Newbie who lacks pool smarts needs those who have The Smarts

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Hello - I've been reading the site for about a week now - this is such a great site; so supportive and helpful. We've had a pool for about 7 yrs, but I just started taking care of it recently - I want to learn how it works. I'm most interested in the BBB method, which is really interesting.

Here's where I'm at right now:

--pool burning thru chlorine (I think former pool guy added too much of something, after a big storm)
--no algae; water nice and clear
--tried adding some bleach last week (for first time), but couldn't keep chl up (11,000 gal pool)

--Sunday PM: added 2 gal bleach
--Monday AM: chlor was about 3 ; pH 7.6-7.8
--Monday PM: chlor .5 (at best); pH 7.6-7.8; alk 160-170ish; cya 170

So, is the high cya causing the prob w/ burning thru chlor? If so, what do I do next? If I have to partially drain...I have no idea how to do that...would I have to call someone for that or can I do it myself?

Many thanks for any help!
Ann

[Watermom]

Hi, Ann, and welcome to the Pool Forum! With a CYA of 170, your chlorine readings are way too low and you may be on the verge of an algae bloom. Take a look at the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below. With that high of a CYA reading, your chlorine always stay between 8-15ppm. I'd advise you to shock your pool up to 25ppm and try and hold it there until you can go from sundown one evening to within two hours of sunrise the next day without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine and the water is clear. Then, keep the chlorine high for one additional day and then you can let it drift down but never let it get below 8ppm.

You're going to have to buy a kit that can measure high chlorine readings. All the kits you'll be able to get locally will only go to 5. The Taylor K2006 or 2006c (see test kit link below) will measure up to around 50 I think. It is only available online, so go ahead and order it so it will get here sooner rather than later.

In your pool, each gallon (4 quarts) of plain, unscented 6% household bleach will add about 5.5ppm of chlorine and each quart will add about 1.5. Use this as a reference to help you figure out how much bleach to add each time you test.

What kind of kit are you currently using? I suspect that you may have an HTH 6-Way kit. If so, you can force it to read higher than 5ppm with a dilution method described here: Testing Without a Good Kit (http://poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html )

Also, please fill in your pool's information into our pool chart as it makes it easier for someone here to help you.

Pool Chart Entry Form (http://goo.gl/cNPUO)

Hope this helps!

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it. I will follow your advice above, as well as order the Taylor.

Oddly, I filled out that pool forum right after I registered - I wonder why it's not there. Do I have to enable something for it to show?

[PoolDoc]

I looked at your chart . . . and something is seriously wrong.

You list your pool as freeform, with a max length of 48 feet and a max width of 36 feet, with a depth ranging from 3 - 5 feet, and then list your gallons as 11,000. But a 36'x48' rectangle 3' deep (no 5') would be more than 38,000 gallons! Granted, your pool may have some narrow 'waisted' sections, but to be 36x48 and have only 11,000 gallons, it would have to be shaped like a doubled headed snake, 48' long, with the heads separated by 30'!

You probably need to re-measure AND send pictures to poolforum@gmail.com

[PoolDoc]

Never mind -- you gave your address when you registered, and Google seems to have pictures of your pool. Your pool is closer to 20 x 20 than it is to 36 x 48:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p-GAhjk0Z7g/UBlGoxoj-FI/AAAAAAAADwQ/5J66sk4DUlY/s800/Gmap%2520of%2520pool.jpg

11,000 gallons is probably a reasonable estimate. I cropped the photo so your location can't be guessed from the photo.

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Yup, that's my pool! My 20x20, 38,000 gal pool :). Oops. I measured last night using the 'step it off' method, except it's quite clear that I didn't understand it; when I entered last night's numbers, I thought wth? bc I knew they seemed bizarre. Thanks so much for helping me out on it. My poor, poor pool is in challenged hands.

Anyway....I followed Watermom's advice and added 5 gal of 6% last night....which I thought might bring me up to the 25ppm suggested. Here are this morning's numbers:

--chl: 7ppm
--alk: 180
--pH: 7.6
--cya: 150
--no visible signs of any algae; water clear

I'm really confused as to why it only went up to 7ppm, after 5gal...any advice on what I might try next? Should I use actual Shock powder this time, would that be easier until I get it to a better place? For longer term, how will I get that cya down permanently so that the chlorine is better managed? I may be asking all the wrong questions, but I sure hope to learn.

Thanks again!

[PoolDoc]

High chlorine loss overnight indicates some sort of 'goo' in the water that chlorine will burn up. What sort of filter do you have? Some times the 'goo' is in the filter. If you have a cartridge or DE filter, it might be a good time to break it down and clean it completely.

BUT . . . .keep adding 5 gallons of plain bleach each evening, and then test in the morning before the sun really is on the pool.

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Hmmm...now I'm more confused. We just had our filters cleaned about 2 mths (or less) ago, so I'd be surprised if they were already bad. It's cartridge, not DE. I don't have any idea how to take apart the filter thing; I'd have to call someone for that. Do you think it's imperative, given we just had them done?

Is it an option to shock it up to 25ppm via regular shock powder...get it stable...and then start the BBB method? I'm pretty petite and if it's likely I'll need 20 gal of bleach over the next few days, then I'm wondering if it'd be easier (for now) to just get the shock and later start BBB.

Thoughts?

Again, thanks for your help.

[PoolDoc]

1. Regarding the filter, post the EXACT filter make / model + pictures if at all possible, sent to poolforum@gmail.com . . . and answer a question: has the pool been green and slimy since the cartridges were cleaned?

2. Regarding shock . . . nope, that's not an option till you can tell us EXACTLY what your "shock powder" is -- EXACT manufacturer and product name -- AND can give us test readings. (Some stuff sold as 'shock' is a MESS, and regardless, we can't tell how the side effects of different materials will affect your pool, till we have test readings.)

Have you ordered that kit?

Ben

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Thanks Ben. I've ordered the kit, but it looks like it will be a couple days. To answer your post:

1. I just now sent the pics you requested, so hopefully they are there. And nope, pool hasn't been green and slimy at all since the cartridges were clean. That said, I think there may have been one time that it got slightly more dirty than usual, but it cleared up...can't recall if that was right before the cartridge change, or after.

2. I don't have any shock powder on hand...so if you had one you wanted to recommend (that I could possibly pick up locally), let me know and I'll get it. When you say 'until we have test readings', do you mean like the ones I've been posting the last couple days? Or, do you mean a reading once I have a better kit?

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Feel like a bit of a pest...but after more reading, I'm wondering why (in my case) no one is suggesting that I partially drain the pool? I'm sure there is a reason, but I don't know why.

I'm wondering if it'd help to partially drain - ie, wouldn't this both lower the cya, which then would lower my chlorine burn...so then I could deal w/ the short term imbalance (using less chlorine) while also ideally prepping my pool for longer term BBB method? In other words, don't I have to get rid of a high cya (now at about 180) at some point anyway, so why not now? What am I missing?

My water is totally clear, no algae...tho I understand the high cya may indicate a near-future bloom.

[PoolDoc]

For 75% people posting here, draining is risky. Inground vinyl pools can almost never be drained safely; AG pools can collapse; in wet ground both fiberglass and concrete pools can literally float up out of the dirt!. Beyond that, on the west coast, there often water restrictions EITHER on draining OR refilling.

So, we've kinda conditioned ourselves against recommending that. We are suggesting often, in the case of small Intex type pools, which can be drained safely, and which have filters that take forever to clear cloudy water.

In your case, there's almost no risk of 'floating' the pool . . . but I don't know about your local water restrictions. Do you want to drain?

[PoolDoc]

Your photos . . .

Equipment:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XinzxgS8qrE/UBrTEZREcfI/AAAAAAAADxo/qzvzoQrnYJQ/s800/web%25202013-07-02%252016.17.59-1.jpg - https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q2ckleNyBn0/UBrTEwzWACI/AAAAAAAADx4/ECqk85Ek2hg/s800/web%25202013-07-02%252016.18.14.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6NdvZ8F7UOk/UBrTEY2Hl3I/AAAAAAAADxw/n3WVu5y3Di4/s800/web%25202013-07-02%252016.18.07-1.jpg - https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YqkdxLNxXs8/UBrTFA2r5OI/AAAAAAAADyA/G7QjJ7k9P8c/s400/web%25202013-07-02%252016.19.12.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pvZgRwNTTjA/UBrTE_fT2KI/AAAAAAAADx8/XGfnmiky7dc/s640/web%25202013-07-02%252016.18.22-1.jpg

Pool:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pnVnMLSpZDo/UBrTFTB2s5I/AAAAAAAADyI/XXjrouEE3aw/s800/web%25202013-07-02%252016.19.52.jpg - https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UQNkXuUyh7Q/UBrTGpsl95I/AAAAAAAADyY/ZfSthEu9Jjs/s800/web%25202013-07-02%252016.19.31.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-feGaPhJeUNM/UBrTEfzsuAI/AAAAAAAADxk/ooeyUTajZic/s800/web%25202013-07-02%252016.17.14-1.jpg

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

You posted my pics, thanks so much!

Now....go down to my timer pic...note anything a bit funny...? As I was adding more bleach today, I turned on my pump - and lo and behold, it appears my "OFF" slider on the timer came loose at some point and was sitting right next to ON. So basically, the pump has been turning ON at 12am, and turning off at about, oh, 12:05am. I know I know, genius.

I dunno how long it's been like that, I can't believe my pool isn't 100% green! So, assuming perhaps this has been going on for a short while - do you think this is why my numbers could be odd (cya, specifically)?

I honestly don't know if I want to drain....it's more like, if I don't - will I be fighting that cya forever? Or would it eventually come down on its own? I mean, I'd prefer to not be required to add a ton of bleach each week, bc of that cya. I will check the draining restrictions and see what that says. I know our pool has been drained and partially drained previously, by our former pool person.

Oh btw! Was reading more and saw Watermom mention liquid chlorine (aka, bleach) being legal in some states - and it's sold here in AZ. So, given it's 10% - and $6.86 for 2 gals - it makes it easier to haul around, and I'll need less volume than the 6%. Cool.

[PoolDoc]

Nope, I overlooked that little timer problem, too. I'd recommend operating 24/7 for a couple of days, then testing when the K2006 arrives, and THEN deciding if something needs to be done.