New to the Pool

[trips27]

Like many other threads that i have been reading, I am a rookie. Bought a home with ig pool. Vinyl liner 22,000 gallons with a sand filter. Removed the cover, water was clear but obvious green bottom. Got pump started and vacuumed pool best I could until I couldn't see anymore due to clouding up.

Went out and bought a test kit from Wal Mart. PH was 8.2, Chlorine 0, CYA was 45. The alkalinity took 12 drops to turn red so I think I need to add 120. Kinda confused there so some help would be appreciated.

Poured in 2 gallons of bleach late this afternoon to help shock the pool.

Obviously it is still cloudy. What do I need to do next? I also bought some Borax and Baking Soda, but no muriatic acid yet. Any help will be appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

Hey Steve;

Welcome! Pools are stressful and confusing at first, but if you equipment is OK, everything should be pretty easy shortly!

1. Don't worry about the alkalinity.
2. Do get some acid -- preferably muriatic acid from Lowes or similar. Add acid 1/2 gallon (approx) at time, till your pH is below 7.6. See this page, to learn how to use muriatic safely: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?13111
3. Order a K2006. See this page about testing: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?14994
4. Not sure what sort of kit you bought -- none available will read "45 ppm" of CYA. If it's NOT an OTO kit, get one.
5. Add 3 gallons of 6% household bleach each evening UNLESS OTO test shows orange-ish yellow.
6. Run filter 24/7. Do not back wash until you see a pressure increase.
7. Complete your signature, per example below.
8. Continue vacuum, UNLESS the chlorine gets below (light yellow or less)

Good luck!

================================================== ========
Pool signature example (for http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/profile.php?do=editsignature)

Let's say you have a 12,000 gallon concrete kidney pool with a StaRite System 3 cartridge filter, a Hayward Super II 1.5 HP pump, an Pentair Intellichlor SWCG, a Hayward pool heater, and a Nature II unit. Put this in your signature:

"12K concrete kidney; StaRite S7M120; Hayward 1.5HP Super II pump; Intellichlor IC20; Hayward H250DFN, and a Nature II unit"

Doing this will make it MUCH easier for us to give consistently good answers.
================================================== ========

[trips27]

Thanks for the info. I got HTH 6-way test kit from Walmart

For cya, after mixing I had to pour it into a container until I could no longer see the black dot. That's where I got the 45 from.

I'll continue with the bleach, add some muriatic acid and post updates. One thing I'll have to do is check my electrical panel as there is a timer on there for the filter. I'll make sure that it is running 24/7 for now.

Looking forward to this summer and very happy I found this forum. :thumbup:

[PoolDoc]

OK. I didn't realize that was still available -- they no longer sell it in my area: http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668

That's actually a very desirable kit -- it's a custom Taylor kit made for Arch / HTH, and not available otherwise.

[trips27]

Added m/a this morning around 8:30 est. Put in a little more than half gallon as it was hard to judge. At 11:30 est ph is now 7.2 and ch is 1. My timer shut the filter from 10pm to 7 am so that didn't help. Have it 24/7 now. With so much crud on the bottom yesterday I vac'd with the filter on waste. I have it on normal filter now and vac'd just where I could see. When doing so I noticed one of the water returns spitting out green sediment, so I've stopped the vacuuming for now.

What's next?

[PoolDoc]

Sand filters catch dead algae better than they do live algae (green = live).

So, kill the algae. With 22K gallons, and 45ppm CYA, you'll need a dose of 20+ ppm chlorine to do so. On your pool, that's 7 gallons of plain 6% bleach. Add it in the evening, then stir up the pool with a brush. Depending on how much sludge you have, you may need to repeat this several times.

If you haven't already, read the Best Guess page, so you understand what's going on. (Link in my signature!)

[trips27]

Will do. Looking around the site made me check my bleach and noticed I got "splashless" Didn't even know it. Going to return 2 gallons and switch it out with the regular. They do have different ingredients. Splashless: http://www.clorox.com/products/clorox-splashless-bleach/ingredients-and-safety/
Regular: http://www.clorox.com/products/clorox-regular-bleach/ingredients-and-safety/

Hope it didn't mess anything up.

[PoolDoc]

Sorry!

I went back and looked, and I forgot the "plain". We all try to say "plain 6% chlorine bleach", but I left it out.

I don't think the splashless will mess your pool up too much; it might even help when you are trying clean up algae . . . but I don't know. So . . . "plain 6% chlorine bleach" or "plain 6% household bleach".

[trips27]

Went to the pool store to get water tested just to see if my numbers are right. Here's what they got:
Total Chlorine .3, Free Chl .3, ph 6.8. Total alkalinity 40, Calcium hardness 150, Stabilizer 0, Shock treatment 0.0

Told me to get and add, which I didn't, 2 bags of Super Zappit, next day add 25lbs of On Guard Alkalinity Plus, then add 18 lbs of On Guard Hardness Up to raise calcium, then 14 lbs of stabilizer.

Of course my pool is still green/cloudy but it is getting clearer. I did buy some liquid shock to help with killing the algae. Still vacuuming and brushing and although it is not clearing up as quickly as I would like, I can see the results and will be patient. I also read on here about calcium and vinyl pools so I 'm glad I was informed on how they will try to sell me more than what I need.

The prior owner used Sustain to keep the pool clear. They tried to talk me into it but I didn't bite. They said once the water is set, you just add some scoops of energizer tablets and some chlorine pucks once a week. It was around $400- for a season and they guarantee the water. The only thing that makes this sound good is it will be easy for the wife to do since I work overnights sometimes for a few days at a time and cannot get home to maintain the pool.

Curious as to how much you think the BBB system would cost me for a year?

I am going to add more bleach tonight and continue with the brushing. Pump is running 24/7. Any other suggestions or just stay the course?

[PoolDoc]

Curious as to how much you think the BBB system would cost me for a year?

It depends on how you do it, and also on how much it takes to clear up your pool, so I can't answer. I can tell you how much it would probably cost if *I* did it. All local prices are for Chattanooga, TN, and do not include tax

Purchases:

40# of PoolBrand trichlor tabs @ Sams Club => $90
50# of PoolBrand dichlor granular @ Sams Club => $106
20 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax @ Walmart => 67.60
6 gallons of muriatic acid @ Lowes => $41.88
HTH 6-way kit at Walmart => ~$23.00 (K-1000 @ Amazon if 6-way not available)
-----------------------------------------------------

K-2006C @ Amazon => ~$85
Lamotte borate test strips => ~$15
Kem-Tek floating chlorinator @ Amazon => ~$10

Process:
1. Add dichlor @ 4 cups per dose daily as needed; maintain chlorine in DARK yellow zone (HTH 6-way)
2. Add borax, slowly to the skimmer, 4 boxes every other day, followed by 1 gallon of muratic added to the pool.
3. Adjust pH in between to 7.2 - 7.8. Add 1/4 gallon of muriatic to lower; 1/2 box borax to raise. Do not add next dose till pH is in range.
4. Continue with borax till 16 boxes have been added.
5. Continue with dichlor, till algae is gone. Test pH & chlorine daily with K-1000 or HTH 6-way.
6. Once algae is gone, do a full test with K 2006 and borate strips.
7. Adjust pH to 7.6 - 7.8 with borax.
8. Place floater in pool, filled with trichlor tabs.
9. When you get ready to leave for a few days, add dichlor to take your pool into the shock range. (Best Guess chart)
10. As the season continues, your CYA level will climb. This will mean you have to run higher levels of free chlorine but ALSO that your pool will 'last' longer without attention.
11. With a 120 day season, I'd guess you'll use all the 3/4 trichlor and 1/2 of the dichlor by season end. (Depends on how much algae you've got)


Following this prescription, your season cost would be about $450 -- which is the cost above, plus some additional borax to maintain pH. If you can't get the trichlor at Sams, do NOT buy it at Lowes or Walmart or Costco; they are selling Aqua Chem or Pool Time or other BioLab versions of BLENDED trichlor. The plain trichlor & dichlor is available from Amazon at about $3.00/lb, instead of $2 at Sams.

I'd also recommend a set of safety glasses & nitrile gloves. Gloves are available at Sams; really good safety glasses are available at Walmart in the form of shooting glasses. But this is Georgia, and they may not be available in Massachusetts -- you may have to go to Lowes, instead. :( ;) )

Keep in mind that your cost next year -- if you don't drain and refill -- may be as little as $100 for trichlor, $20 for testkit refills, and $30 for borax, or $150 for the season.

Assuming a 120 day season, your chlorine use ONCE THE ALGAE IS GONE, should be 2 ppm / day or less. That translates into ~40# of trichlor. So, separate the remaining dichlor into two sets of doubled kitchen bags. Put 1/2 in each. Seal one bag tightly and return to bucket. Then put the 2nd bag in, but leave it open. Do the same with the trichlor.

Both materials deteriorate some, when damp. It doesn't use up that much chlorine, but it does make them NASTY to work with the second year. Try VERY HARD to NOT drip water or sweat into the buckets. You'll probably have to work with the remainders next spring!

==========================================

Testkits @ Amazon links (try to get Walmart HTH 6-way instead of K-1000:
Taylor K-2006 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIIG/poolbooks) -- OR -- Taylor K-2006C (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIJ0/poolbooks)
Lamotte Borate strips (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004KZNPL2/poolbooks)
Taylor K-1000 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002NSRD5C/poolbooks)

Chemicals & Floater @ Amazon (try to get Sams "PoolBrand" first)
Kem-Tek Dichlor 22.5# (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0030BEHZA/poolbooks)
Kem-Tek 3" Trichlor 35# (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0030BEHYQ/poolbooks)
Kem-Tek 879 Pool Floating Tablet Dispenser Pool and Spa Accessories (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FJVRAS/poolbooks)

[BigDave]

Ben, I think in step 3 you meant to use the muriatic to lower the pH and the Borax to raise it.

[Watermom]

Fixed!

[PoolDoc]

Thanks! Obviously, my fingers weren't keeping up with brain, and just took off on auto-pilot . . . borax . . . phenol . . . K-2006 . . . . . . .