Testing water myself now. HELP

[KFPOOL5]

Hi, trying to learn how to test our pool water myself. I bought a Taylor k2006 test kit. I had strips already and wasn’t showing any chlorine, high ph and low alkalinity. I added 2 big bags of baking soda to raise alkalinity before my Taylor test came. It came today and I started to test the chlorine with the powder and it didn’t turn pink at all. I read that it means I have no chlorine in my pool so I added 2 gallons of 7.5% bleach so far and have the water circulating. It’s dark green right now.
Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[IceShadow]

Hi, trying to learn how to test our pool water myself. I bought a Taylor k2006 test kit. I had strips already and wasn’t showing any chlorine, high ph and low alkalinity. I added 2 big bags of baking soda to raise alkalinity before my Taylor test came. It came today and I started to test the chlorine with the powder and it didn’t turn pink at all. I read that it means I have no chlorine in my pool so I added 2 gallons of 7.5% bleach so far and have the water circulating. It’s dark green right now.
Any suggestions would be helpful.

Congrats on getting a good test! Does it have the 'c' after it (K-2006c)? If not you will probably need to get a refill of the FAS-DPD test reagents as the K-2006 (without the 'c') has not many tests worth of those reagents and you'll go through a lot during the SLAM Process to clean up the pool.

First step: Make sure you don't have ammonia in the pool. You added the two gallons - test again, see if it has any FC and/or CC. If not, add 10ppm of FC, let ciruculate 10 minutes, then test FC and CC again. Let us know what the result is.

Please also let us know what the other test results are:

FC
CC
pH
CYA
TA
CH

It will help us to help you if you can fill out your signature with your pool info. See mine as an example. (If on a mobile device, turn it sideways to see the signature.)

We can help you get that cleared up. I can't promise it'll be overnight, but the pool didn't go green overnight either. I can promise you'll get there if you stick with the methods we use.

 

[KFPOOL5]

Thank you so much

There’s no c at the end of the 2006.
Tried testing the water and this is what I came up with so far…

FC 2.6
CC 2.8
pH (I’m not sure, had to do 12 drops of R 009 So a little under 2 gallons of muriatic acid)
TA 230 ppm
CH 150
CYA I couldn’t get the dot to disappear so I’m not sure. It was cloudy but I could still see the dot.

Hope that helps with the next step.
Thank you!

 

[IceShadow]

OK - that's really high for CC. For pH, is it brighter red than the 8.0 on the comparator block?

I'm pretty sure you don't have ammonia in the pool, since you're showing some FC, but to be sure, I would recommend adding enough liquid chlorine to reach 10ppm of FC to the pool (so another 7.5 or so ppm of FC), let it mix for 30 minutes, then test FC and CC again and let us know what it is. We'll work on next steps after that.

If you need to know how much liquid chlorine to add to get to 10ppm, check out the pool math app or the "Old PoolMath webpage" link at the bottom of the page here. Please do fill out your signature so we know important things about your pool like the surface type, filter type, size, etc.

 

[IceShadow]

Also, you can do the FC/CC test with a 10ml sample and one heaping scoop of powder. Each drop is 0.5ppm. That'll help save some reagents. I'd still order a refill right away if I were you as you're gonna need to run that test a LOT as you do the SLAM Process to clean up the pool. Read that link, and check out this video:



That's what you'll be doing to clear it up, once we rule out ammonia with certainty.

 

[KFPOOL5]

Ok, I’ll add the type of pool. It’s a sand filter, 26,000 or so gallons. Vinyl lining, no heater or salt…
Should I add more bleach (7.5% from Home Depot) I have shock and chlorine tabs too.

 

[KFPOOL5]

And yes the ph test was brighter pink than it should be.

 

[IceShadow]

Yes, please add enough of the liquid chlorine to reach 10ppm, another 7.5ppm on top of the 2.5 or so you measured before. Let mix 30 minutes and test again, and let us know the FC and CC.

Use Pool Math (app or link at bottom of page) - for this addition, for 26k gallons, you'd need to add about 2.5 gallons of 7.5% bleach. Let mix 30 minutes and test again and let us know.

 

[KFPOOL5]

Hey! I added the bleach last night and tested today. Here are my new numbers

FC 10.4 ppm
CC 0.6 ppm
TA 210 ppm
CH 140 ppm
pH was still high after adding muriatic acid, but better. It took 5 drops of R 005 to get to 7.4 (it took 12 drops yesterday).
CYA I didn’t test yet. I can but I didn’t want to waste the CYA reagent if that’s not super important yet.

I’m thinking I should add more muriatic acid since that helped. It is lighter green today.

 

[IceShadow]

Ok so a couple of things. If you’re holding FC at all, no ammonia, score! That’s good. The pH test won’t work when FC is over 10. Let it back down under 10 then test again. Adjust to 7.2. Is add about 20ppm of CYA to the pool via sock method and then start the SLAM as if you had 30ppm of CYA in the pool (target 12ppm). In a couple of days check the CYA level and adjust SLAM level as needed.

When you test FC use a 10ml sample and one heaping scoop of powder. Each drop is 0.5ppm of FC. Should be fine for your needs. Will save reagent.

 

[IceShadow]

Make sure you read this article closely. There is a video that can help too.

SLAM Process

 

[KFPOOL5]

Ok, thank you so much! That makes sense. I’ll get some CYA today and retest. Should I get that at the pool store or is there a cheaper way? I read liquid is better but more expensive.
Thanks!

 

[KFPOOL5]

I ordered some powder cya on Amazon because our pool stores were closed today. I ordered sock filters for the skimmer basket. When you say to add cya to sock do you mean an actual sock or a skimmer basket sock filter? Sorry may seem like a dumb question.

 

[IceShadow]

I ordered some powder cya on Amazon because our pool stores were closed today. I ordered sock filters for the skimmer basket. When you say to add cya to sock do you mean an actual sock or a skimmer basket sock filter? Sorry may seem like a dumb question.

No dumb questions. I mean an actual old sock or stocking. I use a mesh laundry bag. Then I suspend it in front of the return and squeeze every now and then to help it dissolve. It’s not something that dissolves easily.

 

[KFPOOL5]

Ok, the socks are working…should I be testing chlorine/adding bleach or just wait for the batches of CYA to dissolve?
An overnight chlorine lost test?
I read on here that it can take awhile for an accurate reading on CYA.

 

[IceShadow]

You can start the SLAM Process. Assume your CYA is 30 and dose accordingly. After 2-3 days retest CYA and adjust FC level (or add more CYA if still under 30).

Test FC often, up to every hour or two but at least 2-3 times a day, add liquid chlorine after each test to get back to your SLAM level. The more often you can test the quicker it will go.

No need to do an OCLT until your water is 100% clear, but depending on how often you're testing you might end up sort of doing one anyway.

With a really green pool you're going to lose a lot of FC in the first few days until it goes milky/cloudy blue. Then it will level off a bit on the chlorine usage.

Keep the pump going 24/7 and brush/vacuum at least once a day.

Take photos as you go to measure progress and feel free to share them if you feel comfortable. We enjoy the green-to-clean photo threads.

 

[KFPOOL5]

Hey! Been adding liquid bleach over the last couple days. The more I brush the greener it gets but the bleach brings it back to a lighter green.

FC 3.6
CC 3.0
pH 7.0 (3 drops of R0006 brought it to 7.4 so pH is no longer super high)
TA 180 ppm
CH 170 ppm
CYA for CYA the test reads up to 30. I could barely see the dot at 30. I don’t know if the CYA is just not fully reading yet or if I should put in more stabilizer. I read that shock has stabilizer and I had some on hand so I put him some bags yesterday.
I’ll post a pic too. It’s definitely looking better but I’m assuming I still need to SLAM. The first picture is today, the second picture was from yesterday.
Anything else I should add in the meantime?
Thanks again!

 

[KFPOOL5]

Very happy considering this was a week ago! But it could be better!

 

[KFPOOL5]

Hey! Been adding liquid bleach over the last couple days. The more I brush the greener it gets but the bleach brings it back to a lighter green.

FC 3.6
CC 3.0
pH 7.0 (3 drops of R0006 brought it to 7.4 so pH is no longer super high)
TA 180 ppm
CH 170 ppm
CYA for CYA the test reads up to 30. I could barely see the dot at 30. I added stabilizer in a sock over the weekend. I don’t know if the CYA is just not fully reading yet or if I should put in more stabilizer. I read that shock has stabilizer and I had some on hand so I put him some bags yesterday.
I’ll post a pic too.
It’s definitely looking better but I’m assuming I still need to SLAM. The pH was SUPER high last Friday (above 8.4) and it’s 7.0 now. The first picture is last Friday the second picture was from today.
Anything else I should add in the meantime? Algecide? Shock? Bleach? Calcium increaser? Stabilizer?
Thanks again!

 

[jedigrover]

For the SLAM to work in the quickest time possible, you need to monitor the FC level very often and dose back up to your SLAM level (assuming CYA of 30, dose to get FC to 12) often. As often as you can--even every 30 minutes at the beginning. In the beginning, it will consume chlorine like mad. That is because the algae is still growing (replicating / dividing cells) and you are killing it at the same time. You want to keep FC up high enough to kill it faster than it can grow.

As you've noticed brushing turning up more green, that's new algae that is growing because your FC is dipping too low. You can still win, but the longer you go between tests and adjustments, the longer it will take and the more chlorine you'll use to get there. The first day or 2 you really have to sit on it. Most folks start a SLAM on a Friday evening so they have the weekend to follow through. But if you can work from home or get by multiple times a day to check, that can work too.