What am I doing wrong?

[Triciab007]

I have an intex, 16 foot round, 48 inch pool.

Since the heat of the summer kicked in 90+ for over 50 some days, i have literally been at wits end. This is my 2nd year with this pool. Opened it, had it filled. Cloudy water. Finally after many tests and perfect levels we go to pool store for the umpteenth time, to find out our tds count was too high. Partially drained and refilled in beginning of June.

Then came heat, drought, etc. i was able to keep the pool levels in range, however i was adding liquid chlorine daily. 2 days I went without chlorine, now my pool is green and cloudy. (for 3 weeks). I have shocked it, tried recently the otc household bleach 6% at 2 (128 oz) containers with no avail 3 days ago. My ph is at 7.6-7.8 range. Chlorine and ph are being tested by hth drops. Chlorine this morning was 5-10 range. after adding 1 more jug of otc bleach this am, I brushed and vacuumed walls and bottom.

We are using 2 filters side by side (cartridge filters), to possibly filter out what is algae i assume. I have seen no results the entire time! My chlorine level stays high, so why isnt it killing it? Thanks in advance for your help. My 2 yr old has a bday party on sept 1, hopefully it will still be a pool party!

[Triciab007]

Hi there, just wanted to let you know that after adding 2 lbs of hth super shock my pool is mint green this morning. My ph is now 8.2 and chlorine is off scale with a orange. What now? I am rinsing both filters, do I sweep and brush? Do i need to add another lb of shock since its supposed to be 90 today and tomorrow?

[PoolDoc]

16' round w/ water depth of 3.5 feet will have about 5,200 gallons, or a PF of 24. That means a gallon of PLAIN 6% bleach should add about 12 ppm of chlorine to YOUR pool.

Do this, for now:

1. Add TWO gallons of PLAIN 6% (chk the %) bleach each evening till we say different OR until the algae has all be dead for 2 days.
2. BRUSH the pool after the 2nd dose of bleach. Add ANOTHER gallon after brushing.
3. Complete the pool chart:

Pool Chart Entry Form (http://goo.gl/cNPUO)
4. Get a testkit -- info below.

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

[PoolDoc]

Just saw your latest post. Do NOT test pH; it will NOT read accurately at an 'ORANGE' OTO level. You've got an OTO kit, so you can ignore that bit in the post above.

Otherwise, the prescription still applies, EXCEPT that you can do the dose, brush, re-dose TODAY instead of tomorrow evening, since you added the shock.

[Triciab007]

Couple questions... At one point it says to add 2 gallons bleach, then another after brushing. So I am adding 3 gallons of bleach nightly? Also your post says 3.5 ft, my pool is 48" or 4 ft (not sure that matters?), but want to make sure dosage is accurate. I continue this nightly, till the pool is clear and blue or how do I know when the algae is gone? Alot of what I have read says to make sure ph is correct, how will I know if not by testing? Thanks so much for your help!

Tricia

[PoolDoc]

No, just add the extra bleach after the first time you brush. Sometimes, there's enough algae brushed up to 'eat' a LOT of chlorine, and if too much gets 'eaten', the algae may re-bloom. You do NOT want that to happen!

[Triciab007]

Okay, thank you. I will post pic in the AM and see how we go from there!

[Triciab007]

Okay, this morning the pool is blue, cloudy. Chlorine is deep orange, i know i was told not to check ph, but it shows 7.8, cya is 55. Whats next? Today is Day 2, i give 2 gallons this evening, brushing in between doses. Rinsing filters 3x a day. Anything else i'm missing? What do I need to prepare for once i get the okay to let Cl levels go down? Should I purchase an algaecide to add for preventative measures? Thanks again! Never thought this pool would turn blue again!
Tricia

[aylad]

No need for algaecides--you just need to keep the chlorine at appropriate levels for your CYA. With a CYA of 55, that means keeping it in the 5-10 ppm range at all times. Letting it get below 5 ppm for any length of time will give the algae a chance to come back. And as you can see, it's much easier to keep the levels up than it is to clean up the mess if you don't :)

[Triciab007]

Okay! Sounds great! And its fine to swim with it that high?

[PoolDoc]

Yes! Dermatologists prescribe "bleach baths" for even pediatric patients at levels 10x higher than that (and effectively, more like 100x higher, because the bleach bath water has no stabilizer)!

[aylad]

LOL, a common practice for us Southerners who live in the country is warm baths with a cup of bleach following any excursion into wooded or high grass/weed areas in order to kill off chiggers and release seed ticks. I don't know if you can even measure chlorine levels that high, but I promise that it exceeds 10 ppm!! :) ;)

[Triciab007]

:). So, from today on, i am to let my chlorine drop to 10 ppm, adjust ph back to 7.6, and continue sweeping and brushing till the cloudiness clears up?

[Triciab007]

Btw Aylad, we live in thick country with the ticks and chiggers, but havent heard of doing that! Will have to keep it in mind!

[PoolDoc]

:). So, from today on, i am to let my chlorine drop to 10 ppm, adjust ph back to 7.6, and continue sweeping and brushing till the cloudiness clears up?

Yes.


a common practice for us Southerners who live in the country is warm baths with a cup of bleach following any excursion into wooded or high grass/weed areas in order to kill off chiggers and release seed ticks.)

Well, I'm Southern, and WAY too familiar with ticks, but I hadn't heard that. We WILL be trying that!

BTW, a cup of bleach in a 40 gallon tub is about 100 ppm!

[Triciab007]

Okay, still blue and cloudy here. Chlorine is 10+, but more yellow than orange... Which i plan on maintaing, however ph has dropped now to 7.2, i'd ideally like it to be a little higher for flex room... How much borax should i add, and do i add it to the skimmer, or directly in pool?

[PoolDoc]

How is your pool doing, now?

[Triciab007]

Pool is looking great! Chlorine at 5-10, ph is 7.5, i can see the bottom of my pool again! It is blue, but still a little cloudy. So happy with the results! Thanks for all your help!

[PoolDoc]

glad to hear it. -ben