Opened to a slimy pool:(

[freddyttt]

solid cover inground about 12,000 gallons vinyl lined. DE filter.

pool oped with slimy walls and a tad green.leaves and sticks on the bollom.

numbers-

PH 7.0
FC 1.5
TA 110
CYA 40


I added DE to the filter and 1 full gallon of bleach which turned the pool more clear.

any thoughts on where to go next.

thanks-

[Watermom]

Try to scoop out as much of the organic material as you can. Try to test the chlorine level 3 times a day while it is green and each time, add enough bleach to bring it back up to shock level. Keep it at this high cl level until your chlorine is holding overnight, and then for an extra day or so. Also, run your pump 24/7 while trying to clear the pool. Your ph is also a little low. Add some Borax and bump it up to around 7.4 or so. TA and CYA look good.

[freddyttt]

Thanks.. how about the slim on the walls. should i brush the side walls or wait.?


thanks-

[CarlD]

You need to follow the rules for pool clean up--they are listed in one of the stickied posts in the various forums here.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the DE right now--there is SO much material you need to clean out that you'll be backwashing excessively--when the pool is clean but not crystal clear, then use the DE to give your water that "polished" clarity.

1) You need to keep your FC at shock level--for CYA=40 that means 15 ppm.
2) You need to brush your pool floor and walls once a day. If you don't have a brush the Leslie's Whale brush is a really good one, but any brush will do. However, if you have a vinyl pool do not, Not, NOT use a metal wire brush. Brushing knocks the algae loose making it easier to vacuum out and filter out.
3) You need to vacuum to waste once a day--get that gunk out of there and you don't want to clog up the sand in your filter with it. As Watermom tells you, get as much of the leaves and other large organic mass out as you can.
4) Use my favorite ingredient: P.O.P.P.--that means Pool Owner Patience and Persistence!

[freddyttt]

Thanks-great plan.one more question. should i keep it at shock level with strait bleach or pool shock.

thanks-

[CarlD]

Thanks-great plan.one more question. should i keep it at shock level with strait bleach or pool shock.

thanks-


It's never WRONG to use bleach or Liquid Chlorine (Same as bleach only sometimes as strong as 12%).

"Pool Shock" can be anything, because "Shock" is a verb, not a noun, even though pool chem companies use it as one.

What's in the shock? It can be non-chlorine. Do NOT use this! It won't work with chlorine and will make things worse. It can be cal-hypo, which if your cal level isn't high is OK. It can be di-chlor, but this will raise your CYA and mildly lower your pH. It could be Tri-chlor but that will raise your CYA a lot and really push pH down. Or it can be the lithium-based chlorine--but this stuff costs more than gold dust and it's not really clear what its side effects are

[Poconos]

Use plain bleach. I actually use a combination of pucks, cal-hypo, and bleach but keep an eye on CYA and Calcium Hardness and use the CH and pucks as appropriate. CH isn't an issue with a vinyl pool but I use the cal-hypo for convenience and just make sure the hardness doesn't get high. My pool got away from me this year as we had a few warm days and I was out of town. One of my friends used the words disgusting swamp and cesspool. I do brush with the vacuum brush but also can hook the hose to a return line and put it in blow mode. That kicks up algae and dead stuff in places you can't easily or safely brush. The filter then does the rest. Took 5 days to get it clear again.
Al

[freddyttt]

Thanks-


update-

got most of the organic material out of the pool-
a lot what i thought was organic material turned out to be some sort of algea(slimy)walls and floor. vacumed some up through waste and brushed the rest. added a full gallon of bleach and will test in a bit. also added some 20 mule to bring my PH up.

now, why and how did this happen. what did i do wrong at close up? remember i do have a solid cover-

thanks-

[freddyttt]

New testing done-

PH 7.2
FC 1 ppm (confused to why this has not gone up)?
Combined Cl. 3.4

iv added about 2 gallons of cl. throughout the day. also backwashed a few times as my filter started ton read over 20(pressure)
also, backwashing although lowers the pressure slightly it does rise quick over 20 soon after.?((normal around 12))


please advise.

thanks-


( I need more Taylor Replacement Reagents )
(is there a forum sponsor)?

[docsobeck]

the reason your FC is staying low is that you're adding bleach a gallon at a time. that's not even close to what you need for initial shocking of a pool that size with algae. i opened yesterday to the same sight, and i put in ten gallons last night, and it wasn't nearly enough. (18,000 gallon IG) i still have some green today. tonight i plan to put in 15 gallons or so. a very simple rule of thumb that i've used with pretty good success is shock at night and if your FC is down well below shock level the next morning, say around 1.5 PPM, shock again that night with 1.5 times as much as you used the night before. you have to keep shocking until the FC is close to shock level in the morning - if not, it means there's still a lot of living stuff in there using up the FC.

[freddyttt]

Thanks-

just added 7.1 gallons and did a full wipe down.
ill test Tuesday AM.

(11,000 gallon pool)


now the 7.1 gallons turned my pool green looking. i moved it around with my brush but should i be concerned about my liner bleaching? or staining?

thanks-

[docsobeck]

i'd be very mildly concerned about putting that concentration in a perfectly clean and stable pool, but if it's still green, probably at least half of it will get eaten up pretty quickly. i bet your FC is less than 10 in the AM, and probably less than 5.

[freddyttt]

reading of 4 this AM;)

added another 5 gallons this AM and just re-tested. iv got zero FC now:confused: can this be possible? thats almost 13 gallons in 24hrs and its gone:eek:

Help.:(

quick and important question. my DE filter PSI seems to spike with-in 24hrs of a full finger cleaning. 12-14 PSI to almost 30PSI. at this point it barley is able to suck enough water to keep the basket filled.

can this be caused by the algae dying off? i usually brush the walls and floor down after adding the bleach.

also backwashing does no good. ill take it apart and clean the fingers down.

[DanS]

Last year, I had a layer of green slime on my 20,000 gallon concrete pool. I added about 9 gallons of bleach. I backwashed about every hour or two, probably about 4 or 5 times. You need to backwash a lot to physically remove what is left of the slime after the chlorine works on it. After all of the backwashing, my pool was good to go.

[CarlD]

Yes this is very possible. You are fighting a full-blown algae bloom and it's going to take a lot of chlorine--there's no magic cure. You want to get your FC up to shock level (I think I said yours is 15 ) and keep it there. You need to check your water 2x to 3x a day and RAISE THE CHLORINE whenever it's low. If you can, get 5 gallon carboys (blue) of 12% liquid chlorine, spend the $5 on a nozzle for them (looks like a screw-on wine keg spout) so you can add a lot at a time. 1 five gallon carboy is the equiv of 10 gallons of Ultra bleach.

You don't need to worry about your liner bleaching--all the chlorine is going to go to kill organics--that's why it turned green.

good luck and prepare to fight it out!

[freddyttt]

Ok im now winning;)

woke up to a clear pool with a FC level of 10.:p


ill hit it again later today.

thanks and ill keep you posted.

[CarlD]

Good Job!

Our techniques work, time and time again. Nothing magical about it!

[freddyttt]

Is it possible i now have a FC level of 45? i cant retest as iv run out of drops(more on the way)

is this bad? should i run the filter and let it lower itself?


pools clear?

thnaks-

[CarlD]

45 is not good if you have a vinyl pool, even if your CYA is over 100. It might bleach your liner, if the measure is correct.

Try mixing 1/4 cup of pool water with 3/4 c of distilled water (Steam distilled is sold at most supermarkets and it's cheap) and see if you get around 10ppm

You may want to leave it open to the sun, or drain some water and add some.

But mostly you need to start by confirming that number.

It WILL come down if you just leave it open to the sun. There is a chlorine neutralizer available (It's in the PS232 to PS234 and TFP test kits, but just a few drops), but I don't know about its usage in pools.

[freddyttt]

Hello. my FC is down to 12 maybe-

as im waiting for my Taylor drops i stopped by the local poo store and picked up this-

OTO 394 CHLORINE TEST BROMINE TEST. the pool store said it is for the free chlorine test and is the same as the taylor test.

is that true?

[CarlD]

Close enough for government work!

OTO doesn't really measure over 5ppm unless you use the "patented CarlD Shotglass Method" :D (do a search on PF for it).

We all use the FAS-DPD method of measuring which goes to at least 50, some say 100ppm.