Purchased pool home, owner left no info, need advice!

[TommyBahama]

Hi all, I stumbled across this website today just before I bought a bunch of shock for my pool.. perfect! But i need help fast to figure out everything going on with this pool and I'm getting many different answers. Please see my details below and help me optimize this pool! TIA
-South FL inground pool approx 13,000 gals
-Pentair Clean and Clear single filter
-salt water cell ichlor 30 system 15000+ hours, salt level about 3200, was set at 100% when I moved in.
-small black algae spots all over bottom, I continue to scrub with chlorine tabs and brush
-Ive added salt after heavy rains when the ichlor goes red
-i acid cleaned the ichlor cell but it looked pretty clean already
-my pic shows the levels are all outta whack. How do i have no chlorine at 100% and enough salt?

 

[PoolStored]

Welcome to TFP!!!

First thing to do is get a test kit. Here is a link to the recommended kits. Get one with the salt test. I'd recommend the TFTestkits.net TF Pro Salt. Link-->Test Kits Compared

Black Algae
With black algae on the bottom, the best method is to use a power washer (lower pressure the better, and wider tip, starting far away from the spots and moving in until it starts to blow the algae away). Then get a pressure spray pump, fill with the strongest liquid chlorine you can find and spray the areas with the LC with the pool pump off.

You will then need to run your FC at 20% of your CYA for several weeks.

Either way, as a result of having BA, after the few weeks of FC at 20%, you probably need to run FC at 15% of CYA for life of this plaster.

Chlorine and Generator
If you have no chlorine, then it is best to raise FC with liquid chlorine and use the cell to maintain. If the cell is toast, use liquid chlorine to maintain until you sort out the cell. I'd add 5ppm per day until your test kit arrives.

At 15,000 hours, it may be the cell is no longer working. They are designed for 10K hours. Running 100%, 24/7 is the easiest way to kill a cell. Cleaning the cell with muriatic acid removes the metals that make chlorine. Best to use mechanical cleaning. Do you see any bubbles from the returns?

 

[TinFoilHat]

Welcome to TFP. Here is the reading you need to do so that you, too, can have a clear and sanitized pool like most of us have.
Pool Care Basics
Test Kits Compared
FC/CYA Levels
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
SLAM Process
PoolMath

 

[TommyBahama]

Welcome to TFP!!!

First thing to do is get a test kit. Here is a link to the recommended kits. Get one with the salt test. I'd recommend the TFTestkits.net TF Pro Salt. Link-->Test Kits Compared

Black Algae
With black algae on the bottom, the best method is to use a power washer (lower pressure the better, and wider tip, starting far away from the spots and moving in until it starts to blow the algae away). Then get a pressure spray pump, fill with the strongest liquid chlorine you can find and spray the areas with the LC with the pool pump off.

You will then need to run your FC at 20% of your CYA for several weeks.

Either way, as a result of having BA, after the few weeks of FC at 20%, you probably need to run FC at 15% of CYA for life of this plaster.

Chlorine and Generator
If you have no chlorine, then it is best to raise FC with liquid chlorine and use the cell to maintain. If the cell is toast, use liquid chlorine to maintain until you sort out the cell. I'd add 5ppm per day until your test kit arrives.

At 15,000 hours, it may be the cell is no longer working. They are designed for 10K hours. Running 100%, 24/7 is the easiest way to kill a cell. Cleaning the cell with muriatic acid removes the metals that make chlorine. Best to use mechanical cleaning. Do you see any bubbles from the returns?

Thanks for the reply! Pool stores and online said i should clean the ichlor with acid water mixture so thats what i did for about 8 minutes. There are bubbles in the returns only after filter cleaning or emptying the filter basket. There is a small air leak somewhere i need to figure out which requires me to release it from the valve daily.

 

[PoolStored]

The cell is likely dead at this point if you are not getting bubble when it is on.

Here is our cleaning guide...avoid acid if you can.

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[TommyBahama]

The cell is likely dead at this point if you are not getting bubble when it is on.

Here is our cleaning guide...avoid acid if you can.

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Ok thanks. I didn't know there should be visible bubbles. A pool guy inspected everything and told me to reduce my chlorine to 80% and it should be fine. It runs about 10hrs per day. So are we thinking the cell is dead? Paying to replace isn't really an option currently, so I understand i should use liquid chlorine to keep levels in check.?

 

[PoolStored]

Get the test kit.

Follow the SLAM process and do what I indicated for the black algae. If you need to supplement with liquid chlorine to maintain levels, do that. Do not run your cell at 100% 24/7.

You can take the cell in and have it tested, or you can test FC after sunset, turn the cell to 90%, then test FC in the morning before sunrise. Do this AFTER you fix the algae issue. This will tell you if you cell is making FC, if FC rises overnight.

 

[TommyBahama]

Get the test kit.

Follow the SLAM process and do what I indicated for the black algae. If you need to supplement with liquid chlorine to maintain levels, do that. Do not run your cell at 100% 24/7.

You can take the cell in and have it tested, or you can test FC after sunset, turn the cell to 90%, then test FC in the morning before sunrise. Do this AFTER you fix the algae issue. This will tell you if you cell is making FC, if FC rises overnight.

Yes I understand to get the test kit but $170 is a bit steep right now. So I'm trying to at least get headed in the right direction using what is currently available. I power washed the algae and hit it with chlorine. The cell does not run 24/7, it runs about 10hrs per day. I'll try the FC test overnight. Thanks again for advice.

 

[Mdragger88]

The basic tf100 salt is $105,
you will probably spend more than that in 1 trip to the pool store and still possibly be chasing your tail.
The tfpro is nice but you can always buy the stirrer and the carrying case later. The tests it contains are what matters most
You need an accurate way to do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test,
confirm that you’re chlorinating properly for SLAM Process or maintenance
(see FC/CYA Levels)
and be able to do an overnight chlorine gain test to troubleshoot your cell after you’ve confirmed you’re algae free .
Along with all the other necessary tests.
The ranges of the strips are too broad and they’re just generally inaccurate, can get easily bleached out etc.
Do not add salt to the pool solely based on what the swcg says. As they die they often measure salinity inaccurately and this will leave you with an extremely salty pool.
The best thing you can do without having accurate data to work with is add 3- 5ppm worth of liquid chlorine each day until you get a proper kit.

 

[Newdude]

+3 for the test kit.

I never walked out of the pool store under $100 and many times it was closer to $200 when I took their advice. Each trip.

We need reliable data or our advice is just as bad, and possibly just as harmful as all the mystery snake oils they sell.

The test kit is an initial investment mostly for the parts. The refills go on sale each spring for mid $40s and it's easier to swallow. You can get 2 years out of them when stored properly.

And Welcome to TFP !!!!

 

[Newdude]

To the specific point about needing to make do with what you have, and i get it, I do. But we need to know CYA to a 10 to set the appropriate FC levels.




Yours is *probably*above 0 but less than 100.



We don't even trust them enough to say it *is* between 0 and 100. There's a few hundred thousand posts here of the 3(?) million posts since 2007, from folks getting burned with test strips. You'll see many of them eventually, but for now you need to take us at our word about it. We won't do you wrong, i promise.

 

[TinFoilHat]

Look at it this way, you could struggle to keep your car running while it keeps dying over and over, but for $170 plus some preventative chemicals you could get it purring and reliable again. Owning a pool is a commitment but doing it right makes it much easier.