Working on algae, what does "clear" really mean?

[Nymeria]

This is the first year I'm taking care of my pool. I opened late in the season and have been dealing with algae.

I just got my Taylor test kit today. I've been doing as much of a slam as I could with test strips and not wanting to overdo the chlorine levels beyond the ability to measure.

In addition to the liquid chlorine, I've been brushing the entire liner daily. I'll be a lot stronger by the end of the season.

My cya as measured by the pool store was 55 late last week. I tested my FC this afternoon and got a reading of 12ppm. I added 1.5 gals shock based on the pool calculator and my FC was at 18.5ppm this evening. My CC is at 0.5, so that's a good sign. I'll be testing in the morning to see if I lose less than 1.0 FC.

The part I'm not really understanding about the slam being done is the clear water part. At first, I thought my water looked clear but FC kept going to 0. Do I need to wait until it's been a day without what looks like dirt (guessing dead algae) at the bottom of my pool?

I'm attaching pics from before and after vacuuming today.
The liner got damaged before I took over caring for the pool so it's a little hard (for me) to tell dirt vs dye problems.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum! :handshake:

TFP Clear in North Dallas - there is water in there

What is the CYA done with your test kit? Always round up CYA. The vial is logarithmic. You cannot read a value of 55.

I suggest you read Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Trouble Free Pool School book.

You may also want to get the Pool Math app.

 

[RonsPlc]

THIS is clear... although not as clear as the post that Marty linked to... That is my pool cleaner sitting on the bottom to the right.

 

[PoolGate]

You should be able to flip a dime into the deep end and be able to call heads or tails.

Here is 9 feet of water.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

You should be able to flip a dime into the deep end and be able to call heads or tails.

Here is 9 feet of water.

No shades of clear.. clear or it’s not..

Last weekend my guests where complaining about the shine & reflection.

Diamonds babay diamonds!

 

[Nymeria]

Thanks for all the feedback. The water seems clear to me, I can see down to the liner, no issues except some bugs that got into the pool overnight. I tried to take some better pics this morning with the filter off. The water is never completely calm, but this was pretty close.




The liner has all kinds of damage from before my stewardship - bleaching, patching and somehow certain sections seem to be darker blue, no clue what caused that.

I've read a bunch of the pool school pages, as many as seemed to apply to me. Some have been multiple times, especially the slamming one which seems to take a little while to fully sink into my brain.

I hadn't tested my cya but did so this morning. It was ~59 so based on what I've read here, I'll treat it as 60. That bring my slam FC target up to 24.

I lost 3ppm FC overnight (18.5 to 15.5) I used the pool calculator with the new numbers and it told me to add 1.5 gals 12.5% bleach, which I did.

The CC is still measuring at 0.5, which is a good sign.

I'll retest the FC this evening and will add more bleach based on the calculator.

Thanks again!

 

[mknauss]

If there is any way to test or at least just add LC once or twice during the day it really speeds up the process. Twice a day test/dose during a SLAM can make it feel like it takes forever.

 

[Nymeria]

That's a great idea. I'll try to get away at lunchtime to test and add more. Thanks!

 

[RonsPlc]

Your pool is looking good... you should be swimming by the weekend.

 

[JimMarshall]

Just took a couple pics.



Thats a quarter, nickel, and dime at the bottom of the picture.



Taken from the surface, 5X zoom



10X zoom you can read coins through 42 inches of water.

 

[PoolGate]

Heads it is!

 

[PoolguyinCT]

Heads I win, tails you loose.

 

[mknauss]

Your pool is looking good... you should be swimming by the weekend.

OP can swim now!

You can safely swim in a pool as long as the FC is above the minimum and at or below SLAM level based on your CYA. You must also be able to see the bottom of the pool in the deep end of the pool.

 

[Nymeria]

Jim's photo is awesome. I tried to replicate it. My phone only zooms to 8x and it's windy but I'd say the water is pretty clear.

My FC was down to 18.5 so I added another gallon of LC. I'll be off to buy more LC after work, but I'm finally feeling optimistic.

 

[JasonJoel]

No shades of clear.. clear or it’s not..

Um, no. I understand what you are trying to say, but if that were literally true there would be no need for the word opacity.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

Connotations vs. denotations.

 

[jeffchap]

Re: Working on algae, what does "clear" really mean?

This robot is 9'6" deep.

 

[Nymeria]

Re: Working on algae, what does "clear" really mean?

I think my testing was off last night. At 8pm I tested and got 21 FC. This morning I went to test and found black gunk in the little dipper. I wiped it out with a dry cloth, tested and got 22FC (still 0.5CC) The FC couldn't have gone up overnight, my guess is that the gunk was some of the chemical that wasn't mixed into last night's test and caused the reading to be low.

I'll keep going today and hope that tonight and tomorrow's readings are consistently taken and show no more than 1FC loss.

 

[Nymeria]

Re: Working on algae, what does "clear" really mean?

Holy moly, I think the slam is done. I tested FC at 8pm last night and 8am this morning and it was 23 both times. CC is still at 0.5 and the water is clear.

A couple questions:
1. There is a little brown stuff in the dip at the center of my pool. I didn't vacuum/brush yesterday as it was pouring. I'll do so today but want to check to see if this is normal or not.
2. At what level of FC will I be able to test ph, etc? I only have the pool store's strip test results and want to get the real values with my new kit so I'm sure whether I need to adjust anything.
3. Since I have a vinyl above-ground pool, is there any reason for me to test calcium? My pool store sold me a bucket to raise it the last time I was in, which doesn't make any sense if the calcium is to prevent grout, etc from being destroyed.

Thanks for all your help, I really and truly appreciate it!

 

[riley00dog]

This was taken on the weekend on a cloudy winters day. Pool is 10 weeks old. It doesn’t look overly inviting here but the water is clear.