Really high ammonia

[JamesW]

Does the water look worse today?

From the pictures, it looks like the pool was looking better yesterday.

In any case, I would raise the TA to about 90 to help prevent the pH from going too low.

 

[Texas Splash]

You're also at a point where after getting the FC to hold last night, the next 24-48 hours will require vigilance to try and maintain the FC of 12 as consistently as you can. Large drops of FC (like 4 or below earlier) can set you back a bit. Hang in there!

 

[andrewjstrominger]

Does the water look worse today?

From the pictures, it looks like the pool was looking better yesterday.

In any case, I would raise the TA to about 90 to help prevent the pH from going too low.

I think it looks about the same. I can barely make out the bottom step, which is what it looked like yesterday too. Yesterday was pretty sunny, and today is a little overcast, maybe that explains the difference you're seeing in the pictures.

Would you recommend raising the TA with soda ash or baking soda? It seems like I could raise the pH and the TA at the same time with soda ash.

From what I can gather 6 ounces of soda ash will raise the pH 0.2 and the TA by 5ppm per 10,000 gallons.

I would need 6x2.25=13.5 ounces to raise the pH by 0.2 and TA by 5ppm.

I'm thinking: start by adding 27 ounces of soda ash to hopefully raise it to 7.0 or so pH and 80 TA. Check after an hour and adjust.

You're also at a point where after getting the FC to hold last night, the next 24-48 hours will require vigilance to try and maintain the FC of 12 as consistently as you can. Large drops of FC (like 4 or below earlier) can set you back a bit. Hang in there!

Thank you! I'm going out to check again shortly.

 

[JamesW]

Would you recommend raising the TA with soda ash or baking soda?

I personally don't like soda ash and I don't use it.

I would use baking soda because it causes fewer problems.

Soda ash tends to create precipitation issues as it reacts with certain other chemistry.

 

[andrewjstrominger]

I personally don't like soda ash and I don't use it.

I would use baking soda because it causes fewer problems.

Soda ash tends to create precipitation issues as it reacts with certain other chemistry.

Will do, thank you!

 

[andrewjstrominger]

Latest update:
4:00pm: 8 FC 0.5 CC - added 115 ounces of 10% liquid chlorine to target 12 FC.
5:00pm: 12 FC 0.5 CC
I added 53 oz of baking soda, that should raise it to 80 ppm TA. I will check again and likely add more but I'd rather not overshoot it.

My CYA socks are taking a while to dissolve, lots of squeezing. I guess it's ok for it to go slowly though.

 

[andrewjstrominger]

Update at 8:45pm:
10.5 FC
0.5 CC
80 TA
6.7-8 pH

It only dropped 1.5 FC between 5pm and 8:45pm! Excited to see what it does overnight.

 

[Texas Splash]

It only dropped 1.5 FC between 5pm and 8:45pm! Excited to see what it does overnight.

Curious as well. It looked like the FC was trying to hold better.

 

[andrewjstrominger]

Curious as well. It looked like the FC was trying to hold better.

It was 10 this morning at 7am, so only a 2 FC drop from 12! There’s was barely any CC, it was a faint pink after the 5 drops of reagent, so I counted it as 0.5.

It’s much better! Still about the same clarity, but I think it can take a while for the sand filter remove all of the dead algae.

 

[Texas Splash]

It was 10 this morning at 7am, so only a 2 FC drop from 12! There’s was barely any CC, it was a faint pink after the 5 drops of reagent, so I counted it as 0.5.

Outstanding! Stick with it.

 

[zea3]

This is where POP comes in. POP is pool owner patience. You need it while the pool is clearing. Daily vacuuming and brushing the pool helps keep the dead algae stirred up so it can be filtered out. Using a knee high stocking or skimmer sock in the skimmer basket can help capture some of the algae debris. You can also use a little bit of DE filter media in your sand filter to help capture more fine debris.

 

[andrewjstrominger]

This is where POP comes in. POP is pool owner patience. You need it while the pool is clearing. Daily vacuuming and brushing the pool helps keep the dead algae stirred up so it can be filtered out. Using a knee high stocking or skimmer sock in the skimmer basket can help capture some of the algae debris. You can also use a little bit of DE filter media in your sand filter to help capture more fine debris.

Thank you for the suggestions! I’ll have to pick up a sock or some DE. Yes, I’ve read that it can take up to a week to filter all of the algae out. The good news is it’s only been dropping about 1.5-2 FC every 8 hours and CC has been around 0.5. It’s going to be chilly here for the next week so I’m definitely ok with waiting for now!