Stain Removing: Cloudy Blue Water Stage

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If the bromine doesn’t register within 45mins, then it’s not going to increase any further overnight. The chemical reaction by which chlorine oxidizes bromide into bromine is very fast - it should only take mixing the water up for the DPD indicator to show a pink color.

If the chlorine/bromine is being instantly used up, then there’s something organic and/or biological using it up. If that’s the case, then you’re going to need to SLAM the pool.
 
Briar said:
It says my CSI .46 so I get that is too low. My CH always runs low. I need to add about 8 lbs of cal chlor to get it from 200 to 250 but I guess.
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I would wait on adding CH until you get the major water problems fixed.

I think you mentioned that the stairs used to feel rough. That sounded like scale. A Calcium Saturation Index (CSI) - Trouble Free Pool of .46 is high. CSI ranges from +0.6 to -0.6. Above 0.3 indicates the water has a potential for scaling. With a plaster pool CSI should be kept between 0 and -0.3.

Right now your CSI is not important compared to your larger water problems. Once you get those cleared up you can focus on maintaining better CSI water balance.
 
Don't worry about alkalinity. As long as your pH is good any TA is fine right now.
 
I think there is a scale issue going on. It would not surprise me after all that poor pool went thru. I just brushed after adding bleach and I can’t believe how much smoother the brush goes over the pool. If the AA lifted some of that off, is there a way to get it out of the water? That worries me. The guys who renovated the pool really did not think it was wise to drain it. I live on a mountain and I think it was quite a fete to build this pool. Would my CH register consistently low if there is a scale problem?
 
Scale will get absorbed back into your water as calcium or get into your filter. Don;t worry about it right now.

Scale can occur when your CSI is high regardless of what your CH value is.
 
Thanks. I ordered a new testing kit as I know I will have used up everything in the one I have before it’s over?. I’ve never tested that water so much in my life. At least I can get on this forum in the future to get a handle on what I am doing before I do it. You people are so kind.
 
I just looked at your PoolMath log for todays test and it says your CSI is -0.46. Negative 0.46. That is not in scaling territory the way +0.46 that you posted is.
 
Briar said:
I don’t understand that metric yet. I will read about it to get a better understanding. I am assuming that is not a good number either.
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It is not something you need to worry about now. Once you have clear water again we can discuss your overall water balance.
 

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Latest test results

Br:1
Ph: 7.2
TA:140
CH:220
CY: 40

So the bleach I used last night was regular bleach, no additives but did not have percentage marked which leads me to believe it was probably 3-4% instead of 6% as my mum likes to get her bleach at the Dollar Tree and she was the one who donated the bleach I used. So I bought some regular bleach, not Clorox, marked 6% and just put it in at prescribed amount of 83 oz. The Br test reads 1, FC .5 but it has only been about 15 min. I hope it will hold. Pool a little clearer today but still very cloudy. I noticed an old thermometer which floats in the spa had a crusty, crystal-like crust that was crumbling off and I imagine it was calcium. I think I may have had more of a calcium issue that was accompanied by staining than a metal issue. Some stains on the first step did come up when I tested with AA but I can still see a bit of light tea in the corners. The worst darkish streaking in spa looks lighter but is still present. Can’t see anything else. When the light hits the water, I can see tons of white particles. Don’t know how to clean that out. My filter pressure has not changed, still 3285 rpm at 19%. Jacks Filter stuff supposed to arrive tomorrow so I think that will help.
 
Progress!
Just tested FC. Shows up at strong 2, nearly 5 for Bromine. I think the bleach has triggered the bromine. We will see if it holds during the night. Fingers crossed. Now to the clearing of the water. And on a lighter note:

Everyone should have a mermaid tail. This is my mermaid tail. And yes, I swim in my pool at night with the star projector lighting the ceiling, stars in the water, candles in the hanging tealights and yummy Icelandic ambient music blaring into the night. My brothers call me looney. I love being the loon of the family!
 

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New test kit. Different results! Oh what a difference a test makes. I was worried about the age of my test kit so I ordered a new one. Oh my. Water is beginning to clear. Vac running now. Latest results:
CC:10
FC: 6
TA:150
Ph: 7.4
CH: 180
CYA: 30
CSI: -.23

FC held overnight and I just added another round of bleach. Do I keep adding with these latest readings? My filter pressure went up from 13 to 16 so I guess I have to change the fiber media again. I just added it yesterday.
 
Briar said:
New test kit. Different results! Oh what a difference a test makes. I was worried about the age of my test kit so I ordered a new one. Oh my. Water is beginning to clear. Vac running now. Latest results:
CC:10
FC: 6
TA:150
Ph: 7.4
CH: 180
CYA: 30
CSI: -.23

FC held overnight and I just added another round of bleach. Do I keep adding with these latest readings? My filter pressure went up from 13 to 16 so I guess I have to change the fiber media again. I just added it yesterday.
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Are you sure that CC is 10
 
Not sure. I switched kits and the new kit is 2006. Old one is 2005 and so its new way to test with the powder stuff. I will check it again. The other test method tests bromine and I think this one does too but not sure how that works. I will go back and check it again.
 
Don’t bother measuring CCs. Most of the chlorine is used up converting bromide to bromine and the dye will be sensitive to both bromine and combined bromine (bromamines). Simply add the R-0870 powder and 5 drops of the R-0003 at once and titrate with the R-0870. That will give you a reading of “total oxidizer” levels (bromine & bromamines). In bromine sanitation, you typically only care about total bromine levels...

So 4.6 + 1.6 = 6.2 and 6.2 x 2.25 = 13.95ppm. So call it 14ppm TB (total bromine). You want to keep your TB levels around 20ppm for shock purposes.
 
Ok. Wow. Thanks for that. So I will add more bleach and change out that filter fiber media as it is raising my pressure at a pretty quick clip. My understanding is to change media/clean filter after 25% rise in pressure. I can actually see the vac as it runs in the bottom now so progress is at hand. I never thought I had algae/organic issues but now I understand the correct metric and I was wrong. How far apart should I add the bleach? I need to get it to 20ppm and then the FC has to hold at 1ppm or less overnight. Is that correct?
 

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