Please help! Need to know if i need to drain and start over

[amvinson]

Hi!

Im new to all of this. I bought the Taylor 2006c as recommended in a pool school article.

So far i have tried to test for free chlorine. Mine was clear, so i had to keep adding the little powder. I added 10 scoops when it had a tinge of pink. So i think that means i need to add a ton of chlorine.

Then i tried to test pH. Mine is acidic. I had to add 30 drops of ph increaser to get to optimal. That would be 6 lbs of baking soda..

Should i just start over??

I have an above ground pool just under 15k gallons. With an intex sand pump.

Thanks so much for your help!

Mandy

 

[Texas Splash]

Mandy, welcome to TFP! Are you just now opening for this season? And you are sure the pH has crashed very low? Didi you test the TA? It would be good to know that as well.

 

[Texas Splash]

Also, what does the water look like?

 

[amvinson]

Mandy, welcome to TFP! Are you just now opening for this season? And you are sure the pH has crashed very low? Didi you test the TA? It would be good to know that as well.

Hi! Thank you!

Yes trying to open. And that is what I got from the test. The ta is 100ppm

 

[amvinson]

Also, what does the water look like?

It is still pretty green at the moment

 

[Texas Splash]

The ta is 100ppm

Okay, then it would seem odd the pH is really low as you described. Any chance you could do the pH test one more time for us and post a pic of the viewer? 5 drops of R-0014 (or perhaps R-0004 depending on the kit ) correct?

 

[amvinson]

Well this actually looks different than before… so maybe I put the wrong amount of drops in. But this was 5 drops. So is it close enough to 7.4?

 

[Texas Splash]

Yeah, I think it's around 7.2-7.4, so that's good.

 

[Texas Splash]

So now that we have confirmed your pH and TA are fine, let's get back to the FC, CYA, and green water. Green water generally means you have algae which is no surprise having just opened up. Are you on a well? Can you post a pic of the water please?

 

[amvinson]

Definitely has algae. There is some floating

 

[amvinson]

The black dot never disappears when viewing from above.. but also the water in the tube never looked cloudy

 

[Texas Splash]

Okay, then here we go. Normally this is the time for you to get very familiar with the SLAM Process. Before you start, you would want to make sure you have several gallons of liquid chlorine available.

TIP: Before starting the SLAM Process, you do have the option of exchanging water. Chlorine, like everything else, it getting more costly. About $5 or more per gallon now. You will use quite a few gallons during the SLAM. Maybe 10, 15, 20 or so. It can add up, and every pool is different, so we have no idea of knowing exactly how much chlorine you wlil use. If it is more cost-effective for you to exchange water, you can do that first. You can't empty the pool completely, and you will still need to do the SLAM to some extent, but that's an option.

Having said that, what do you prefer to do? Start the SLAM now with lots of chlorine, or do a healthy water exchange first? If you exchange water, leave at least 1-2 ft in the pool to keep it stable and liner in place.

Let me know.