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[crazy cat lady]

I have an intex 24' x 52 pool, approx 12k gallons,633t filter says 2500 not sure what that is measurement wise. I'm having problems with spring startup. Pool went from swamp green to a light cloudy green and won't go blue.I've used the HTH super shock approx 6-7 bags and about 4 gallons of bleach in the last 2 weeks. Keeps raining so can't get a handle. I use the 6 way HTH kit. Chlorine is plus 10, ph is now 7.2, alk I stopped at 55 drops and it still didn't go red just purple,hardness 30 drops and just went purple, cya never lost the black dot probably doing test wrong. Thanks for the help in advance. crazy cat lady!

[PoolDoc]

OK.

You've got FC> 10 ppm; pH=7.2, & CYA = 0

And, you've added 7lbs of calcium hypochlorite to a 13K gallon pool, so your chlorine is too high for the alkalinity and calcium tests -- till you get the K2006, and can adjust for that.

It's going to take a week or more to filter the algae out. If you get a clarifier and do NOT overdose, it *may* go faster. Make sure you brush the pool completely, to expose any layers or piles of algae while the chlorine is still high.

You'll need to add some stabilizer, but wait till you've brushed the pool. You can add stabilizer EITHER by putting ~4lbs in a sock, in front of the return OR by using (over time!) about 10lbs of dichlor. Do NOT put the stabilizer in the skimmer -- you'll probably have to backwash before the stabilizer dissolves.

[crazy cat lady]

Thanks Ben,,

I keep adding bleach as I go from dark yellow at night so 10-15 on the test kit to maybe low/mid range in the day. I've been brushing the sides but can't really get the middle very well.Time to get my tidy bowl man raft out. I did add a clarifier in the start up dose for the pool size a few times as well as the hth 3x algacide that I had left over. Your method is getting out there as its getting harder to find bleach lol. I'll pick up some stabilizer tomorrow and post . Any particular stabilizer you recommend??Also I did add a quart of muratic acid after the first few shocks when the ph was off the charts. Thanks !!

[PoolDoc]

You do realize that muriatic acid will LOWER the pH. Also, when you add bleach, the pH goes up, but then back down once the bleach is consumed.

If you have access to a Sams Club, you can get their PoolBrand dichlor in either their 24lb box of 'shock' bags OR their 50lb bucket. Each pound of dichlor will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer. So, I'd recommend the 24# box, which will push your stabilizer too high. But, the bags keep in storage over the winter better than the bucket will.

Otherwise, any brand of stabilizer (so far, they haven't begun playing games with what's in containers of stabilizer!) will do -- 4 lbs, hung in a sock in front of a return, should do.

[crazy cat lady]

I did know that the acid would lower the ph read it here what I didn't know was that it would come down when the bleach was consumed. I'll see where there's a Sams club or order the stabilizer from Amazon. Thanks!

[Watermom]

Sometimes you can find stabilizer at Walmart. It may be labeled as conditioner. If the ingredient is cyanuric or isocyanuric acid, it is the right stuff.

[aylad]

When I buy it at WalMart, it's usually in the section with the spa chemicals.

[PoolDoc]

If you need to get it from Amazon, here's the link:

Kem-Tek Stabilizer 4lbs (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000LNY2AU/poolbooks)

[crazy cat lady]

Thanks guys I added a gallon of bleach last night didn't take a reading but it usually gets it up to shock level. Went out this morning tested and had zero chlorine so added another gallon after I brushed. Brushing did kick up a darker green dust . Went out an hour later and chlorine was at shock level 10 on my hth 6 way test, ph was 7.2. Pool is now a lighter green. I did add a dose of clarifier last night per Bens suggestion. I'll check out Walmart for the stabilizer. I also switch out the cartridges once a day and hose them off so I keep the water pressure up and have the filter on 24/7. Thanks and have a great holiday!! I'll post again tommorrow hope the pool clears up for my pool party on the 9th or it will be a dry day lol.

[PoolDoc]

Which cartridges do you have? A, B, or C?

I'm asking, because I'm going to suggest you replace them with Unicel cartridges. The Intex OEM cartridges do NOT remove algae well. In fact, if you have algae, you'd be better off REMOVING the cartridges for now, till all the algae is dead. Leave the pump on, to circulate the water.

[Watermom]

By the way, in a 13,000 gallon pool, one gallon of 6% bleach is not going to get you to shock level. It will only add a little less than 5ppm of chlorine.

[crazy cat lady]

I have the B cartridges. I bought 2 new ones from Walmart and when I got them home they were quite a bit smaller didn't realize that until I unpacked some pool stuff and found 2 old ones from last season.I was wondering why I had slow water pressure and once I put the right size in I had plenty. I went to Walmart today and no stabilizer . I checked the B cartridges and saw that they were smaller than what I had at home.I'm guessing that Walmart's supply is either mis marked or just not manufactured correctly. The old cartridges were from Walmart so must be a new thing this year. I'll order the new ones from Amazon tonight along with the skimmer sock and the stabilizer. Lost all the chlorine from this morning was at zero again after being bright yellow this morning when I added more bleach. I'll take the cartridge out and just run the filter without. Thanks again for your help.

[crazy cat lady]

Watermon,

How high should I go? After I add the gallon the reading goes to the bright yellow so according to my kit 5-10. If I go above that I don't get a reading so I have to order the Taylor kit . If you can tell me how high and how much bleach to add I'd appreciate it. Thanks

[aylad]

If your CYA is 0, then your shock level is 12-15 ppm. In your pool, each gallon of 6% bleach will raise your FC by about 4.6 ppm, so 2.6 gallons would get you from chlorine of zero to chlorine of 12 ppm. Until you order the Taylor kit, you can force your kit to read higher levels of chlorine by dilution, as described here http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/forumdisplay.php?133-Testing-and-Adjusting-Pool-Water-Chemistry. It's not as exact as the Taylor kit, by any means, but it's a decent ballpark.

[PoolDoc]

I put all the links together in one place for you.

You do NOT have to get the Brute cans, or the TSP from Amazon; you can probably find TSP and some acceptable cans locally. I just included them so you know what you are looking for.

Also, one of my moderators felt I was pushing Amazon Prime too much -- so I'm not pushing it. I included the link because you can get free 2-day shipping with it IF you sign up for their 1 month trial. You will have to remember to cancel it, however. I buy from Amazon a lot myself (we home school, and have been using Amazon for years!), so Prime works for us.

Please note, to get the maximum benefit of the Unicel cartridges, you need TWO so one can be soaking, while the other is working.


Kem-Tek Stabilizer 4lbs (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000LNY2AU/poolbooks)

Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0039X2XZK/poolbooks) @ Amazon
1lb Savogran 10621 Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001GOGQW/poolbooks) @ Amazon

Rubbermaid BRUTE Gray 10 Gal Container w/o Lid (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000LDDEQS/poolbooks) @ Amazon
Round Brute Lid For 10-Gallon Waste Containers, 16" Diameter, Gray (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000Z551PE/poolbooks)

Amazon Prime (http://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/?tag=poolbooks)

[crazy cat lady]

Perfect Ben Thanks I followed the forums advise and added a 182 oz jug of bleach last night and will test manually tomorrow because that much would be off the chart on my test kit. This morning I brushed not much kicked up the pool is a paler green. The chlorine level was high on the test 5-10 so some stood in the pool. I took out the cartridge as you suggested Ben and it was pretty filthy. I usually keep several cartridges on hand to switch out. I'll do your soaking method too.Now with running without the cartridge would I miss the opportunity to filter the dead algae out? Now just have to locate stabilizer as Amazon couldn't ship for a week and I have zero in the pool. I might have to break down and go to the pool store. Thanks everyone!

[PoolDoc]

Stabilizer is easier to find, then un-mixed dichlor. As far as we know, nobody is messing around with it, yet.

However, I just checked the stabilizer a few minutes ago, at Amazon, and it's available for immediate shipment. Now, that may mean it's available in MY area, but not yours. BUT, you might want to try again.

[crazy cat lady]

Thanks Everyone,

I ordered the stabilizer and tsp from Amazon takes 2 days with the prime trial. Now have to find the cartridges guy on Amazon wanted almost as much as the product to ship it . Well heavy rain tonight pool is looking better had zero chlorine again even with 182 oz jug last night. At least it held a little I still was registering high this am but it burned up during the day I'll keep adding 182 oz at night after I brush until the stabilizer comes in or I go broke lol.Once I add the stabilizer how much do you think I'll need if I still have to shock? I'm hoping that once I get the good filters in and have the skimmer sock on it will filter out that algae and turn blue already. Thanks again!!

[crazy cat lady]

Aylad,

I'm thinking 182 oz is not enough I'm thinking I need another gallon to get to your estimate of 2.6 correct??Should be 277 oz. Even though I'm now using bleach and the test kit isn't all that accurate I did add 7 bags of the hth super shock over a 2 week period so not sure what else is in that besides chlorine I'll have to check the bags to see if there's any cya in that. Thoughts??

[PoolDoc]

Do not try to find the cartridges locally -- too many folks are selling the 'identical' cartridge, when it's not 'identical'

Amazon is out of stock -- of a LOT of pool gear -- and has dropped back to secondary sellers. I would NOT trust those to send you an actual Unicel.

Just use what you've got, and wait a week and try again, with the link I gave you. Given the fact that your filter was filtering, I'd recommend just putting a new 'B' back in, and using that.

-- gotta go back and re-read your thread; I'm confusing it with another similar one! --

[Watermom]

Those bags of shock were probably dichlor and if so, they do have CYA in them.

This link to a bleach calculator we use may be helpful to you. It is more than just a bleach calculator, though. If you click in the upper left corner, it gives you lots more.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?11418-bleach-calc

[aylad]

1 gallon = 128 ounces. 2.6 gallons = 332.8 ounces. 2.6 gallons of 6% bleach is what will raise chlorine 13K gallons of water by 12 ppm. I'm not sure I'm understanding your first line of the above post?

You'll have to check the ingredient label on the super shock--if it's cal-hypo, it's not stabilized. If it's dichlor, then it has CYA--enough that for every 10 ppm of chlorine it adds, it also adds 9 ppm of stabilizer.

[crazy cat lady]

Ok Guys, The super shock I put in is cal hypochlorine and doesn't list anything but says 48% other ingredients. Probably no cya since my test never lost the black dot. It says it balances, sanitizes, shocks and destroys organics. Based on Aylads calculation and the fact that the pool is still light green the 182 oz jug is short if I add 2 tonight I'll have 364 oz so shouldn't raise it too much above the 12ppm. Your range was 12-15 anyway.

I was unable to get the distilled water so I have to use my hth 6 way test. After about an hour after I put in the 182 jug I get no reading so I know I'm above 5-10 the highest level on my test. In the morning I test and the level then drops to the 5-10 .I retest at 6pm when I get home and have zero so taking a day and a half basically to loose the chlorine.

Nothing is dusting up when I brush .The pool is a light green today after the 182 jug last night and it rained all night too. The stabilizer should be here tomorrow I'll add 4lbs. How much bleach after once I get the cya up?I'll test and post what I think the answer is so I can check myself too. Thanks

[aylad]

The amount of bleach you add to get to a particular point won't change, but the base amount of chlorine you'll have to keep in the pool will change once you get above 30 ppm CYA. See the "best guess chlorine chart" linked in Watermom's sig above for that info...

[crazy cat lady]

Ben,

I got the stabilizer today and made a slurry with hot water and the 4 lb jug and added to the pool. I hope you meant add 4 pounds at once. I'm reading the posts and according to the stabilizer label in my pool 4 lbs would get me to approximately 100ppm.I'm seeing alot of posts with larger pools at 40-50. I also added 182 oz of 6 % bleach because I was at zero tonight. From a few other pool folks suggestions I was only getting the chlorine up to 4.6 and not shock level . Janet said to use 2.6 gallons each time to get the level up.Let me know your thoughts.Pool is still light green. Thanks

[Watermom]

Ben,

I got the stabilizer today and made a slurry with hot water and the 4 lb jug and added to the pool. I hope you meant add 4 pounds at once. I'm reading the posts and according to the stabilizer label in my pool 4 lbs would get me to approximately 100ppm.

How did you arrive at this conclusion? Didn't you tell us above that your CYA level was 0? In a 13,000 gallon pool, 4 lbs. of CYA will only add 40ppm, not 100.

[crazy cat lady]

Watermon,

Kem Tek label says to add 10ppm add 1/2 pound so that would be 40 ppm but the chart for 2 lbs says its 50ppm so x2 would be 100 no?A bit confusing. So I'm ok then at 40. I also added 182 oz of bleach . I was at zero before the addition after I registered 5-10 on my kit. Reading was the same this morning ph was 6.8. I added another 182 oz of bleach to get it back up to shock level per Janets response earlier. I'l brush and vacuum when I get home tonight hopefully the greenish pool is a reflection from debris below . Thanks

[Watermom]

If your pH is 6.8, you need to add some Borax to get it above 7.0. Add a half a box slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running, breaking up any clumps. Let it circulate for a couple hours, retest and re-dose until you get the pH somewhere between 7.2-7.8 with 7.4-7.6 being what I like best.

[crazy cat lady]

Watermom, ph dropped after I added the cya was holding at 7.2.How big a box of Borax? I've seen the larger boxes not sure the size.Got into the pool tonight and vacuumed out 2 large loads of gunk, dead algea, pine needles.I filled 2 cartridge filters and clogged the whole hose 2x's. Had to give up after an hour as I only had 3 cartridges on hand and washed 2 out and put the clean one in to filter for the night. Chlorine was holding at the 5-10 on my kit after I added a second 182 oz jug this morning.Put another 182 in for the night.With 364 oz today I should get back up to shock level in a bit. Gonna need a bigger vacuum lol

[Watermom]

I've only ever seen one size box of Borax sold in all the years I've owned a pool. It is around 4lbs.

I just re-scanned this entire thread and unless I missed it, I don't see where you have told us what kind of test kit you are using. You need to do yourself a favor and buy a Taylor K-2006. See the test kit page in my signature.

[crazy cat lady]

Watermom,

I'm using the hth 6 way test kit I found at Walmart last year. I added half a box of borax last night with the usual bleach and this am the ph was 7.2 after pouring all last night. Chlorine was 5-10 dark yellow.

Pool is holding some chlorine as I go from very dark yellow 5-10 during the day( morning reading) I then add another 182 oz of bleach after the sun goes down to get me above the test kit limits . I add bleach when the level is at the 5-10 .I'm staying pretty high most of the day. Do you think I should add a second bottle at night to keep way above the test limits? I didn't locate the distilled water yet I'm in a rural area so I have to hop around different stores.

I added the other half a box of borax this morning and added the next dose of bleach did a retest about an hour after the additions and the chlorine is orange/ red an the ph was purple 8.2 is the highest on my kit so probably above that but I just added the bleach so not concerned it will come down a bit later.

So far I have put in the 4 lbs of cya and 4 lbs of borax. I'm brushing daily and was only able to vacuum 2 days ago when I took a ton of stuff out of the pool. Water is a very light green looks like lots floating, running the filter 24/7 and switching out the cartridge daily. New Unicels will be here by wed so hopefully I make more progress. I'll keep vacuuming as the weather permits. Don't want to be in the pool with a metal pole during a thunderstorm lol. Any other suggestions to clear this faster? I did add a dose of clarifyer earlier in the week per Bens suggestion. Do I add more? Thanks!!

[PoolDoc]

Hi CCL;

If you would, please fill out the two forms below (#1 & #2)

Pool Chart Form (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHBLTzdpX19DZVlzUTRLOTU5ZFlZSWc6M Q#gid=0)
Pool History Entry Form (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEtzTzNsMWQzclpZMUJoSkdmU2xMVXc6M A#gid=1)
Pool History Results (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ahjo2iDF0aJgdEtzTzNsMWQzclpZMUJoSkdmU2xMV Xc)


We've been running into problems this year with long similar threads -- yours is one of the shorter ones -- and it's hard for the moderators and support team members to keep track of the details of each pool. Using these forms will make it easier for us, AND it will give you a place to keep your pool records. In the 3rd link above, you can see the data I extracted from your earlier posts.

Regarding your pool, if you have green floaty stuff, you need to brush some more AND keep the chlorine very high -- orange-red (30 - 40 ppm) is a good level. If you hold that high chlorine AND brush, you should have your pool switched to cloudy gray, from cloudy green, within 24 - 36 hours.

[crazy cat lady]

Thanks Ben I'll go add another 182 oz of bleach to keep a high level tonight. Hopefully no more rain tomorrow and I can get in and vacuum again.

[crazy cat lady]

Morning all, Still have a problem with the pool. I couldn't find my original post but I have a 24' round intex pool. It started as a swamp when I opened it a few weeks ago. So far I added 4 lbs of cya, been shocking the pool daily with 364 oz of bleach( after I corrected the dose) for a 13k gallon pool,Added 4 lbs of borax.

The basic readings are chlorine way up and holding "orange". I have the hth 6 way test. Ph has been in the 7.4- 7.6 range or higher after I added the borax. I finally got the unicel filters this past week and skimmer socks that I change out daily. I brush every day and vacuum when its not raining. I swear NJ is the new Seattle.

Ben suggested a dose of clarifier so I added that last week. The filters and socks are full in the morning. The chlorine has been staying in the orange 10 + range all week so doesn't seem like I'm loosing chlorine so I slowed down the addition of bleach as per the readings and adjust accordingly. Pool is cloudy light green. Running the filter 2/7. I did put hth algae 3x in a few times as well as the clarifier prior to joining this forum New suggestions???

EDIT by Watermom: CrazyCatLady -- I found your other thread and put this most recent post of yours into it so we can keep all your information together.

[aylad]

If it's cloudy gree, then you need to keep the chlorine high until it turns blue. If your filter and socks are full of stuff daily, then it's removing everything that it can, you may just be to be patient. The pool didn't get that way overnight, and it's going to take some time and a LOT of POPP (pool owner patience and persistence) to clear it. Hang in there!!\