mess after vacation

[Fiveattripp]

We have a 23,500 gal in ground vinyl pool, Chlorine
WOW...its been two weeks now and I still don't have it fixed. I left the pump on low while we were gone for a week and it was a mess when we returned...cloudy, yellowish, couldn't see bottom in 8' end, chlorine dropped to 0. We got a good bit of rain and I guess the water was pretty warm too. Anyway....After shocking it was still quite a mess. Chlorine level is good now, but I am fighting with the PH and Alkalinity. The alkalinity was at 200...after aerating with the jets for 2 weeks it is down to 150. During that 2 weeks I added 32 oz of algae treatment because it looks like there might be algae in the water, though there is none on the walls. The PH was up so I have gradually been adding acid to bring it down. It was 7.8 today and I added about a pint of acid. I will check it again in a while. All that being said....I have a PH of 7.8 and Alkalinity of 150. I can see the bottom, but it is still cloudy and the color is not pretty blue like it should be. Any help appreciated.

[Watermom]

We will need a full set of current water testing results to be able to help. Test strips don't count. Hopefully you have a Taylor K2006 kit (the one we think everyone should have). If not, you should do yourself a favor and get one. You won't be able to find it locally but can get it through this link:> http://pool9.net/tk/

Don't add any more algae treatment. Typically, they hurt more than they help.

What kind of filter do you have?

[Fiveattripp]

I just have the generic test kit from home depot. I guess I need to order the other. We have a sand filter...triton II. I'm good as long as it's pretty, but when it isn't it drives me CRAZY! I didn't know that about the algae treatment...how do you get rid of it if you have it?

[Watermom]

Nothing you can really do about the algaecide.

What all can your kit test? Is it an OTO/Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops)?

[Fiveattripp]

Chlorine, yellow; PH, red; blue for alkalinity, clear for counting drops acid demand; and a bottle for chlorine neutralizer

[Watermom]

We really need to know your CYA level. How much chlorine is needed in a pool is based on that reading. (More about the CYA/Chlorine relationship can be found here:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/ )If you can order the kit I mentioned above, it will help you clear it up much more easily and also make normal routine maintenance easier as well.

In the meantime, try and keep your chlorine at around 15ppm. (In reality, 15ppm may not actually be high enough to kill the algae and clear it up but without knowing your CYA, it is as high as I can recommend for now.) Your OTO kit won't read chlorine levels that high but you can use the chart at this link to get approximate readings of off the scale colors:> http://pool9.net/oto-chart/

In a pool this size, each of the 121-oz jugs of Walmart's generic 8.25% bleach will add about 3 ppm of chlorine. Each evening when you test, add enough bleach to get the chlorine back up to around 15ppm.

Run the pump while you are trying to clear this up and backwash the filter as needed.

[Fiveattripp]

Taylor k2006 kit is on the way. In the mean time I will try to get the chlorine up to the level you suggested. Will be back in touch ....thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[Watermom]

You are welcome. Keep us posted how things are going. Good decision to order the kit. Here are some testing demo videos that may be helpful:> http://pool9.net/K2006-vid/

[Fiveattripp]

Got my kit....now I have to read and make sure I test correctly. I did test the CYA and I believe it is 30 ppm, the Alkalinity is 140, the PH is 7.6, Not sure I did the chlorine correctly. Free Chlorine .24 and combined .48 . Does that sound correct? I might need to redo that tomorrow. The pool is 23,000 gal. Sand filter. 3 ft. to 8 ft. The water looks much better, but is still a little yellowish. Not pretty blue like it should be.

[FormerBromineUser]

Nope on the chlorine testing. Did you use the 25ml sample? If so, you multiply the number of drops by 0.2. I think you might have multiplied by 0.02. If so, your results would be FC 2.4 and CC 4.8. Did you watch the testing videos that WaterMom suggested?

Next time, use a 10ml sample and multiply the number of drops by 0.5.

In the meantime, do you have bleach and muriatic acid (MA) on hand? If so, what is the concentration of each?

[Fiveattripp]

Just rechecked chlorine. The free chlorine is 7 ppm and the combined is 1.5ppm. I added about a half gallon of Walmart bleach this morning...yields 7.86% chlorine. I don't have any muratic acid but will pick some up. What should those chlorine levels be?

[Watermom]

Your current chlorine is 7.86%? How did you get that? Chlorine levels are measured in ppm (parts per million).

With a CYA of around 30, aim to keep your chlorine around 15ppm until you meet three criteria:

1) You lose no more than 1ppm of FC from sundown one evening to within one hour of sunrise the next morning
2) You have no higher than 0.5ppm of CC
3) You have no signs of algae

Don't worry about buying muriatic acid at this point. You don't currently need it. Your pH is fine at 7.6.

[FormerBromineUser]

Agree totally with starting above recomendations asap! I was also thinking that perhaps a slightly lower pH might help increase effectiveness of FC. What do you think, WaterMom?

[Fiveattripp]

Oh sorry... That chlorine is from the bleach that I added not my chlorine level. I will add more bleach and get the chlorine up and watch those three things. Thanks so much. It is looking so much better.

[Watermom]

Agree totally with starting above recomendations asap! I was also thinking that perhaps a slightly lower pH might help increase effectiveness of FC. What do you think, WaterMom?
The pH will be just fine where it is. Unless pH is at an extreme or if you are trying to lower TA, it is typically best just to leave it alone.

[Watermom]

Oh sorry... That chlorine is from the bleach that I added not my chlorine level. I will add more bleach and get the chlorine up and watch those three things. Thanks so much. It is looking so much better.
Glad it is looking better. Continue to keep the chlorine high and run your pump24/7 while you are working to clear this up and clean the filter as needed.

[Fiveattripp]

Going back to chemistry....thanks for the refresher! Such good info on the forum. I believe we are ok now, but wanted to run these numbers by you. FC 3.5ppm, CC 1.5ppm, TC 5, PH 7.4, ALK 130, CAL 250, CYA 35. I know we don't need to worry about the calcium, but I'm not sure about the chlorine. I think it is fine...a little on the high side now, which is fine...we aren't swimming now and the algea is gone, water is clear. Thank you!!!!

[Watermom]

Actually, your CC is way too high. Ideally, you want it to be 0 or at least no higher than 0.5ppm. When it is higher than that, you need to shock the pool to get rid of it. This chart shows needed shock level which is based on your CYA level. (http://pool9.net/cl-cya/) So, with a CYA of 35, your shock level is 15ppm. You want to keep the chlorine at shock level until you meet the 3 criteria which are listed in post #12 above.

[Fiveattripp]

Ok...still trying to understand:/ how much bleach will it take to bring the chlorine up that much? I will add a gallon now.

[CarlD]

One 121 ounce bottle of 8.25% bleach will add 3.4ppm of chlorine to your 23,000 gallon pool.

[Watermom]

Not sure how the thread got closed, but I re-opened it.