My first (and last post) was over two years ago as our pool was being built. We ended up having water trucked in to fill the pool and year one maintenance was a breeze... literally just put some chlorine pucks in the skimmer basket and that was it.
Year two became a little more of a yoyo effect and constantly battling cloudiness, low chlorine, etc... I tried relying on the pool company and they simply are not setup to do anything effectively except BUILD pools. This year, I decided to educate myself and take matters into my own hands. First step was to read through Pool School. Incredibly helpful. Then I ordered a TFTEST kit today.
SO - doing a complete test after opening the pool, realized that my TA was very high (230-240 range). I immediately started treating with acid and aeration. For aeration, the quickest plan was to drop a submersible pump in the water with a short hose and shoot that arc of water back into the water like a fountain. Probably not as effective as introducing bubbles, but will definitely aerate. I started slow testing six hours and 24 hours after each treatment. At first it seemed like the TA would barely move, but as of last night I finally got it down to 100! PH was steady throughout the process at 7, but last night dropped after I added the last 2 quarts of acid. I closed the cover for the night as the trees are dropping so much right now.
Now the next steps are:
1. With aeration get the PH back up into the right range.
2. Get my free chlorine up a bit.
3. Switch from commercial shock to just using bleach.
Only slight risk is that the TA keeps dropping. My last acid treatment was 2 quarts at 9pm last night. At 6 am this morning, TA was 100.
Water is crystal clear and I plan to keep it that way!
Year two became a little more of a yoyo effect and constantly battling cloudiness, low chlorine, etc... I tried relying on the pool company and they simply are not setup to do anything effectively except BUILD pools. This year, I decided to educate myself and take matters into my own hands. First step was to read through Pool School. Incredibly helpful. Then I ordered a TFTEST kit today.
SO - doing a complete test after opening the pool, realized that my TA was very high (230-240 range). I immediately started treating with acid and aeration. For aeration, the quickest plan was to drop a submersible pump in the water with a short hose and shoot that arc of water back into the water like a fountain. Probably not as effective as introducing bubbles, but will definitely aerate. I started slow testing six hours and 24 hours after each treatment. At first it seemed like the TA would barely move, but as of last night I finally got it down to 100! PH was steady throughout the process at 7, but last night dropped after I added the last 2 quarts of acid. I closed the cover for the night as the trees are dropping so much right now.
Now the next steps are:
1. With aeration get the PH back up into the right range.
2. Get my free chlorine up a bit.
3. Switch from commercial shock to just using bleach.
Only slight risk is that the TA keeps dropping. My last acid treatment was 2 quarts at 9pm last night. At 6 am this morning, TA was 100.
Water is crystal clear and I plan to keep it that way!