Light green (not beautiful blue) means I'm gonna get algae in my pool if I don't deal with it. It looks like that right now, LOL. I'm shocking, and running my pump 24/7. Need to clean my cartridge filter too.
$%^&* What the heck did I do now?
- Thread starter FixItPete
- Start date
Ok... I'm willing to bring it shock level, but @ 30PPM of FC, it's going to take almost a full month before I can swim...
What am I missing?
What am I missing?
It is safe to swim up to shock level for you CYA level ... after the water is clear and you have no more than 0.5ppm of CC.
When you finish the shock process, the FC will drop below shock level in less than a day ... you loose a % of the chlorine each day, when the FC levels are higher, you loose more each day.
When you finish the shock process, the FC will drop below shock level in less than a day ... you loose a % of the chlorine each day, when the FC levels are higher, you loose more each day.
FixItPete said:
why are you saying it will be a full month before you can swim? It could be just a few days if you hold to the shock level.
also, at 30ppm CYA your shock level is 12ppm FC
- Jun 14, 2012
- 2,671
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
FixItPete said:
As others said - 30 CYA = 12 FC for regular shock. 30 is over even the aggressive Mustard Algae shock levels. Did we misinterpret your CYA or did you maybe misunderstand how the shock process works?
Chart is here:
pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
Shock process is here:
pool-school/shocking_your_pool
Understood. I'll bring it 12PPM FC. I've already done it... but I'll do it again...
(not trying to be a wise-guy, just saying that all my tests are pretty close and yet the pool just doesn't look right... there is another variable here that is causing this... but if you think adding Chlorine to bring it to 12PPM is where it's at... that's what I'll do... and I follow pool school re: shocking...)
(not trying to be a wise-guy, just saying that all my tests are pretty close and yet the pool just doesn't look right... there is another variable here that is causing this... but if you think adding Chlorine to bring it to 12PPM is where it's at... that's what I'll do... and I follow pool school re: shocking...)
Can you add some equipment info in your signature, please?
Curious what kind of filter you have. Might shed some light on the cloudy water and its apparently slow clearing.
Curious what kind of filter you have. Might shed some light on the cloudy water and its apparently slow clearing.
Or... I should ask:
What happens when:
Measure the FC level
Add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (or a little higher)
Repeat steps 1 and 2 as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day, until:
CC is 0.5 or lower;
An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
>>>>>>>>>>>> And the water is clear. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Brush the entire pool once a day
Backwash or clean the filter as needed
The water is still never clear...
What happens when:
Measure the FC level
Add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (or a little higher)
Repeat steps 1 and 2 as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day, until:
CC is 0.5 or lower;
An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
>>>>>>>>>>>> And the water is clear. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Brush the entire pool once a day
Backwash or clean the filter as needed
The water is still never clear...
- Jun 14, 2012
- 2,671
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
FixItPete said:
It is hard for us to know that you have shocked - I didn't see anywhere in the thread that you mentioned that but I may have overlooked it. If you shocked what shock level were you using? Earlier in this thread you mentioned a 30ppm shock level which is too high for your CYA levels.
FixItPete said:
I'm wondering if your FC testing is faulty. I can't see going from 11ppm to 9ppm in full sun with 30 CYA.
How are you testing?
If you are using the FAS-DPD test are you going too slowly between drops? This can lead to a falsely high reading.
- Jun 14, 2012
- 2,671
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
Also - while you mentioned a model number on your filter - what brand is it? Do you know what size it is? Have you cleaned it - is it getting dirty?
How long did you hold shock level during the shocking process? Sometimes it can take days or weeks to fully clear.
How long did you hold shock level during the shocking process? Sometimes it can take days or weeks to fully clear.
It is a Jandy CS100 -- the cartridge does get dirty... there are times when it go from 15psi to 22psi in a week. Other times it will take 2 or 3 weeks to climb that much.
Perhaps I'm not maintaining the shock level long enough... I have to think that is the only variable left.
I do believe that the "powder" at the bottom of the pool is from dead algae... which leads me to believe we're just not killing it ALL and it keeps creeping back... I'm going to MAINTAIN 12PPM until the pool is right... and report back at regular intervals...
I am 100% certain that the test results are accurate... at least I can take that out of the equation.
Perhaps I'm not maintaining the shock level long enough... I have to think that is the only variable left.
I do believe that the "powder" at the bottom of the pool is from dead algae... which leads me to believe we're just not killing it ALL and it keeps creeping back... I'm going to MAINTAIN 12PPM until the pool is right... and report back at regular intervals...
I am 100% certain that the test results are accurate... at least I can take that out of the equation.
- Jun 14, 2012
- 2,671
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
FixItPete said:It is a Jandy CS100 -- the cartridge does get dirty... there are times when it go from 15psi to 22psi in a week. Other times it will take 2 or 3 weeks to climb that much.
Perhaps I'm not maintaining the shock level long enough... I have to think that is the only variable left.
I do believe that the "powder" at the bottom of the pool is from dead algae... which leads me to believe we're just not killing it ALL and it keeps creeping back... I'm going to MAINTAIN 12PPM until the pool is right... and report back at regular intervals...
I am 100% certain that the test results are accurate... at least I can take that out of the equation.
I missed the Taylor kit in your sig. That's a good kit and I agree if you are doing the tests correctly you're in good shape. I do think that a 1ppm loss per day in full sun is weird but I'll have to defer to others on this.
Sounds like you are going to try to have POP (Pool Owner Patience) which is a tough thing sometimes. I think you'll do fine if you stick to your plan.
Good Luck!
Pictures would be nice - it will track progress. Post some with your test results (FC/CC's are really all you need to monitor during shocking) as you go to keep the cheers flooding in.
I think the problem may be that you are not consistently maintaining the shock level FC long enough ... until you pass the 3 tests.
Also, we generally recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% of the clean pressure. If your clean is 15 psi, you should be cleaning it around 18psi. Otherwise the flow may be reduced too much and not filtering as much water as it should.
Finally, for your size pool, our recommendation for a cartridge filter would be ~240+ sqft ... so your filter is pretty undersized. That may just mean you will have to clean it much more often. But, I do not see your pump type and size listed. Part of your problem could be that the filter is too small for the pump, so the pump could be actually pushing the smaller particles right through the cartridge.
Also, we generally recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% of the clean pressure. If your clean is 15 psi, you should be cleaning it around 18psi. Otherwise the flow may be reduced too much and not filtering as much water as it should.
Finally, for your size pool, our recommendation for a cartridge filter would be ~240+ sqft ... so your filter is pretty undersized. That may just mean you will have to clean it much more often. But, I do not see your pump type and size listed. Part of your problem could be that the filter is too small for the pump, so the pump could be actually pushing the smaller particles right through the cartridge.
I think at some point the pool was under an enclosure (screen) -- and now it isn't... I too think that the filter is too small. If I cleaned it when it went from 15PSI to 18PSI, I'd literally be cleaning it every two days. YIKES!
No sense putting undo stress on your pump motor. At 20% over clean psi the water coming out of my return is less than half of normal. Unless your filter is severely undersized, backflushing every two days at 20% over clean is indicative of something growing in the water or something dead that needs to be filtered. Either way, shocking is called for to eliminate the problem.FixItPete said:
You will need to clean that filter a lot more often than you should have to. That filter is only 100sqft. and like jblizzle said you should really have a filter that is at least 240sqft. I believe your problem is that you are not keeping the FC at shock level for a long enough period of time, it must stay at or above shock level until the shock process is completed. With this filter size it is going to take more time than normal and patience is needed. Stay the course and you will be rewarded with a clean sparkly pool.
Please post your FC and CC test results after you dose the pool up to your shocking level of 12 ppm. Make sure you wait 1 hour after adding to do the test.
FixItPete said:
Dont stop the shock process until
1) you lose less than 1ppm of FC overnight AND
2) the pool is clear AND
3) there is less than .5 ppm CC
Well! Much like someone here said, the "color / cloud" was a precursor to the pool going green... yup. it went green.
I have it shocked to 13 and will check it daily (or even AM/PM) -- it should get much easier as we're FINALLY moving in this weekend so I'll be there everyday and I can pin this down to perfection!
I will keep it @ 13 until ALL three criteria are met. And I will brush daily (or more!) as well as clean my cartridge often!
I'll keep you all posted.
I have it shocked to 13 and will check it daily (or even AM/PM) -- it should get much easier as we're FINALLY moving in this weekend so I'll be there everyday and I can pin this down to perfection!
I will keep it @ 13 until ALL three criteria are met. And I will brush daily (or more!) as well as clean my cartridge often!
I'll keep you all posted.