new pool

[ramoniqque]

I don't know where to start so I'll try my luck here.. since I am a new pool owner.. I have an 33' above ground pool 2 weeks old ..my husband is out of town.. and I don't have much clue as to how to get rid of the slippery biofilm ( or algae starting to form ) that I feel on my liner.. Don't have a proper test kit either.. yet.. so i'll have to go to Leslie's and see what the readings are. I read a lot of info on Pool Solutions.com and I'm starting to understand some things.. the problem is that I don't know if the people at Leslie's will give me the readings. It would be my first time going.. Before my husband left town he dumped some shock and algaecide and I have just been putting some tablets in the skimmer since then.. we don't have a chlorinator. I will try to shock the pool tonight and hope it works ..
The pool is a SeaSpray Evolution 33'
Hayward Power Flo Lx 1.5 hp
Hayward Dream Line S230TSCPE with Zeobrite
Hopefully somebody can help me with some info once i het the water tested and if the people at Leslie will give it to me..

[aylad]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!!

I moved your post into this new thread so that all the views and replies you get will all be in response to this post. When you add a question post into somebody else's thread, it gets confusing for the people that are trying to help you.

The slippery biofilm that you feel is almost certainly an algae bloom about to happen, as you have figured out. And the way to get rid of it is to shock the pool and maintain the shock level until the algae is dead. The question is....what is shock level for you? That's going to depend on your CYA level, which we need in order to tell you how high to raise the chlorine. Also, we need to know the total volume of your pool in order to calculate the chlorine dose. You definitely need to get a good test kit--pool store testing is designed to sell chemicals, not correct pool problems, so you don't want to have to depend on them if you can help it. We highly recommend the K-2006 or K-2006C (same kit, bigger reagent sizes in the C version) that can be purchased online--there's a link in my sig to the Amazon page where the Poolforum gets a donation from the sale if it's bought through that link. Only buy it if Amato Industries is the seller, though--if they're not listed, wait a day or so until they restock. Some of the other sellers are substituting a different kit that is not as well suited for what you'll need. In the meantime, go to WalMart, Lowes, Home Depot, or anywhere else that pool stuff is sold and get the OTO kit--it is cheap and uses red and yellow drops to measure pH and chlorine. Most of those only test chlorine up to 3 ppm, but you can force it to read higher chlorine levels as described here http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html.

Go ahead and have Leslie's test your water--there's no reason why they shouldn't give you the results. They'll also try to sell you a bunch of stuff you don't need, so resist the temptation to buy it--no algaecide, no calcium, no phosphate remover, nothing. Just tell them you have it at home already and just needed to find out what to add. While you're out, go get several gallons of plain, unscented bleach, which is what most of us at this forum use for shocking.

Come back, post your test results, and we'll be happy to get you going in the right direction!

[ramoniqque]

Thank you sooo much for your reply.. I got the results of the water testing.
My CYA is 20 ppm
PH IS 7.2 ppm
TA is 40 ppm
and chlorine is a Big 0.. i know .. horrible
They estimated my pool to be 26 K gallons of water. He suggested to add 24 pounds of Alkalinity up first .. which I already have since my dear husband bought before he left town.. I need to know if this is accurate and how to introduce it to the pool since I am completely clueless( except of course the stuff I already learned today :) Also what is the best way for me to shock the pool tonight?? I don't have nothing on hand and have to run buy something..

[ramoniqque]

Don't know what to do first.. I just read somewhere on the forum that before shocking you have to raise the ph up to 7.5 ppm , mine is at 7.2 ppm , or should I increase the alkalinity first like the guy at Leslie'S said by adding 24 Lb of Alkalinity Up?.. It seems like a lot ..I also read that it should be introduced slowly and at the pool solution site I read that if you have a vinyl liner it's not that big of a deal if your Ph does not go up and down ( I found a reading from Leslie that my husband did and the PH was the same 1 week ago) I know I HAVE to shock tonight no matter what.. CAN I INCREASE PH BY ADDING BORAX tonight right before shocking ??will it work quickly? AND MOST IMPORTANT..What do I shock with?? I need something from wal mart which is still open now. Since I have a reading of CYA 20 ppm is it a good idea to find some kind of shock treatment with added cyanuric acid?? Pls .. pls HELP.. I don't want my husband to return to a pool full of green algae nor do I want to break our tight buget by buying the wrong stuff that will result in more cost afterwords to clean up the mess..

[Watermom]

As Janet suggested above, go and buy a bunch of jugs of generic Walmart bleach. You can use it to shock your pool. Tonight, pour in 3 of the big jugs of bleach that are around 1.5 gallons each. That will take your chlorine level up to around 10ish. Pour it slowly in the skimmer while the pump is running or slowly in front of a return jet, being careful not to splash you or your liner.

Run your pump 24/7 while you are fighting this.

What kind of filter do you have?

Don't add 24 lbs. of anything to a pool! Don't worry about the alk or CYA right now. Your pH is ok at 7.2 but if it drops any lower, you'll want to bump it up some. For right now, let's just worry about the chlorine level unless your pH goes below 7.0. If it does then you can add Borax. Or, since your pH and alk are both a little low, you could use a Arm & Hammer washing soda which will raise both at the same time.

Also, while at Walmart, buy the OTO kit like Janet suggested above to use for now but order a Taylor K-2006 or 2006C.

[ramoniqque]

Thank you soooo much .. I'm running to Wal Mart right now to buy the Bleach. I had a feeling It was wrong to add that much Alkalinity Up..
I have a Hayward Dreamline Sand filter S230TSCPE with Zeobrite ( they said it was better than sand) now I don't know if that's even true. The pump is also a Hayward 1.5 hp Power Flo Lx - SP1580X15FP.. NO CHLORINATOR AT all.. we just had the pool up for 2 weeks.
SO Nice of you to respond.. Thank you!

[Watermom]

Janet (Aylad) uses zeobrite and likes it.

Keep us posted how things are going.

[ramoniqque]

Thank you for all your help. I did the shock with bleach last night and brushed the pool. I just did the test and CL is at 3 ( maybe higher.. I did not have distilled water)and the PH looks like between 7.2 or 7.6.. I really can't tell based on the color. Watermom said to use Arm and Hammer washing soda.. I don't have any but I do gave the Alkalinity up which my husband already bought .. Can I use it ? if yes how much? Also what do I do with the stabilizer? Keep using the pucks? what are my next steps ?

[aylad]

Your pH is fine, as long as it's over 7.0, don't worry about it. If the pool is clear and the biofilm is gone, then you can let the chlorine stay between 3-6 ppm for now and use the pool. If it's not clear, and you still feel the biofilm, then you need to raise the chlorine back up and hold it there until the biofilm is gone, and THEN let your chlorine drift back down.

If the film is gone and you're letting the chlorine drift back down, then you can either maintain your chlorine level by using the pucks (as long as they don't contain copper--if they do, then take them back), which will add stabilizer and will tend to drive your pH down, or by just using the bleach, which most of us use since it has no other side effect on the pool water. It's your decision, but you don't want your chlorine to be less than 3 ppm, EVER.

If you want to use the Alk up that your husband already bought, you can--but personally I would take it back and get my money back, go to WalMart and buy baking soda, which is the same thing but 1/3 of the price. I'm thinking that you'll need closer to 14 lbs of baking soda to raise TA from 40 to around 90, but don't add it all at once--I'd add a couple of pounds, give it a day or so to circulate, then add a couple more a day until you get it where you want to be. When adding pool chems, it's best not to add a bunch of anything at one time, but rather to sneak up on your target number rather than overshoot it. If you add 14 pounds of ANY kind of powder to your pool at once you're going to get a cloudy pool, and you don't want that.

So..decide if you need to continue the shock again or not, decide which form of chlorine you're going to use, and then slowly raise your TA...and go swimming!! :cool:

Janet

[Watermom]

To clarify what i wrote above ---

You can use Borax to raise pH, and baking soda to raise alk. OR if you need to raise both of them, you can just use washing soda instead of Borax and baking soda. Your choice. Either way is fine.

[ramoniqque]

Thank you so much ,I am flowing all of your instructions. Already bought the washing soda. Got a question though.. What is the ideal number for the CYA ?.. because I understand that based on that # I need to up the chlorine..
I know it depends on a few other factors but overall, this is my situation - We don't really use the pool everyday, the pool is in the full sun from 10 to 5, no crazy weekend partys either ... yet :)
My thought is to use the tablets until I get the CYA at the desired level .. then use just bleach...which brings me to another question.. Once the pool is in balance how much of the bleach is used on average? a gallon every night ? a little more for my 26 k gallon pool? Thank you in advance for all your help..

[aylad]

The "ideal" number for CYA really depends on the pool. We generally recommend that people start at about 40 ppm, and then see how much chlorine they use. This works for most folks--but there are some, like me, who tend to run theirs higher. My pool is in full Louisiana sun from sunup to sundown, high humidity, high bather load, and I have to keep my CYa at 80-90 ppm in order to keep chlorine levels where they should be. If my CYA gets any lower, my chlorine consumption increases dramatically. Having a CYA of 90 lets me use a 1.4 gallon jug of bleach every 2 days or so to maintain 8 ppm of chlorine. However, my pool is a bit of an exception. Until you "learn" your pool's habits, I would start with about 40 ppm of CYA and see how it goes--if you're still having trouble keeping chlorine in the pool (due to sun, not to algae) then you could bump it up a little and see if that helps.

Janet

[PoolDoc]

Upgraded your membership, and moved your post. -Ben

[ramoniqque]

Thank you all again... I think I'm starting to understand how it all works.. I have successfully battled the biofilm/ algae.. no more slippiness :) yey .. Took a nice swim already.. Now I'm just waiting for my ALK and CYA to rise and then we'll see..
One more question...do you recommend algaecide? or those phosphate free solutions.. or as long as you keep the balance of CYA/CL .. is not necessary??

[Watermom]

It isn't really necessary to use algaecide. If you stay on top of your water chemistry, you really don't need it. I never use it. Some people use it only at closing in the fall. Some people do use maintenance doses of it. The only type we recommend is Polyquat 60%. More info here: http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/polyquat.html

Phosphate solutions? Forget it. They are the latest thing pool stores use to remove money from your wallet. Don't need it.

[ramoniqque]

Thank you once again... I think I'm through with the questions ... for a few days at least :) ...so once I balance everything and "learn my pool habits" I will just use the BBB method and the bleach to chlorinate. Sounds simple.. now we'll see how it goes.. in practical application !

[aylad]

It really is as simple as that--the hard part is getting it back to clear and "undoing" what the pool store had you do to it in the first place! :)

Janet