Pool SOS

[Athas08]

Good evening,
I know there's a lot of good resources here, but honestly, I'm overwhelmed and frustrated and would like someone to walk me through what to do. We've been doing the pool store money dump for about two months and the pool is still cloudy and won't hold chlorine.
We have a 5500 gallon above ground vinyl pool. We didn't know what we were doing and it was left uncovered all winter. At this point it's free of as much debris as we can (maybe a few leaves, not perfect). We have a sandpro pump that runs 24/7. Right now the floater has 5 chlorine tabs in it. I put those in last night. I shocked with a packet of powdered shock two days ago after it rained.

Right now it is cloudy and slightly greenish. Yesterday afternoon there was a tannish colored slime floating on top of the water. Honestly, it looks like diarrhea.We haven't used the pool in over a week because the water won't clear up and the chlorine won't hold. We probably shouldn't have used it at all this summer, but it was ok in May, just a little cloudy. I think my son got an ear infection from the water.

I am prepared to SLAM the pool if needed, but like I said, I'm kind of overwhelmed and not really processing all the articles on the site.

Thanks for any help! If this doesn't work we'll have to hire someone to balance it and I really don't want to do that.

Here are the numbers from the pool store test today.
Free chlorine- .25
Total Chlorine- 1.32
pH- 7.3
Total Alkalinity- 70 (they say that's low)
CYA- 73
Phosphates 140
Calcium Hardness 213
Iron- 0
Copper- 0.2
TDS- 800

 

[Dan Morrill]

Hello and welcome!

Something to ponder is whether or not it is feasible for you to drain your pool and refill it. For some people, draining is easy and new water is readily available. For others draining is hard. If you are able, it is sometimes worth starting fresh.

Either way, and hopefully you have picked up on this from reading the forum, you need your own test kit. Test Kits Compared

K-2006(c) or TF-100, both have the tests required. It's an investment, but paying for pool store advice or a service will end up being much more expensive.

Once you have a test kit in hand, everyone here will be very happy and quick to help you through getting your pool in swimming shape. Post results, or even questions on how to use the test kit (though it isn't too tough!), and we will get you on the right path.

But start by getting a test kit

 

[AK-]

Hello Athas,

What kind of AGP you have? Permanent (steel/resin wall) or Seasonal (vinyl only wall/Intex)?
If your pool is seasonal than you can consider drain/refill if viable. Never completely drain an permanent AGP as that can damage the liner.

We have plenty of examples on how inaccurate and unreliable pool store tests are.

Lots of people here to help you, but any advice based on bad test data (pool store test/test strips) is bad advice and nobody here wants to give bad advice .

 

[Mdragger88]

Welcome to tfp !
Don’t stress, many have come before u & came out on the other side with an oasis.
You have algea so a SLAM Process with liquid chlorine is needed to eradicate it - no real way around that. Even if you were to drain (which depends on the type of pool u have) you would still need to slam it just probably won’t take as long.

Step 1 - as mentioned above- get a tf100 from www.tftestkits.net or a Taylor k2006c
The fas/dpd & cya tests included in these are critical to clearing your swamp.
Step 2- remove the pucks - they are just adding more cya which you may already have too much of (if the pool store test is accurate at all)
Step 3- add 5ppm of liquid chlorine every day slowly in front of a return to keep it from getting exponentially worse until your test kit arrives & secure a source for plenty more so u are ready to go.
Use PoolMath to calculate additions.

You can post your results from your kit in this thread & we can help u along.

While u are waiting read up on the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[Athas08]

Hello Athas,

What kind of AGP you have? Permanent (steel/resin wall) or Seasonal (vinyl only wall/Intex)?
If your pool is seasonal than you can consider drain/refill if viable. Never completely drain an permanent AGP as that can damage the liner.

We have plenty of examples on how inaccurate and unreliable pool store tests are.

Lots of people here to help you, but any advice based on bad test data (pool store test/test strips) is bad advice and nobody here wants to give bad advice .

We have a seasonal, vinyl liner only, pool.

 

[Athas08]

Ok. Ordered a TF-100 test kit and put some liquid chlorine in the pool to hold the algae at bay.

 

[Dan Morrill]

Great. Help us out by filling out your signature with all of your pool information (type, size, equipment). It helps those of us giving answers to give info specific and relevant to your type of pool.

 

[AK-]

Just to set this one expectation: If your pool store test CYA is anywhere close to your actual CYA you will be asked to perform a partial drain/refill. If high CYA you will need much higher levels of FC to SLAM (and to keep your pool sanitary later). See FC/CYA Levels
Now, that IF on "If your pool store test CYA is anywhere close to your actual CYA" is a really big IF and you will only be known for sure once you test your own water with a reliable test kit. See Pool Store Experiment Water Samples for an example on why we can't give advice based on pool store tests.

It is better if you stock up on some LC (I'd say 10 gallon jugs to start with) for a SLAM and normal maintenance later. Store your LC in a cool dark place to avoid premature decomposition (Note: never store different types of chlorine too close to each other).
SLAM is a process that takes time to completely clear your water. Generally towards the end of a SLAM when water still cloudy if your FC is at or lower than your SLAM level and you can see the bottom your pool is safe to swim (algae is unpleasant but no harmful to external contact).

 

[Athas08]

Great. Help us out by filling out your signature with all of your pool information (type, size, equipment). It helps those of us giving answers to give info specific and relevant to your type of pool.

What else do I need to add to my signature? I have size, type, and filter type.

 

[Athas08]

Just to set this one expectation: If your pool store test CYA is anywhere close to your actual CYA you will be asked to perform a partial drain/refill. If high CYA you will need much higher levels of FC to SLAM (and to keep your pool sanitary later). See FC/CYA Levels
Now, that IF on "If your pool store test CYA is anywhere close to your actual CYA" is a really big IF and you will only be known for sure once you test your own water with a reliable test kit. See Pool Store Experiment Water Samples for an example on why we can't give advice based on pool store tests.

It is better if you stock up on some LC (I'd say 10 gallon jugs to start with) for a SLAM and normal maintenance later. Store your LC in a cool dark place to avoid premature decomposition (Note: never store different types of chlorine too close to each other).
SLAM is a process that takes time to completely clear your water. Generally towards the end of a SLAM when water still cloudy if your FC is at or lower than your SLAM level and you can see the bottom your pool is safe to swim (algae is unpleasant but no harmful to external contact)

Are there reliable places other than the pool store to buy the chemicals. I can get 4 gallons of liquid chlorine for about $25 there.

 

[AK-]

Are there reliable places other than the pool store to buy the chemicals. I can get 4 gallons of liquid chlorine for about $25 there.

Hardware stores, grocery stores, janitorial supply stores, farm supply stores …

You can use household plain bleach (unscented, non-splahsless, non-Chloromax technology, no additives).

 

[AK-]

You can check this thread (start from the end and navigate back on posts): Best Places to Buy Liquid Chlorine

 

[Athas08]

You can check this thread (start from the end and navigate back on posts): Best Places to Buy Liquid Chlorine

Thanks!

 

[Mdragger88]

Here’s the finder that’s based on your location

Where to find Liquid Chlorine

We want to help you with your pool and maintain your water. Help users find a quality source of Chlorine around them or find a source for your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

I have a local pool store that sells refillable 2.5 gal jugs for $7 plus deposit.
Hopefully you have a hasa dealer near u

 

[Athas08]

Got my TF-100 today and ran all the tests except CC because they were out of the reagent.
pH: between 7.5-7.8 (didn't match either exactly)
FC: 1.5
TA: 100
CH: 350
CYA: 100

Plus now the pool is cloudy and green.

 

[Mdragger88]

Looks like you need to drain the majority of your water to get to around 30ppm cya but before u do u need to to do the diluted cya test since 100 is the max. Use 50% tap water & 50% pool water as your water sample then multiply the results by 2. Your pool isn’t very big so u could just drain the whole thing & begin again. It would definitely speed up the slam.

 

[Newdude]

CYA: 100

Hey Athas and belated Welcome !!

A 100 reading is tricky and over 100 can’t be read like it looks to be read. ( a 120 for example).

Do a dilution test where you add half tap water to the CYA/pool water mix. If the reading is 80 or below, double the result. If the reading is still 100, meaning it’s really 200+, Add 2 parts pool water to the CYA/pool mix and multiple by 3. Keep adding parts and multiplying accordingly until you get a reading of 80 or less.

There can be a vast difference in how much to drain depending on how far you go above 100. Or the first dilution test proves it’s really a 100 and we go from there.

 

[Athas08]

Hey Athas and belated Welcome !!

A 100 reading is tricky and over 100 can’t be read like it looks to be read. ( a 120 for example).

Do a dilution test where you add half tap water to the CYA/pool water mix. If the reading is 80 or below, double the result. If the reading is still 100, meaning it’s really 200+, Add 2 parts pool water to the CYA/pool mix and multiple by 3. Keep adding parts and multiplying accordingly until you get a reading of 80 or less.

There can be a vast difference in how much to drain depending on how far you go above 100. Or the first dilution test proves it’s really a 100 and we go from there.

So I did the dilution test and the CYA view tube was completely full before I couldn't see the dot. I'm guessing that would be a 10? The lowest marked number is 20, so I'm not sure. Advice from here?

 

[Donldson]

So I did the dilution test and the CYA view tube was completely full before I couldn't see the dot. I'm guessing that would be a 10? The lowest marked number is 20, so I'm not sure. Advice from here?

Are you sure you added the pool water to the diluted test? Or the test solution to the pool water/tap water mix? Something went wrong here, because you can't go from 100 to zero in three days unless you replaced all of your water.

 

[Athas08]

Are you sure you added the pool water to the diluted test? Or the test solution to the pool water/tap water mix? Something went wrong here, because you can't go from 100 to zero in three days unless you replaced all of your water.

I'm sure that I followed the directions. Halfway to the bottom of the label with tap water, the rest of the way to the bottom of the label with pool water, then to the top of the label with the R-0013. Shake, wait 30 seconds, shake, then fill the cya view tube until you can't see the black dot.

I guess I'll try again.