Newbie here, First Post

[awfletch]

Hello All,
I live in North Carolina and i have a 13,500 Gallon above ground pool. I Have maintained it the first two seasons on my own with a minimum of problems and I knew alot less then than I do now. Last season, even with the help of the Pool Stores, I fought with it all season. This year I opened it up in April and was able to clear up the green within just about 3 days of not working that hard at it. However, since April, once the algae was killed and I had all this white cloudiness from the dead algae, I have worked from mid April until now and it is early June and I have still not gotten rid of this white haze. I have kept my ph, alkalinity, and free chlorine in the appropriate levels, have used both floculant followed up by vaccuming and clarifier at different times, neither of which worked. The pool store keeps selling me shock to try to oxidize this dead algae. Then tells me to flock and vaccuum. I vaccuumed twice last week then it rained, which depleted my CYA. Therefore my FC fell below normal and my CC went up to .8 then the pool store sold me the recommended amount of shock to get rid of the CC but instead, it went up to 1.1. They are now recommending 25lbs of calcium Hypochlorite to fix the problem. This year my experience has been that each time I get advice from them the problem only compounds. So I have readjusted my levels as follows and went on the search for new advise. These levels come from a brand new package of color matching sticks so i cant give exact numbers

total hardness: just over 250
PH 7.2 - 7.4
Alkalinity about 100
CYa 60 - 80

The last pool store analysis today said my CC was 1.1 I havent adjusted chlorine yet. I was looking for the best course of action, keeping in mind I cannot get this white haze to oxidize either.

[PoolDoc]

In general, you cannot "oxidize" dead algae -- you have to filter it out. But, AG pools typically have oversize pumps and undersized filters, resulting in the problems you describe. Large doses of cal hypo tend to add calcium carbonate cloudiness, making the problem even worse.

AND, repeated use of clarifiers and flocs actually work in reverse, holding the particles in the water.

So . . .

1. Verify that your filter is performing well -- replace the cartridge or supplement the media, depending on the filter type.

2. If your pump is oversized, install a valve to allow you to SLOW the flow, when you are trying to filter fine particles

(Post your EXACT filter and pump info, to allow folks to offer more specific advice!)
3. Get a K2006 kit, so you can AVOID future problems, and possibly RESOLVE your present problems more quickly. Test strips, even when brand new and read by computers are not very accurate and are TERRIBLE at CYA measurements. (Amazon link in my signature.)

4. STOP using flocs, clarifiers and so on. After the first dose, you are likely making things WORSE, not better.

[awfletch]

Im sorry, my filter is a Hayward S166T sand filter and the pump is a power-flo LX 1HP 60gpm. Also, any suggestions on the route to go on getting that CC down so I can start keeping FC in the pool? I have heard of people using plain unscented bleach because it doesnt have any by products like cal-hypo, trichlor or dichlor. If that is the route to go, what would be the break point for a 13,500 pool? or where do I find that calculation?

[BigDave]

I think Breakpoint Chlorination has become one of the many pool care myths that help pool stores realize latent revenue potential. It's simpler than that. Sunlight and shock level chlorine will eliminate the CC in time. It will take some time. Filtration will clear the cloud in time. Throwing more stuff in the pool will usually extend the time it takes.
You'll need a Taylor k-2006 test kit to figure out where you are and which direction to move. Also read the stickies on PoolForum and the info on PoolSolutions.com.

[PoolDoc]

1. Do not worry about breakpoint or CC; worry about chlorinating consistently.

2. Do not trust pool store (test strip) results; get a K2006 and find out what is REALLY in your pool. (Amazon link in my signature.)

3. All chlorine compounds -- including bleach -- add something else. Bleach adds more salt, which is fairly innocuous, making it the best choice when you really don't know what's in your pool. Dichlor may be the best choice, for a while, if your CYA is gone. Get a K2006 so we can all find out!

4. Double dose with bleach one evening, and then turn your pump off for 24 hours. (No swimming, either.) See if the stuff will settle. If it will vacuum to waste.

5. If it will NOT settle, install a valve on the line between the pump and the filter, and throttle the flow back. Sand filters will filter finer particles, at slower flow rates.

[awfletch]

Ok since i am only a few days into the forum I havent had a chance to get a taylor test kit but I just now picked up results from a pool store which uses Taylor WiseLab.
FC .2
CC 0
pH 7.5
TA 120
Cya 50

Only thing wrong is that I have had cloudy water and couldnt clear it, so i backwashed out a bunch of water and added more to get some levels down before today. Then lost my chlorine and when i shocked it, it had CC. so i took away all chlorine and let the sun have at it for a day. CC is gone and now i need to start chlorinating. Since my water had been cloudy and my calcium had been climbing till the water dumb i want to switch from cal-hypo to bleach. I would like to know how to convert how much I need to use.

[Watermom]

If you use 6% bleach, each quart will add 1ppm of chlorine. If you use 8.25%, each quart will add 1.5ppm of chlorine. Since you water is cloudy and since you let it drop to zero, you will need to shock your pool. With a CYA of 50, your shock level is 15ppm so add enough bleach to take your chlorine that high. After you shock the pool, let the pump run for a few hours and then turn it off per Ben's instructions above.

[awfletch]

I actually put in 6 gallons which should have raised my FC to 24. I waited an hour and a half to test for chlorine. I now have a chlorine reading of 1 and I am showing traces of CC. I don't know how that is possible in such a short period of time. Should I add another 6 gallons

[Watermom]

What kind of test kit did you use to test the chlorine after you added the 6 gallons of bleach?

[awfletch]

I actually tested it two ways. Since I am new to this forum I don't yet have a Taylor Test Kit but will be ordering one on Friday. With that being said, The chlorine test after shocking with aquachem 6 way test strips showed FC at 1 and CC at 2. I then tested with a Test Kit that I got when the pool was installed July 2010. It is a JED Pool Tools Model 480 2way test kit that uses orthotolidine to test chlorine and phenol red to test ph. this kit only goes up to 4 on chlorine but it showed every bit of 4. So I researched the shelf life of orthotolidine and it says the shelf life is 3 years. So this test is possibly correct. Should I just trust that adding 6 Gallons brought my FC to 24PPM using the best guess chart and my current CYA level? I am ordering a better test kit Friday. I have 6 more gallons of chlorine waiting to go in as needed.

[Watermom]

Try this:

Testing Without a Good Kit (http://poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html )

[awfletch]

Using this 2way drop kit. Its supposed to take 4 drops of orthotolidine to register a color match at normal chlorine levels, so I got the smart Idea to only add one drop since my FC technically should be over 16 and only one drop color matched a 4. Does this mean that my FC is really reading well above 16? Or am I doing things with that test kit that it isn't designed to do?

[Watermom]

I'm not sure about your testing method. Get some distilled water and try the dilution method I mentioned in the link above. (Can't use tap water.)