, what advice did the pool store give?

I forget what husband said the actual human version of the advice was.

Can anyone point me to a source that is a good quick primer about why the liquid chlorine, even at lower concentration, is more available / better at raising FC?

 

[kul]

Liquid Chlorine - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Lake Placid]

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t come down to more available, more importantly it is about what comes along with the chlorine you’re applying.

Liquid chlorine is “cleaner“ and only raises chlorine levels when applied (excepting a bit of salt) without adversely effecting some other parameter.

Trichlor will raise chlorine but also includes 52% CYA. That means for every 1 ppm you raise chlorine you raise cya .6 ppm. With long term use you will end up with so much CYA in the water that your chlorine is rendered useless. The only fix - drain and refill your pool. (Some of the pucks also contain other nasties, metals, algecides, etc)

Think of Dichlor as the granular form of trichlor with the same side effects.

Cal-Hypo will raise chlorine but also includes calcium so the same 1 ppm raise in chlorine will yield .7 ppm raise in calcium hardness. Just like CYA in the trichlor example, calcium builds up due to long term use of Cal-Hypo and it can cause scaling, cloudiness, and the fix when it gets too high - drain and refill.

At the end of the day using liquid allows you to adjust 1 parameter (FC) without adding anything else you don’t want to add. Handling chemical management this way allows us to mange each parameter independently without overly effecting another parameter that may not need adjustment .

 

[Bperry]

Forgot to answer this:

View attachment 431813
I forget what husband said the actual human version of the advice was.

Can anyone point me to a source that is a good quick primer about why the liquid chlorine, even at lower concentration, is more available / better at raising FC?

You’de be better off with muriatic acid than pH decreaser. The muriatic acid does the same thing a lot cheaper and without adding sulphates to the water.

 

[Saturn94]

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

…At the end of the day using liquid allows you to adjust 1 parameter (FC) without adding anything else you don’t want to add. Handling chemical management this way allows us to mange each parameter independently without overly effecting another parameter that may not need adjustment .

THIS!!!

 

[Deb04]

So, I think we’re all curious to know…did your test kit arrive and, if so, what are your results?

 

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

Sorry for the long silence! The test arrived last week but I've had too much else going on to crack open the box & get started.

I'm feeling brave, my workday is over & child is at Nana's so maybe tonight's the night.

In the meantime, since I've started helping to hose down the filters we've been able to change them more often, and I've taken a few passes with the new pool vacuum. Here's what it looks like after about 30 seconds of sucking stuff off the bottom! The pool has reverted to a murky deep green, instead of almost-black green. So there is progress, if slow!

 

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

OK I'm doing it, I'm testing!! I think. If I can blunder my way through it before I lose momentum for the evening.

DUMB QUESTION!!
What do you all use to collect the pool water samples from "about a foot under the surface"? I'm wracking my brain like... maybe I can grip a mason jar with long forceps? (relics of my terrarium hobby some years ago...)

* Edit: Duh, you just reach down into the water with your arm, don't you... It just skeeves me out to stick my arm down into water that murky, I'm scared I'll find that dead deer somebody mentioned

 

[IceShadow]

OK I'm doing it, I'm testing!! I think. If I can blunder my way through it before I lose momentum for the evening.

DUMB QUESTION!!
What do you all use to collect the pool water samples from "about a foot under the surface"? I'm wracking my brain like... maybe I can grip a mason jar with long forceps? (relics of my terrarium hobby some years ago...)

* Edit: Duh, you just reach down into the water with your arm, don't you... It just skeeves me out to stick my arm down into water that murky, I'm scared I'll find that dead deer somebody mentioned

I use a piece of PVC pipe with a cap at one end and a whole drilled near the cap. Thumb plugs the hole, push down into water, move thumbs to let water in, put thumb over hole again, pull out of pool and deposit into plastic container.

 

[Saturn94]

I’m still getting down on my knees to submerge the inverted sample tube about elbow deep, then turn it right side up to collect the sample well below the surface. I can see someday not being able to do that, though.

 

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

Mason jar/forceps did the job for now, but I also just almost absent-mindedly took a hearty sip of poolwater instead of white wine, so... Possibly worth changing up that strategy next time.

 

[wireform]

If the pump is on for the last hour grab a sample from wherever you want just a few inches below. When things progress you can get it from lower down. Start testing as we're all curious.

 

[Lake Placid]

I’m still getting down on my knees to submerge the inverted sample tube about elbow deep, the turn it right side up to collect the sample well below the surface. I can see someday not being able to do that, though.

+1 and my knees tell me I’m already too old to do it this way. Also I know there’s no deer down at the bottom.

 

[Dirk]

Here's the skinny. Firstly, don't let a mason jar (or anything glass) anywhere near your pool. I'll spare you the long version, but breaking a glass in your pool is really bad. It's virtually impossible to get out the shards, as they turn invisible, until someone steps on one, that is.

@IceShadow is steering you in the right direction, describing his PVC pipe. This is mine:



It takes a sample from about 18-24" below the surface. I don't have to kneel, and I barely get the tips of my fingers wet. Great when the weather turns cold, or the bones grow old.

Here's what I collect the sample in. They're free at Leslie's. Well, free in the sense that they want you to let them test your water, so they give you one. So buy some chlorine from them and you can call it even. It has a squirt cap, which makes it very easy to measure out the correct amount of pool water into the test vial.



Sample the water about midway of your pool (between the shallow and deep ends), away from the skimmer and the returns as much as possible. Sample the water in the same place every time. This helps with achieving consistent, repeatable testing methods, which is the goal.

1. Dump out any remaining water from the Leslie's sampler.
2. Seal off the top of the PVC pipe with your thumb.
3. Lower it into the water, almost all the way, then release your thumb.
4. Let it fill, from the bottom up, cap it off again with your thumb, then pull it out of the pool.
5. Fill the Leslie's sampler with the water from the pipe, then dump it out while shaking. This "first pass" rinses both the pipe and the bottle with current pool water.
6. Then repeat all that a second time to collect the testing sample.

That's how I do it, anyway...

 

[Dirk]

While you're ordering pool stuff, order these. They work great, and look great, and are safe around (or in) the pool. I filled a whole cupboard in my kitchen with everything plastic (glasses, plates, coffee mugs, wine stuff, etc). Everybody knows where to grab what they need for around the pool.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CT9Z01I

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BJ8YH6B

Sorry for the sidetrack, back to your pool...

 

[Saturn94]

Here's the skinny. Firstly, don't let a mason jar (or anything glass) anywhere near your pool. I'll spare you the long version, but breaking a glass in your pool is really bad. It's virtually impossible to get out the shards, as they turn invisible, until someone steps on one, that is.

@IceShadow is steering you in the right direction, describing his PVC pipe. This is mine:

View attachment 435237View attachment 435238

It takes a sample from about 18-24" below the surface. I don't have to kneel, and I barely get the tips of my fingers wet. Great when the weather turns cold, or the bones grow old.

Here's what I collect the sample in. They're free at Leslie's. Well, free in the sense that they want you to let them test your water, so they give you one. So buy some chlorine from them and you can call it even. It has a squirt cap, which makes it very easy to measure out the correct amount of pool water into the test vial.

View attachment 435247

Sample the water about midway of your pool (between the shallow and deep ends), away from the skimmer and the returns as much as possible. Sample the water in the same place every time. This helps with achieving consistent, repeatable testing methods, which is the goal.

1. Dump out any remaining water from the Leslie's sampler.
2. Seal off the top of the PVC pipe with your thumb.
3. Lower it into the water, all the way, then release your thumb.
4. Let it fill, cap it off again with your thumb, then pull it out of the pool.
5. Fill the Leslie's sampler with the water from the pipe, then dump it out while shaking. This "first pass" rinses both the pipe and the bottle with current pool water.
6. Then repeat all that a second time to collect the testing sample.

That's how I do it, anyway...

Excellent point about glass! We don’t allow any glass outside. Even furniture with tempered glass is a no no! We learned this the hard way when our patio table shattered into a zillion pieces in a storm. Fortunately, it was far enough away from the pool none got in. It took over 4 hours of vacuuming the brick patio to get all the glass! Never again!

 

[Lake Placid]

Here's the skinny. Firstly, don't let a mason jar (or anything glass) anywhere near your pool. I'll spare you the long version, but breaking a glass in your pool is really bad. It's virtually impossible to get out the shards, as they turn invisible, until someone steps on one, that is.

@IceShadow is steering you in the right direction, describing his PVC pipe. This is mine:

View attachment 435237View attachment 435238

It takes a sample from about 18-24" below the surface. I don't have to kneel, and I barely get the tips of my fingers wet. Great when the weather turns cold, or the bones grow old.

Here's what I collect the sample in. They're free at Leslie's. Well, free in the sense that they want you to let them test your water, so they give you one. So buy some chlorine from them and you can call it even. It has a squirt cap, which makes it very easy to measure out the correct amount of pool water into the test vial.

View attachment 435247

Sample the water about midway of your pool (between the shallow and deep ends), away from the skimmer and the returns as much as possible. Sample the water in the same place every time. This helps with achieving consistent, repeatable testing methods, which is the goal.

1. Dump out any remaining water from the Leslie's sampler.
2. Seal off the top of the PVC pipe with your thumb.
3. Lower it into the water, all the way, then release your thumb.
4. Let it fill, cap it off again with your thumb, then pull it out of the pool.
5. Fill the Leslie's sampler with the water from the pipe, then dump it out while shaking. This "first pass" rinses both the pipe and the bottle with current pool water.
6. Then repeat all that a second time to collect the testing sample.

That's how I do it, anyway...

After reading this write up I’m dreaming about what I “need“ from leslies to get a free sample bottle. $10 gallon of chlorine - nope menards has it for $3.99. Hardness plus…nope it’s too small and more expensive than the other store in town. $22 baking soda….Walmart has it for $6…..dang it I’m striking out!

 

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

While you're ordering pool stuff, order these. They work great, and look great, and are safe around (or in) the pool. I filled a whole cupboard in my kitchen with everything plastic (glasses, plates, coffee mugs, wine stuff, etc). Everybody knows where to grab what they need for around the pool.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CT9Z01I
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BJ8YH6B

Sorry for the sidetrack, back to your pool...

Not a sidetrack, good & necessary motivation to remember how nice it is to hang out in the water with a nice refreshment in hand! I've honestly almost forgotten what it's like, at this point it's as if having a clear blue pool is its own endgoal, just to be able to declare victory. Wait, we might get to swim and hang out in it after that? What??

Excellent point about glass! We don’t allow any glass outside. Even furniture with tempered glass is a no no! We learned this the hard way when our patio table shattered into a zillion pieces in a storm. Fortunately, it was far enough away from the pool none got in. It took over 4 hours of vacuuming the brick patio to get all the glass! Never again!

I have NEVER understood the appeal of glass tabletops, indoors or out. Just seems like it's begging for trouble!

 

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

Oh, almost forgot why I came back over here.

On the pH tester:
Can anyone translate / clarify, how important is "distilled water" and what is "suck it with filter paper"? Does that just mean "use capillary action of paper to suction excess water out of that crevice?" Do I have to use filter paper or is a paper towel ok?

 

[SpongyMothKilledOurPool]

I think the pH test may have to wait for another day (I need to eat dinner, it got late!).

BUT here are the other test results:

My results followed by (pool store results from 7/2, posted previously upthread)

FC 0.5 (0.26)
TC 1.5 (1.41)
CC 1 (1.15)

pH ??? (8.2)
TA 160 (171)

CH 350 (334)

CYA <20 (4)

Overall lines up pretty well with the pool shop's test if we assume not much has changed since then despite husband's periodic shocks & algaecides (I think he stopped the baking soda & switched to a stronger shock, but still cal hypo). I'm lobbying for liquid bleach, because if anything this does argue for the current regimen being insufficient to raise the chlorine level as much as needed?