- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,581
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
The first.
Ok, 2ppm isn’t awful. Add another 8ppm to get back to 10ppm, let mix 15 mins, and test again.
Our pool has been black for a month
- Thread starter SpongyMothKilledOurPool
- Start date
Ok, 2ppm isn’t awful. Add another 8ppm to get back to 10ppm, let mix 15 mins, and test again.
Put a tshirt over the net to skim the top of the water. Have something on tbe side to dump the gunk onto to shake out on the grass when done.
Did we talk about skimmer basket socks?
Did we talk about skimmer basket socks?
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,662
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Let your pH determine if and when to add MA. If the pH is 8.0 or above, dose a gallon of MA and give it 30 minutes with the pump running to disburse. Test again and if it's still high, rinse and repeat. Don't worry too much about it settling -- if the pump is running you are good.
And remember, pH readings are invalid if FC > 10. So don't even bother to test if it is. pH is not your biggest concern right now -- chlorine is. There will be plenty of time to adjust pH once your water is clear.
As for all that stuff floating to the top, my guess is either the MA or the chlorine you've added has caused it to begin oxidation, with little bubbles forming and causing it to float. That's good. It means it's beginning to break down and get filtered out. Plus you can skim it off the surface easier now too.
Keep up the good work. You're gonna be amazed soon. I can't wait to hear what the hubby has to say when it starts turning blue.
Play I have a game plan for you. Ready?
1. No more testing of anything other than FC from now on. Only test FC.
2. Test FC and put in enough liquid chlorine to get the FC up to SLAM level for you current cya level. Do the testing and adding AT LEAST every other hour if at all possible.
3. Find a way to get that gunk out of the pool. It is not going to be fun or easy but it HAS to happen and as soon as possible.
Ideas for getting gunk out:
-tshirt on net and skim top of pool
-find a hose long enough to go to bottom of pool and down to outside the poo lower then the pool. Hubby may have to help with this.
Now go to WAR! Get your warrior face in place and clean that pool!!!! You CAN do it and we will help you and cheer you on!!
No more tiptoeing......it full on STOMP time!!!!
1. No more testing of anything other than FC from now on. Only test FC.
2. Test FC and put in enough liquid chlorine to get the FC up to SLAM level for you current cya level. Do the testing and adding AT LEAST every other hour if at all possible.
3. Find a way to get that gunk out of the pool. It is not going to be fun or easy but it HAS to happen and as soon as possible.
Ideas for getting gunk out:
-tshirt on net and skim top of pool
-find a hose long enough to go to bottom of pool and down to outside the poo lower then the pool. Hubby may have to help with this.
Now go to WAR! Get your warrior face in place and clean that pool!!!! You CAN do it and we will help you and cheer you on!!
No more tiptoeing......it full on STOMP time!!!!
OK but the SLAM instructions say to get your pH in recommended range first, and when I looked for the "why" I found this here:
In a pool with zero CYA, chlorine is more effective at lower pH, but this relationship is much less with CYA in the water to point of being irrelevant.[9]
pH does affect the active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) level that is responsible for most of the disinfection of the water. However, when Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is in the water, it buffers this active chlorine so that pH has far less of an effect on it.[10]
To be specific, with no CYA in the water, going from a pH of 7.5 to 8.0 has the active chlorine level drop by 50%. With CYA in the water, it drops by only 15%. Going the other direction, going from a pH of 7.5 to 7.0 the active chlorine level with no CYA increases by a little more than 50% but with CYA in the water it increases by 35%.
So we generally ignore the pH effect on chlorine except for a SLAM because the larger amounts of chlorine have the pH rise significantly so we recommend lowering the pH first before a SLAM, especially when it's a lot of FC due to high CYA levels.
So it seems like leaving the pH over 8 when I start, might make it much harder to get the FC up?? Particularly given that my CYA levels are super low, and I don't have any CYA on hand to put in it?
In a pool with zero CYA, chlorine is more effective at lower pH, but this relationship is much less with CYA in the water to point of being irrelevant.[9]
pH does affect the active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) level that is responsible for most of the disinfection of the water. However, when Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is in the water, it buffers this active chlorine so that pH has far less of an effect on it.[10]
To be specific, with no CYA in the water, going from a pH of 7.5 to 8.0 has the active chlorine level drop by 50%. With CYA in the water, it drops by only 15%. Going the other direction, going from a pH of 7.5 to 7.0 the active chlorine level with no CYA increases by a little more than 50% but with CYA in the water it increases by 35%.
So we generally ignore the pH effect on chlorine except for a SLAM because the larger amounts of chlorine have the pH rise significantly so we recommend lowering the pH first before a SLAM, especially when it's a lot of FC due to high CYA levels.
So it seems like leaving the pH over 8 when I start, might make it much harder to get the FC up?? Particularly given that my CYA levels are super low, and I don't have any CYA on hand to put in it?
I got some skimmer socks, I'm unsure if I can put them in properly. I read an Amazon review that said "don't put them on the outside of the skimmer basket" because the pump can suck them in; but due to the handle across the middle of the basket, you can't really secure it to the inside of the basket well either. Have you guys put these things around the outside of skimmer baskets, without losing them down the pipes?
Ohhhh son of a gun, we're about to get thunderstorms all afternoon. We were supposed to have clear weather till the weekend, I have a deck to staiiiiinnnnnnn!
No to the skimmer socks then! Sure don't want to add a broken punp to the mix.
Go back to putting the tshirts inside the basket.
No staining for you with rain
I thought you posted the number 7.8. I am on my phone in the car (husband driving) so it is hard to scroll back.
You HAVE to get the gunk out and get and keep your FC at SLAM level for the pool to clear. Don't worry about anything else.
Go back to putting the tshirts inside the basket.
No staining for you with rain
I thought you posted the number 7.8. I am on my phone in the car (husband driving) so it is hard to scroll back.
You HAVE to get the gunk out and get and keep your FC at SLAM level for the pool to clear. Don't worry about anything else.
DrewLG
Gold Supporter
- May 31, 2022
- 675
- Pool Size
- 8000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-20
No, don't put them on the outside. If you can easily pop the handle out, put the sock on the inside. Otherwise don't use the socks until/unless you get a replacement skimmer basket that's compatible with them.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,662
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Well shoot. Is there an easy way to figure out which replacement baskets will be compatible with my skimmer?
The brown floaties have either gone to the cartridge filter, or re-dissolved, but I'll try T-shirt skimming them if they reappear after my next chem dump(s).
I'm still confused about, if my main goal is to amp up the FC as much as possible, why it would be unimportant to reduce the pH first--since it sounds like super high pH can make it hard to get the FC up!
The brown floaties have either gone to the cartridge filter, or re-dissolved, but I'll try T-shirt skimming them if they reappear after my next chem dump(s).
I'm still confused about, if my main goal is to amp up the FC as much as possible, why it would be unimportant to reduce the pH first--since it sounds like super high pH can make it hard to get the FC up!
Ok. Well. When you're ready, the muck needs to go. It's arguably more important than maintaining any FC as pretty much whatever FC you add will be eaten by the muck in no time flat.
I had a black swamp and I scooped and scooped and vacuumed blindly. Improvements in the water were slow, but made progress little by little, eventhough it seemed like I was stirring up and much as I got rid of. When the water cleared just enough to see the bottom again, there was one last splotch of crud over there. Upon removing it, I watched the pool go green to blue in a matter of 5 mins. (?) It was cloudy blue and milky and still had a way to go, but I didn't turn that corner in the fight until the muck was entirely gone.
It's going to suck and will test your resolve. Mucky sludge will drip through the net with each scoop. But it needs to go and most of your scoops will make some sort of dent.
Vac to waste if you can. Refill and do it again. If you can't, use the filter instead and backwash/clean as needed. Each round will get more out.
You got this.
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,581
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Why do you need a replacement basket? Did something break? The handle comes out - squeeze together the sides 90° off from the handle ends and it will flex so that it can be pulled off. Then you put the sock in and replace the handle.
High pH will make the FC less effective, which is why it recommends to lower to 7.2 first. You also will want to add some CYA as yours was low.
Did you add more FC and see if it held higher than 2ppm after 15 mins yet?
I'm not going to back search your last ph reading but whatever it was just use poolmath for how much you would need to bring it to the "7.2" number we like at the beginning of a slam. Get that in the water and consider it done till the pool comes a full 360.