Hi - we moved into a house with a pool in upstate NY in July. This is our first time owning a pool.
Note: the pool did not have CYA in it when we moved in, and I did not and have not added any.
For the first several weeks, we had crystal clear water. Then a few things happened:
1. I had been chlorinating with the pucks left but the previous owner, using the floater device they left. I must have forgotten to fill it, because one day when I tested, chlorine was at 0. I used the calculator to get it back up to the recommended level using Clorox bleach, then continued to use the pucks and kept the FC level within the recommended range. The water was still crystal clear for a few weeks after this.
2. Then it rained. A lot. I lowered the water level.... too much. Then used our hose to refill. I kept our FC at recommended levels but did not put in extra chlorine.
3. The pool turned green. I wanted to SLAM but I had a few things going against me: (1) I hadn't yet bought a proper test kit. I had just been using strips. (2) The SLAM table gives FC related to CYA level. I had no CYA in the pool. Using the calculator, I calculated how much Clorox bleach to add to get the FC level to 10. I kept it there for about a week (as best I could using the strips). The water turned from green to cloudy white and was getting better. My K-2006 kit arrived on day 7. I did the overnight test and passed. There was no green in the pool, just cloudiness which was taking a long time to clear up, but was slowly and surely getting there.
Then all of a sudden, the water is blue-green. Yesterday I vacuumed a lot of green off the bottom, but it is still in the water.
I should mention that there is no metal in our water, according to a test we just had done.
Questions:
1. Did I stop SLAMing to early? What other mistakes did I make?
2. Why did I pass the overnight test only to have the water turn green again?
3. For any upstate NY people: is it worth SLAMing this late in the season? I can't imagine we will get to use the pool for much longer before it gets too cold.
4. Should I add CYA now?
Thanks!
Note: the pool did not have CYA in it when we moved in, and I did not and have not added any.
For the first several weeks, we had crystal clear water. Then a few things happened:
1. I had been chlorinating with the pucks left but the previous owner, using the floater device they left. I must have forgotten to fill it, because one day when I tested, chlorine was at 0. I used the calculator to get it back up to the recommended level using Clorox bleach, then continued to use the pucks and kept the FC level within the recommended range. The water was still crystal clear for a few weeks after this.
2. Then it rained. A lot. I lowered the water level.... too much. Then used our hose to refill. I kept our FC at recommended levels but did not put in extra chlorine.
3. The pool turned green. I wanted to SLAM but I had a few things going against me: (1) I hadn't yet bought a proper test kit. I had just been using strips. (2) The SLAM table gives FC related to CYA level. I had no CYA in the pool. Using the calculator, I calculated how much Clorox bleach to add to get the FC level to 10. I kept it there for about a week (as best I could using the strips). The water turned from green to cloudy white and was getting better. My K-2006 kit arrived on day 7. I did the overnight test and passed. There was no green in the pool, just cloudiness which was taking a long time to clear up, but was slowly and surely getting there.
Then all of a sudden, the water is blue-green. Yesterday I vacuumed a lot of green off the bottom, but it is still in the water.
I should mention that there is no metal in our water, according to a test we just had done.
Questions:
1. Did I stop SLAMing to early? What other mistakes did I make?
2. Why did I pass the overnight test only to have the water turn green again?
3. For any upstate NY people: is it worth SLAMing this late in the season? I can't imagine we will get to use the pool for much longer before it gets too cold.
4. Should I add CYA now?
Thanks!