Wow, I am so happy I found a forum of helpful, friendly and knowledgeable pool people!
I have many questions, not only about getting the pool back in shape, but also about my pump, filter and heater (which I hope you can help me with later).
The basic situation: I've owned the house about a week, and I know it hasn't been attended to for at least a month and needs attention right away. The water seems relatively clear. There may be some algae, but I'm not sure due to the dark color of the pool (it's a plaster pool by the way). I have doubts as to whether the pump is running when I am not there -- there seems to be a timer involved, but I will ask about that later. We are not living there yet due to many renovations that are required, so I am concerned that I may not be able to do a proper SLAM, but it needs some sort of shock(s) to at least halt its downward spiral. (FYI, I visit the house every evening during the week and afternoons on weekends.) I plan to order the T-100 kit later today (Sunday), so it will take a few days to get to California (can anyone estimate how long?). While waiting, I opted to at least get some sort of readings using (gulp!) test strips and possibly start some sort of treatment. I've read enough of TFP to know that the results (even from lowly test strips) look pretty bad. Here are the results:
Total Hardness: 1000 (the highest on the strip)
Total Chlorine: 0
Free Chlorine: 0
pH: 8.4 (the highest on the strip)
Total Alkalinity: 120 (from the App interpretation of the photographed test strip, although it actually looks intermediate between the 120 and 180 color pads to me)
Cyanuric Acid: 100 (neighboring color pads are 50 and 150)
I used AquaChek test strips and the phone App that goes with it. I also used test strips from Pool Time, which gave the same results.
I did have the foresight today to buy 3 very large jugs of simple bleach (7.5%, no additives) at the grocery store and a gallon of muriatic acid at a pool store, but I have not done anything with them yet pending your much needed advice.
I estimate my oddly shaped pool to be approximately 19,000 gallons.
What should I do first, and how to actually go about it? From other areas of TFP I have read to bring the pH down first, then attack the FC level. What about the high hardness and CYA levels - do I ever do anything about those? And what's the procedure for adding acid and/or chlorine (for example, how fast to add it to the return, and when to measure level afterward, and how many times)? Should I aim for some sort of modified SLAM treatment, maybe multiple shocks (given that I don't sleep there and can't measure first thing in the morning)? I have the Pool Math app but haven't gone into it yet.
My apologies for the long first post and all the questions. Many thanks for whatever help you can send my way. The previous pool guy left his card, but I think with TFP's help, I can do at least as well or better. Anyway, I'm a DIY type of guy and always want to know how my stuff works.
I have many questions, not only about getting the pool back in shape, but also about my pump, filter and heater (which I hope you can help me with later).
The basic situation: I've owned the house about a week, and I know it hasn't been attended to for at least a month and needs attention right away. The water seems relatively clear. There may be some algae, but I'm not sure due to the dark color of the pool (it's a plaster pool by the way). I have doubts as to whether the pump is running when I am not there -- there seems to be a timer involved, but I will ask about that later. We are not living there yet due to many renovations that are required, so I am concerned that I may not be able to do a proper SLAM, but it needs some sort of shock(s) to at least halt its downward spiral. (FYI, I visit the house every evening during the week and afternoons on weekends.) I plan to order the T-100 kit later today (Sunday), so it will take a few days to get to California (can anyone estimate how long?). While waiting, I opted to at least get some sort of readings using (gulp!) test strips and possibly start some sort of treatment. I've read enough of TFP to know that the results (even from lowly test strips) look pretty bad. Here are the results:
Total Hardness: 1000 (the highest on the strip)
Total Chlorine: 0
Free Chlorine: 0
pH: 8.4 (the highest on the strip)
Total Alkalinity: 120 (from the App interpretation of the photographed test strip, although it actually looks intermediate between the 120 and 180 color pads to me)
Cyanuric Acid: 100 (neighboring color pads are 50 and 150)
I used AquaChek test strips and the phone App that goes with it. I also used test strips from Pool Time, which gave the same results.
I did have the foresight today to buy 3 very large jugs of simple bleach (7.5%, no additives) at the grocery store and a gallon of muriatic acid at a pool store, but I have not done anything with them yet pending your much needed advice.
I estimate my oddly shaped pool to be approximately 19,000 gallons.
What should I do first, and how to actually go about it? From other areas of TFP I have read to bring the pH down first, then attack the FC level. What about the high hardness and CYA levels - do I ever do anything about those? And what's the procedure for adding acid and/or chlorine (for example, how fast to add it to the return, and when to measure level afterward, and how many times)? Should I aim for some sort of modified SLAM treatment, maybe multiple shocks (given that I don't sleep there and can't measure first thing in the morning)? I have the Pool Math app but haven't gone into it yet.
My apologies for the long first post and all the questions. Many thanks for whatever help you can send my way. The previous pool guy left his card, but I think with TFP's help, I can do at least as well or better. Anyway, I'm a DIY type of guy and always want to know how my stuff works.
