Must be doing something major wrong

[karenkr]

I must be the royal dummy of all dummies--I read and read and still dont get it right. This past week I have put in over 40 gallons of bleach and still have green algae. The last 2 nights I have put in 15 gallons of ultra bleach and still green. Just tested using drop kit from walmarts.
Chlorine: had to dilute pool water with distilled water at ratio of 2/1 reading then showed 5/10
Ph: 7.5
TA: 170
CYA: 100
Pool size is about 32,000 gallons (not 50,000) like my pool guy told me.

Should I drain and start over???? Maybe drain 1/2 of water (getting a pump tomorrow) If drain 1/2 how much bleach to start ? Bought 40 gallons today--all walmart had!!!! What else should I add (if anything) if I do drain.

Any and All suggestions will be appreciated. Grandson wanted to have pool party this next week-end but afraid to plan. He is 10 and his baseball team won 2nd place this year so we wanted to have the celebration party here.

THANKS in advance
Karen

[aylad]

If your CYA is 100, then a Cl of 10 isn't nearly high enough to kill an algae bloom. With CYA that high, I would drain and refill as much as you can (make sure you don't drain too much at a time, to keep your pool from floating). Once refilled, measure your CYA, then see the "Best Guess" table at the top of this forum to see how high you need to keep your chlorine to kill the algae. If you start tomorrow, you probably can have it cleared up by the weekend, but it's going to take adding bleach 2-3 times daily, daily brushing, and filtering 24/7 until it's cleared up.

Janet

[CarlD]

You need a proper way to test for chlorine--and you need it ASAP.
I suggest you go online to Leslie's or Taylor and order a FAS-DPD chlorine test kit, or a full service test kit that uses FAS-DPD for testing--Both have just the chlorine test, but you can also get a full kit likea Taylor 2006 kit or a Leslie's "Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit" and have it drop-shipped for overnight delivery.

This will allow you to accurately measure Free Chlorine and Combined Chloramines separately, and measure each up to 50ppm.

[karenkr]

Will drain 1/2 pool tomorrow. still confused though---to many numbers running through my head. Say my cya is 90 by the bleach calc, in order to shock I need to add almost 11 gallons? Is this correct? If so I think I might be getting it DUH!!!!

How do I order one of those test kits. Do they have them at pool stores?

Again thanks for your patience and help
Karen

[karenkr]

Forgot to add we run our filter 24/7. Also where is the best place to add chlorine--in the skimmer or distibute throughout pool?

Karen

[Dr. Spike]

Hang in there Karen! You will beat this! I have seen it many times on here, how it looked so hopeless but with the support of the forum, the algae lost.

Some pool stores will carry the Chlorine FAS-DPD Kit. Not many in my neck of the woods do, some can order it. I think you best bet to get one fast is to do what Carl suggested and order one on-line and have it shipped overnight. I can send you some links to on-line retailers that I have dealt with if you like.

I add the bleach to the skimmer. From what I have read here that is how a lot of people add it. You should be fine adding it by the return or spread it around the deep end. Do not add to the skimmer if you have or have had pucks in your skimmer.

With a CYA of 100 you need to shock to and hold a level of 25 PPM according to Ben's best guess chart. You will need to add bleach several times a day to keep the levels up.

Running the filter 24/7 is a good thing. Keep brushing, brushing and brushing.

With a CYA of 100, to get to 25 PPM from 0 PPM in a 32,000 gal pool you will need 13.3 Gal of ultra bleach (6%).
If you are at a CYA of 90, get to 20 PPM from 0 PPM with 10.7 gal of ultra bleach (6%).

Yes you are getting it. :)

GOOD LUCK! AND KEEP WITH IT!

[karenkr]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Needed that.

Please do send the links as to where I can order the test I need. Which one is best or are they both about the same?

Thanks again
Karen

[Dr. Spike]

Karen,

You are welcome!

Check your PM.

[karenkr]

Thanks

Will check them out tomorrow

Karen

[CarlD]

Karen:
The Leslie's kit and the Taylor kits I mentioned are chemically the same--Taylor MAKES Leslies' kits for them.

Ben's kit, the PS-234 is basically the same, and I believe it's chemically the same (the PS-233 certainly is). Ben gives you better instructions, more refills, a log to record stuff, and leaves out the useless acid demand and base demand tests. But you need this RIGHT NOW and he can't get it to you that fast. So plan B) is the Taylor or Leslie's kit.

[newpoo]

Karen , I too am new to the bbb method. recently I had a small problem with not being able to hold cl levels. I added gallons of bleach to my pool everyday, and my pool looked better than i've ever seen it. But I continued to get patches of green algae around my walls across from my return jets . I knew I was fighting something so I kept adding the bleach to shock levels. Then it came to me, I have not cleaned my filter in almost two weeks while trying to fight this thing.So I turned off my pump and gave the filter a good cleaning . Needless to say I have not seen algae in my pool in two weeks. My wife can't believe how crystal clear the water is. I know this post is hidden but I want to thank you guys and gals who provide so much info for some of us new people.

[cheshamjim]

After 5 years of struggling with my pool and the pool store who built it for me, I discovered this web sight just this past June.

My most serious problems occured this year, starting with algae coated walls when it was opened in April, and lots of trips to and money spent at the pool store. My water was cloudy and green. Then I discovered the BBB method.

What I didn't understand about shocking to clarify a pool was that the shock levels have to be maintained until the water clears. I would add some of the granulated stuff from the pool store and wait for the water to clear. Each application of this stuff (known as dichloro) probably did something (besides bumping my CYA), but my chorine would drift back down, consumed by the nasty things that were in the water, and I didn't keep adding in a timely way to maintain the chlorine content at a shock level.

I've since learned. My pool has high CYA readings, so I had to maintain the chlorine level at 25 ppm and this took lots of Chlorox. (Sorry to keep harping on the word "maintain," but, like I said, its what I didn't understand.)

My pool cleared after several days of this regimen and it sparkles now. You'd think I had a DE filter (I don't).

Patience and persistence. Its worth it.

-Jim