Fighting Algae for months

[rkrgk]

Hi,
First let me say what I have. I will attach a picture of my pool as well. We bought the house recently and so did not have a lot of info on the pool and pool equipments.
Pool size - Not sure but i think its about 15000 Gallons.
Pump - 2 HP AO Smith Superflow (has anther 1.5 HP pump for waterfall feature)
Filter - Hayward DE 60SQFT
Cleaning system - In floor cleaning system- caretaker 99 popup cleaning

Issue - Have a never ending fight with Algae for about 3 months now. Spent lots and lot of dollars on chemicals.

Recently I changed 3 of the filter grids and cleaned the rest.
Also replaced the gears of the caretaker cleaning system.
I dont have any other manual/auto cleaner to vacuum
In the past few months I have tried several things,
For Chlorine - uses walmart great value bleach 6% , And uses tabs in the floater bought from Costco. Also tried the pooltime shock (Sodium dichloro-s-triazenitrone), and liquid chlorinator.
Added stabilizer 3 months ago.
For Water testing- I only have the pooltime test strips bought from homedepot.
When I put chlorine to about 3ppm+, the pool gets blue for about a day and goes back to green the next day.
Water is very cloudy and has brown/green debris on the edges and bottom. My pop-up cleaning heads does not pop up also, but I can see water coming out through them. The pressure reading in my filter stays at around 35ps +. I guess (reading from some of the posts here) that it may be that the backpressure from my cleaning system is creating all that pressure). The reading at the polaris caretaker valve is about 4psi. Probably I should get a manual vacuum cleaner since popup system is not working? Dont know what would be the best strategy.
I also tried pooltime 20% algicide (dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 20%). Seems to have no effect.

Appreciate any advice! Thanks..

[Watermom]

We're really going to have to have a good set of current water testing results taken with a drops-based kit to be able to help. The kit we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C which you can get through the test kit link in my signature. It is only available online so you need something to use in the meantime. See if your Walmart has an HTH 6-Way kit (not test strips) that you can get. If not, at the very least, pick up a cheap OTO/Phenol Red (yellow and red drops) kit to use.

Post your readings and tell us what kit you got. Also, please fill in your pools information into our pool chart as that makes it much easier for people here to help.

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

[rkrgk]

Thanks!
I ordered HTH 6way test kit just awhile ago. I will pick it up at the walmart in a few minutes and will test and fill up the pool chart form.

[sabres07]

The only advice I can share with you is this forum will absolutely fix your problem, BUT ONLY if you follow their advice to the letter! If you deviate, you will increase the time you spend correcting your pool water chemistry.

I was a new user of this forum earlier this spring. After following the advice given here, my pool is crystal clear and has been all summer. Oh yea.....and get the good test kit right away....the Taylor 2006c kit. You will need it.

[rkrgk]

Thanks Sabres07! I was reading some of the information posted at this forum and it is really informative and 'eye-opening'. And like you said, I will follow what will be suggested, I can see that a lot of people benefit with this forum. And yes, planning to get the Taylor 2006C, too bad can not buy in a local store, so will wait for amazon to ship. I just wanted to start on it faster, so got the HTH kit for now.

Watermom,

I got the HTH test kit and here are the results. I posted the Pool chart Entry form as well.
Test Results
------------------
Chlorine - <0.5ppm
Alkalinity - 50ppm
pH - >8.2
Hardness - 400ppm
CYA - <30ppm

[rkrgk]

With the test strips, I get pH to be 7.2, that's the reason I had not adjusted so far. I know we can't rely on the test strips but seems quite a big difference.
So, can I go ahead and put bleach or should I lower the pH first?
Looks like pool is getting worse and worse. I got 1 gallon of muriatic acid and six 1.5 gallons of 6% bleach from Walmart. And BTW' the tabs that I use are 94.5% trichlor. Should I get some stabilizer and add before I add bleach?
Thanks again for your time.

[Watermom]

Go ahead and add 2 of those big jugs of bleach. Each of those should add about 5.7ppm of chlorine. Since your CYA is below 30, let's have you use around 12pm as your shock level. Test your chlorine as many times per day as you can, and each time, add enough bleach to take your chlorine back up to around 12. You want to continue to keep the chlorine at shock level until you can go from sundown one evening to within two hours of sunrise the next day without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine, you have a CC reading no greater than 0.5 (your K2006 kit will be able to measure this) and the water is clear. Then, keep it high for one additional day. For reference, each quart of 6% bleach will add 1ppm of chlorine in this size pool.

Until you get the good kit and are having to use the HTH kit, your limited to measuring chlorine levels to 5. But, you can force your kit to read higher by using a dilution method explained here: Testing Without a Good Kit (http://poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html )


Go ahead and use some muriatic acid to lower your pH. Please read the link in my signature about using it safely. Please note that your pH test results will be inaccurate when your chlorine levels are high so do pH testing when the chlorine is below 5.

Run your pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear this and clean the filter as needed. Live algae clogs DE filters fast!

I would not worry about adding any stabilizer until you get the pool cleared up. By the way, look at the ingredient label on the trichlor. Any mention of copper?

Hope this helps.

[rkrgk]

I usually pour bleach walking around the pool, hope thats the right way to do it? Or putting it slowly through the skimmer is better?
The trichlor that I mentioned (tabs from costco) does not mention any copper in the label.

My pool looks like this now.
http://i49.tinypic.com/2m631ox.jpg

[Watermom]

Most people either pour it in front of a return jet or slowly into the skimmer. I use the skimmer. Another advantage of putting it in the skimmer is that it will kill anything growing in the filter, too.

Actually, since this is not a vinyl pool, you don't have to be so careful of not taking the chlorine too high. So, you can hammer it with bleach.

[rkrgk]

Ok, so I added 3 x 1.42 Gallons of 6% bleach and did a chlorine test after 1 hr. The results show somewhere in between 3 and 5ppm. I did the dilution method that you mentioned and got the results to be 5ppm. So I would think its about 4.5ppm currently. Its 104 Degrees hot here in Phoenix, so may be all the chlorine that I put might be evaporating faster than I can pour!
I brushed the pool a bit. Didnt backwash the filter yet, Did backwash and added DE just two days ago.
The pool has bit of powdery particles floating on top, Dont know if its due to me brushing the pool and some DE is floating or if its the bleach reacting with Algae. And the fact that my pop up cleaning system is not really popping up and cleaning makes me worry.. Should I be buying a vacuum cleaner? Other than that how will I remove the debris? And how can I make sure my drain is working? I can not see much of water movement at the deep end of the pool. Could it be that my drain is somehow clogged?

Here is the picture of partcles floating on the top

http://i48.tinypic.com/jb4g37.jpg

[Watermom]

I can't help with the popup system question. Hopefully someone else will come along who can. If you can't get it to work, then you will have to buy some other type of vacuum system to use.

Keep adding bleach. As many times per day as you can, test and take the chlorine back up. The more consistently you can do this, the faster you'll clear the pool.

Chlorine does not evaporate. The reason your level is low so soon after adding it is because 1) you have a low CYA reading and 2) it is being used up fighting algae which is what you want.

Bleach, bleach, bleach. Lots of bleach.

[PoolDoc]

In the immortal words (about the only words!) of Keanu Reeves:
Woah!

That's some serious algae -- pictures are SO helpful to letting us see just what you are dealing with.

You've got a concrete pool, and a PF:8. Each gallon of plain 6% bleach will add about 4 ppm of chlorine to your pool. So, Monday evening, add 15 gallons of bleach to your pool -- about 60 ppm, and plan to add 8 more the following evening.

Don't mess around -- you don't want to wrestle with your algae; you want to kill.

BUT . . . if at all possible lower your pH tomorrow AM -- try 1/2 gallon of muriatic acid (see guide linked in my blue signature!) and see if that will get your pH below 7.8, before your start dumping all that bleach in.

[rkrgk]

Yeah We are under total Algae attack!
I added about 7.1 Gallons of 6% bleach, just checked my Chlorine level (with dilution method) and its only reached to about 6ppm(measured right after sun is down).
I only have one more jug of bleach, so have to run to Walmart to get more.
And I added 1/2 gallon muriatic acid earlier before noon and measured the pH awhile ago, it is 7.2, though i tested for pH after adding few gallons of bleach.
I can add more bleach right away tonight and add the next batch (like you said) tomorrow evening.
I still have the problem of finding out how I can vacuum the pool, since I dont have a vacuum cleaner and my pop-up cleaning system is all messed up now, does nt seem to pop up and rotate, though I can see water coming out through them especially the ones at the shallow end. May be I should get a manual cleaner to vacuum until I can figure out the pop up issue?
As you just saw in the picture, pool is very cloudy and green!! But I am ready for the fight :) I will post regular pictures to show you how things go. Thanks!

[PoolDoc]

I still have the problem of finding out how I can vacuum the pool, since I dont have a vacuum cleaner and my pop-up cleaning system is all messed up now, does nt seem to pop up and rotate, though I can see water coming out through them especially the ones at the shallow end. May be I should get a manual cleaner to vacuum until I can figure out the pop up issue?


Popup cleaning systems are MASSIVE energy wasters, and not very effective vacuum systems, except where the pool debris consists of a little light dust.

I would DEFINITELY recommend getting a manual vacuum system, and using it.

[rkrgk]

Ok, I am planning to add 15 gallons to the pool in the evening. Hoping that its holding a bit with whatever I added yesterday afternoon(9 Gallons), fingers crossed...
And about the vacuum cleaner, I dont think I can bypass the filter (I have the DE filter) to vacuum to waste, Can I? And is it enough to just pick up something from the local Leslies? Or is there something which is better that I should look for? Appreciate your input..

========================================== (merged posts)

Its looks like I lost the battle the first day.
I came back from work and tested the pool and Cl is just 0.5 and pH is 8.0 (I had added 8.5 Gallons of Bleach yesterday), also had lowered the pH to 7.2 yesterday. But in my net skimmer (the one with the small spacing basket, there was a ton of clogged algae..

And to make things worse I can not find Great Value bleach in any of the Walmarts around here, so got the Clorox . It seems as though its 6% regular bleach.

So today I added 10 jugs (thats 14.2 Gallons) of Bleach. I will have to wait and see how it goes. Need to get more bleach tomorrow.
I have not backwashed the filter since a week, should I backwash everyday now? And after I backwash everytime do I need to add the same amount of DE?

[PoolDoc]

+ Plain Clorox is fine.

+ Do you have a K2006 on order? (links below) If you're calcium is not too high, you can use cal hypo instead of bleach; and if your stabilizer is low, you can use dichlor.

+ The rather expensive ProVac is the vac head I've always used professionally; we have 6 year old 30+" one at the 200,000 local pool we service that's used once a week, and is still kicking. You'd want the 14" model though -- we use a dedicated pump to operate the big one!
Rainbow R201276 ProVac Commercial Vacuum Head 14" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003840IV6/poolbooks)

This hose and pole are OK, but not necessarily better than what you can find locally:
Poolmaster 33430 Premium Vacuum Hose with Swivel Cuff, 30-Feet by 1-1/2-Inch (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005SS9EB0/poolbooks)
Hydro Tools 8365 8- to 16-Foot Adjustable Fluted Premium Fluted Telescopic Pool Pole, White (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0032JSQE8/poolbooks/)

+ You should clean your filter, and then note the pressure 5 minutes after you first bring it back into full operation, with DE. Clean again, after the pressure rises more than 5 psi, but less than 10.

+ You should precoat the filter with amount of DE specified in the manual, EACH time.

+ You'll be able to extend filter runs by adding 1/4 of the pre-coat amount of DE each time you see the pressure up a psi or so. Don't do this more than 4x, before cleaning.

+ Adding bleach via the skimmers -- FIRST, make SURE there are NO chemicals, especially tabs, in the skimmer! -- will also extend the run

+ You should be able to find available bleach by using Walmart's online stock check:
Great Value: Bleach, 3 Qt (http://www.walmart.com/ip/13023508)
Great Value: Bleach, 1.42 Gal (http://www.walmart.com/ip/13023480)

Ben

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


+ Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668)), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE, but is an ESSENTIAL tool for pools with problems. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?16551) )

One caution for the 2012 season: Amazon does not stock the kits directly. So when buying at Amazon, Amato is our current preferred seller. However, they often don't list enough stock to last the whole day, so try order mid-morning. You should expect a delivered cost under $60 for the K2006A and under $95 for the K2006C. If you can't find that, wait a day.

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend (you can check local availability on the HTH kit, using the Walmart link):

HTH 6-Way Test Kit (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668) @ Walmart
Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIIG/poolbooks) @ Amazon
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIJ0/poolbooks) @ Amazon

[Spensar]

Its looks like I lost the battle the first day.
I came back from work and tested the pool and Cl is just 0.5 and pH is 8.0 (I had added 8.5 Gallons of Bleach yesterday),

Normal since the chlorine is working and being used up to kill the algae. It does take a lot of chlorine to go from green to clean.

[rkrgk]

Ben,
Thanks for the detailed information. I ordered the Taylor kit from Amato, not sure when I will get it. I also bought the hose and the pole from your link. Thanks! But didnt take the vacuum head, went with a cheaper one from Amazon.
Today morning the pool was cloudy bluish.. I took this picture today morning.

I checked the Cl level when I was back from work, its around 1 ppm and pH shows 7.2( I havent added any acid after the 0.5 Gal on 12th) . I brushed the pool and all the algae came afloat and the pool is a bit green again(I should have had the vacuum). I backwashed the filter and added DE (added only 4 lbs since I ran out, supposed to add 7.5 lbs). Also removed the debris from the strainer. Added about 8.52 Gallons of bleach again.
And the walmart link was awesome, l chose the one with stock and got the bleach..

http://i47.tinypic.com/a31nr4.jpg

[RedwingT]

Looks like your getting there! Nice looking pool, I'm sure you will be enjoying it soon.

[rkrgk]

Thanks RedwingT, Spensar.

Today was not as hot as usual, and seems as though the chlorine is holding a bit. I checked the level in the morning and the my HTH kit showed orangish brown color. And retested in the evening and its holding at 6ppm.
I added 5.65 Gal more today. Pool is definitely getting better, but need to hold it there..Picture taken this evening.

http://i48.tinypic.com/6t0boh.jpg

[PoolDoc]

With a DE filter, that should clean up very quickly if you run your pump 24/7.

[rkrgk]

Yes, running the pump 24/7.
Still the water is very cloudy (I can not see the bottom and not much of the side), pH is 7.2 but Cl is 1ppm. I guess I need to add more bleach in the evening. Still waiting for the test kit to arrive.
Here is the pic taken today morning

http://i48.tinypic.com/rcssih.jpg

[jwhouse]

If the chlorine reading is correct, then you really need to add some more bleach. With chlorine levels that low, the algae will come right back and with a vengance. Hard to know what your levels should be at until that test kit comes in and we can get some reliable test results but one thing I do know is if your chlorine is only at 1 you will most likely still be growing algae.

[Spensar]

Ditto, better more chlorine than less. I opened greener than you were and kept 20 ppm+ for 4 days to kill the algae dead. You don't want to let the chlorine level get below what the pros here recommended, until the water is clear.

Likely best to not use the floater for now. The pucks you use increases the stabilizer/CYA level.

[rkrgk]

I am not quite sure if all the Alage is gone. Pool is blue, but not clear. Still I can not see the bottom (just the two steps and 2 feet on the side walls) .
I can see that when I test at night, Cl is mostly orange or brownish orange with HTH kit. By morning its 5ppm. So probably I am loosing more than 1 ppm overnight.
As Ben suggested I been adding bleach since 12th. My bleach addition history so far..
8/12/2012 - 8.52 Gal
8/13/2012 - 14.2
8/14/2012 - 8.52
8/15/2012 - 5.68
8/16/2012 - 5.68
8/17/2012 - 5.68
8/18/2012 - 2.84
8/19/2012 - 4.26
Do I need to keep adding at this level or can I cut back a bit now?
And my Taylor 2006c kit is expected to come by Tuesday. So just a day more before I can get the actual Cl levels.

[jwhouse]

I don't think the bleach amount history is as important as the chlorine ppm readings each night and morning. The key is to make sure you are maintaining a high enough chlorine level in your pool to eradicate the algae. I'd say if the water is still cloudy, you may still have algae growing. Usually, the dead algae will settle to the bottom and need to be vacuumed by hand.
Once your Taylor kit arrives start taking regular readings using that and report those. Once again, the best thing you can do is to keep plenty of chlorine in the pool, get good test results on a regular basis and not let up until your pool is clear.

[sabres07]

Keep adding chlorine.....if you don't, you will be right back to where you started. Like I said, you have to follow to the letter with NO DEVIATION.

[rkrgk]

Appreciate the inputs..
I will post the Cl levels once I get my Taylor kit tomorrow.

[rkrgk]

What would be an ideal amount of CYA to hold the Cl levels relatively stable considering the fact that we live in Phoenix where its 100+ almost everyday throughout the summer?

[sabres07]

You have to add chlorine as often as it takes throughout the day to hold your pool at shock level. For my algae battle, it was every couple of hours on the first day. The next day it was maybe every 4 hours. The day after that, it was maybe every 7-9 hours. If you are adding chlorine only once a day, you are not getting ahead of your problem. In fact, you are probably just wasting time and money. You have to be very persistent.

[jwhouse]

This is not in any way a recommendation but you could probably get your cya levels to somewhere between 70-90. I wouldn't go any higher than that though. Be sure to read the best guess chart here (http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/best-guess-swimming-pool-chlorine-chart.html) to find out the recommended CL levels for your CYA.

BUT... Get your algae under control before you do anything else. Any effort and money spent otherwise right now would be a waste. Did you receive your kit today? If you have questions regarding how to use it, look here (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?17157-Taylor-K2006-Videos-on-YouTube). These videos are great to help you learn about using your kit. Get those test results and then a plan can be more accurately formulated. Also, be sure not to waste your CYA tests. There are only about 6 testings in the K-2006.

[PoolDoc]

Usually, the dead algae will settle to the bottom and need to be vacuumed by hand.
This isn't necessarily so. It depends on circulation patterns, pump run times, and more. What often happens on AG pools is that the water goes from green cloudy to gray cloudy.



What would be an ideal amount of CYA to hold the Cl levels relatively stable considering the fact that we live in Phoenix where its 100+ almost everyday throughout the summer?
As jwhouse notes below, you need to get the algae resolved first. You may not have a lot of choice about CYA levels, unless you drain and refill. 1. Test the water. 2. Kill the algae. 3. Fix any other URGENT chemistry issues. 4. THEN worry about ideal CYA levels.



You have to add chlorine as often as it takes throughout the day to hold your pool at shock level. For my algae battle, it was every couple of hours on the first day.
This isn't completely necessary. Not everyone is at home during the day. Very large chlorine doses added each evening will do the trick, once you get the doses high enough.


You have to be very persistent.
But this IS completely necessary.



BUT... Get your algae under control before you do anything else. Any effort and money spent otherwise right now would be a waste.
Absolutely correct -- unless you have very low pH that could damage your pool, or very high pH that could interfere with killing algae. Then you need to do both at the same time.

[rkrgk]

As jwhouse notes below, you need to get the algae resolved first. You may not have a lot of choice about CYA levels, unless you drain and refill. 1. Test the water. 2. Kill the algae. 3. Fix any other URGENT chemistry issues. 4. THEN worry about ideal CYA levels.


Definitely, I am talking about the case when my pool is clear off any Algae. And in my case I have very low CYA (<30ppm) and thats the reason I suspected that all the chlorine is gone by evening even though I add about close to 20 ppm (at a minimum) each night. Even though I can not confirm with certainty how much I loose during the night, I think i dont loose more than 1ppm since last few days.

Before a month or so, I had good CYA levels (60-80ppm if I remember correctly). I was using trichlor tabs as well. I would think it added some CYA on top of what I already had. Not sure where all the CYA disappeared suddenly. Even though I backwashed few times during this process hard to believe it disappeared that way.

About the cloudiness in my pool, I have a high CH, which can also cause cloudiness I assume? Due to Calcium Carbonate? Apart from the dead Algae (if thats not already filtered out still)?

BTW, I got the taylor test kit, but didnt test yet. Will give the results once I am home from work.

Thanks again for helping me out. This site is really cool. Lots of useful info.

[aylad]

Before a month or so, I had good CYA levels (60-80ppm if I remember correctly). I was using trichlor tabs as well. I would think it added some CYA on top of what I already had. Not sure where all the CYA disappeared suddenly. Even though I backwashed few times during this process hard to believe it disappeared that way.



It doesn't take very long for an algae outbreak to break down your CYA, and if you've been fighting it for this long, that's probably where your CYA went. If that's the case, one of the frequent byproducts of that process is ammonia, which creates a HUGE chlorine demand in the pool until it's broken down by the chlorine. Measuring your Cl at night and again in the morning will tell you a lot more about what's going on in your pool, because if you're still losing chlorine overnight, it's due to the water, not the sun.

High CH can cause cloudiness in the pool, especially with high pH and high TA, although my money is on dead algae that hasn't been filtered out....

[rkrgk]

Ok, So finally I got to test with the new Taylor kit. Here is the result
FC - 0.8 ppm
CC - 3.4 ppm
pH - 7.3
TA - 80 ppm
CH - 400 ppm
CYA - too low to show in test

I also need to change my signature to show that mine is an in ground pool.

[PoolDoc]

-- Signature updated --

+ Shock nightly with 3 gallons of PLAIN 6% bleach (~12 ppm)
+ Dose daily with 1 lb of dichlor (5 ppm FC, 4 ppm CYA)
+ Continue with bleach until FC overnight drop is less than 1 ppm
+ Continue with dichlor until CYA > 30 ppm
+ Use borax as needed to maintain pH > 7.2

Ben

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


+ If you need stabilizer, and have access to a Sams Club, buy their 24 pack of 1# bags of dichlor shock (www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=108822). Each bag will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer, per 10K gallons of water. Otherwise, order dichlor from Amazon:
Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0030BEHZA/poolbooks)We do NOT recommend buying dichlor locally, otherwise, at least until you are an EXPERT reader of chemical labels. The chlorinating pool chemicals sold at Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and most other local stores are diluted blends, sometimes with copper and other products with bad side-effects.

[rkrgk]

-- Signature updated --

+ Shock nightly with 3 gallons of PLAIN 6% bleach (~12 ppm)
+ Dose daily with 1 lb of dichlor (5 ppm FC, 4 ppm CYA)
+ Continue with bleach until FC overnight drop is less than 1 ppm
+ Continue with dichlor until CYA > 30 ppm
+ Use borax as needed to maintain pH > 7.2

Ben


I dont have sams club membership, and I would like to buy dichlor locally unless its impossible find the good one locally. Amazon orders takes a week to receive. What do you think about the pooltime dichlor sold by home depot? Are they bad as well? I do have some trichlor tabs from Costco, can I use them? That is 94.5% trichlor and nothing on the label (atleast) about Copper or any other fillings.
Or else how about buying some cyanuric acid as it is?

[Watermom]

If you join Amazon Prime for their trial period, you get free 2-day shipping. If you decide you don't want to keep the Amazon Prime, you can cancel before 30 days have passed and owe nothing. Just a thought. (I joined it and sometimes when I order stuff it doesn't even take two days. Several times now I have ordered one day and gotten delivery the next.)

Using trichlor takes awhile to build up a CYA level so is not an ideal way to add CYA initially. You can just use bleach and add CYA outright if you want to. That is what I always do. I'm not familiar with the Home Depot pool products so can't comment on them.

[PoolDoc]

Most of PoolTime dichlor products I've checked are a blended mess, made by BioLab/BioGuard. Not all the blends are equally bad, so try it if you like. If you get lucky, you won't do any damage to your water.

[rkrgk]

So I tested pool before adding bleach tonight and 1 hr after adding.
Before adding bleach
-----------------------
FC - 0.2
CC - 1.8

1 hr after adding 4.26 Gallons of bleach
-------------------------
FC - 9.5
CC - 2.0

But I think the math doesnt add up. 4.26 Gal of 6% bleach for 15K Gallons should add it upto ~24 ppm, correct? I think my pool is bigger than I thought. I think my pool could be 25K Gallons (which would make it approx 10ppm). I never got our pool info when we bought our house, I just assumed that it is just 15K.
I will post the results in the morning after I test again to see the loss of FC.

Thanks for the suggestions watermom and Ben. I have not bought the cya yet.

[PoolDoc]

But I think the math doesn't add up. 4.26 Gal of 6% bleach for 15K Gallons should add it up to ~24 ppm, correct? I think my pool is bigger than I thought. I think my pool could be 25K Gallons (which would make it approx 10ppm). I never got our pool info when we bought our house, I just assumed that it is just 15K.

PF = 8; 6% bleach contains ~0.5 chlorine gas equiv per gallon, so:

8 x 0.5 x 4.26 = 17 ppm

To calculate a kidney with fair accuracy, you need to following dimensions:


+ Maximum length
+ Minimum width
+ Small circle diameter (a kidney is usually laid out with 2 radius dimension)
+ Large circle diameter
+ Shallow end WATER depth
+ Deep end MAXIMUM water depth
+ Distance from extreme shallow end to break, along the max length axis.
+ Shape of deep end (straight down, bowl, angled hopper)
+ Which end is deep (small circle or large circle)

You can also measure it by adding 4 lbs of dichlor 55% available chlorine . . . AFTER your chlorine demand is gone . . . . and then testing both FC and CYA. But for now, you know your pool has a strong chlorine demand, and you don't know is causing the demand, so you can't estimate how fast you'll lose chlorine. It's entirely possible that you DID add 17 ppm of chlorine to your pool, but that 8 ppm was used up before you could test.

[rkrgk]

Ben,

Very good info, Thanks a ton! I think I need to get the measurements sometime when I can.

I did the test this morning
FC - 4.0
CC - 2.0

So my Chlorine is working on something still, I think my brushing was not as good as last week and I can see brownish/greenish residues on the walls and the side of the pool when I brushed yesterday. I have the whole weekend ahead of me, so hoping to have a clear pool by the end of it.

[jwhouse]

You're definitely getting there. Just keep that FC level up and with vigilance you will overcome the algae infestation. Can't say it enough though, keep that FREE CHLORINE level at shock levels as long as you can without letting it dip down toward the minimum CL levels for your pool. I believe your levels would be a shock level of 12 and a minimum of 2.
The longer your FC levels are below the shock level and the lower below that you allow it to go will determine how long/expensive getting rid of the algae will be.

[rkrgk]

Thanks Jwhouse.
So I added 4.26Gal of bleach again yesterday. I tested before adding the bleach and my FC was 0 (remember I had 4.0 ppm in the morning). CC was 1.0ppm
After adding Bleach and brushing
-------------------------------------
FC - 14
CC - 1.5
Tested this morning, I took only at 7:15 am, so sun was up for few minutes, but pool is at the north side of my house
------------------------
FC - 9
CC - 1

BTW, is CYA difficult to dissolve. I see mentions in posts about using a sock to put in front of the return?

[Watermom]

Keep hammering it with bleach and yes, you can put CYA in a sock in front of a return. If you squeeze the sock occasionally, it will dissolve faster.

[rkrgk]

Thanks Watermom! I will do that.
And checked the Cl level again (11:30 am) , its depleting very fast in sun.
FC - 3.0 (was 9.0 at 7:30 am)
CC - 1.0

[rkrgk]

I am not really sure what it is, but I am a bit freaked out about it now..
I was running my hands on the pool walls, and I can feel graininess. Its like when I run my fingers some small grainy/sandy substance comes out. When I look closely I can see white granules coming out of the wall as I run my fingers.
What is it? Is it calcification? or is it that some substance is corroding the walls and what is coming out is part of concrete?
There is also powdery substance at the bottom of the pool and the pool steps and when I brush they just come out and make the pool cloudier.

[Charlie_R]

I would think you would need to check your pH and Calcium hardness. It MIGHT be your plaster eroding. But I don't know.

[rkrgk]

My pH is 7.3 and CH - 400 (I tested 3 days ago). Can it be the plaster eroding?

[rkrgk]

Ok, I did some more checking, and seems like there is a layer of white powdery substance on top of the decorative tiles as well (which lines the top edge of the pool walls). It comes off if I scrub bit hard. That makes me think it could be calcification? Can 400ppm of hardness cause calcification?