next step

[smileitsachoice]

First thanks for the great site and all your help. I have been on the BBB method for almost 2 weeks now. My first step was to drain about 10000 gallons out of my pool to lower my high cya. After refilling I shocked to 20 ppm. All I have added since then has been enough 6% bleach to keep TC at 7-8 ppm. I also added 120 lbs of solar salt after researching some old post to get a better water feel. My number have been very stable.
TC= 7-8 ppm
CC= 0 ppm
PH= 7.6-7.7
TA= 90-100
CYA= 60-70

My question is my water has never seemingly cleared up. When looking from the top in it looks clear, but looking inside with goggles on you could not see from one end to the other. With that in mind and with a seemingly larger than normal TC loss yesterday (about 4 ppm with almost no bather load) I shocked last night at about 7 pm to about 19.5 ppm. When testing this morning about 9 am my TC= 19 ppm CC = 0. So now my questions.

1. My PH was testing this morning =>7.8 and looked high by color. Does a high level of
TC affect PH testing.
2. With a TC of 19 to 20 ppm and a CYA of 60-70 when is it safe to swim. I did get in this
morning for just a minute to see if the water had cleared and it looked much better.
3. I have been running my pump 24/7 but was wanting to cut it back to 8 to 10 hours. Is
it ok to go ahead and reduce pump time after shocking last night.
4. Do I just need to let my TC drop down to the 8 ppm range. I figure it will probably
take a couple of days to get in that range.

Thanks for all your help my pool this morning looks better than it ever has. it has taken a couple of weeks of work but it's been worth it. I also order so Accucheck salt test strips. I would like to take my salt levels to about 1500 to 2000 ppm.

20*40 inground vinyl pool at 30000 gallons. Using 6% bleach, and a Taylor 2006 test kit.

[aylad]

1. A high chlorine level does have an effect on pH--it tends to read falsely high.
2. You could safely swim when the chlorine is 10 or lower, with a CYA that high, but I would wear old suits just in case of fading.
3. It really won't hurt anything to cut back your pump time, but won't help, either--remember that chlorine kills the stuff in the water but the pump/filter is what removes it. So if your water isn't the clarity you want, I would leave it on. After it clears up, then cut the run time back. One other comment there--even though you had less than 1 ppm chlorine loss overnight, you might consider keeping the pool at shock level for one additional day, just to make sure it's all killed off.
4. When you're finished shocking, just let it drift back down, but not below 5 ppm, ever. It probably won't take but a day or so to get it down to 10, and once kids are in the pool, it'll be less in no time!

Janet

[sturev]

Yes, high Chlorine will affect your test results. Here's a post about it: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=9833

[waterbear]

First thanks for the great site and all your help. I have been on the BBB method for almost 2 weeks now. My first step was to drain about 10000 gallons out of my pool to lower my high cya. After refilling I shocked to 20 ppm. All I have added since then has been enough 6% bleach to keep TC at 7-8 ppm. I also added 120 lbs of solar salt after researching some old post to get a better water feel. My number have been very stable.
TC= 7-8 ppm
CC= 0 ppm
PH= 7.6-7.7
TA= 90-100
CYA= 60-70

My question is my water has never seemingly cleared up. When looking from the top in it looks clear, but looking inside with goggles on you could not see from one end to the other. With that in mind and with a seemingly larger than normal TC loss yesterday (about 4 ppm with almost no bather load) I shocked last night at about 7 pm to about 19.5 ppm. When testing this morning about 9 am my TC= 19 ppm CC = 0. So now my questions.

1. My PH was testing this morning =>7.8 and looked high by color. Does a high level of
TC affect PH testing.
Yes, high chlorine levels cause interference to the pH test and cause it to read higher than it is. Rule of thumb, don't test pH when chlorine is above about 10 ppm.

2. With a TC of 19 to 20 ppm and a CYA of 60-70 when is it safe to swim. I did get in this
morning for just a minute to see if the water had cleared and it looked much better.
I would go in when you have dropped to about 10-12 ppm but there are others that would go in with it higher.
3. I have been running my pump 24/7 but was wanting to cut it back to 8 to 10 hours. Is
it ok to go ahead and reduce pump time after shocking last night.
Rule of thumb, run pump 24/7 until the pool is clear.
4. Do I just need to let my TC drop down to the 8 ppm range. I figure it will probably
take a couple of days to get in that range.
correct
Thanks for all your help my pool this morning looks better than it ever has. it has taken a couple of weeks of work but it's been worth it. I also order so Accucheck salt test strips. I would like to take my salt levels to about 1500 to 2000 ppm.

20*40 inground vinyl pool at 30000 gallons. Using 6% bleach, and a Taylor 2006 test kit.

What kind of filter do you have? That will have an impact on how long your pool takes to clear (and just how clear it actually gets since DE filters the smallest size particles to about 6 microns, cartridges next to about 20 microns, and sand last to about 60 microns.
DE will clear a pool fastest and sand the slowest.

a week for the pool to completely clear is not uncommon, btw.

On the other hand, sand is the easiest to maintain while DE the most work.

There are tradeoffs.

BTW, if you are using a K-2006 the chlorine test is testing first FC and then CC. You get the TC reading by adding them together. It is usually easier if you report FC and CC since those are the readings that really matter.

[smileitsachoice]

Sorry I typed wrong, should have been FC. I have had no CC in 2 weeks. I have a sand filter. I did backwash before partial drain, and my clean pump pressure is 15 psi. It has not been over 16 psi in two weeks. I did have what looked like maybe sand, polen, or dirt on the deep end bottom in the crevices and little little in the shallow on the seems. I did vacumm to waste to see if it would come back (that was before I shocked yesterday). There appears to be just a small amount this morning in one deep end corner. I was unsure about getting in this morning with the high FC but I really wanted to see how clear it was from in the water, and it looked really better.

Thank you

[Watermom]

You might also add a little DE to your sand filter to help it filter out the tiny stuff. Many of us do. Read more about it in this thread:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3742

Also, might try using skimmer socks. They also help trap the tiny stuff. They are cheap and can be rinsed out and reused over and over.