opening our pool, could use some help

Hi there, we are working on opening our pool and seem to be struggling.

We have an aboveground, round pool 12,000 gallons.
My water is a green/brown color & you can't see the bottom

We've been scrubbing the sides, skimming and vacuuming.

We got the K-2006 testing kit and here were my results today:

FC 8ppm
CC 1ppm
ph 7.0
TA (Calcium Carbonate) 0ppm
Calcium 70ppm
CYA 90ppm (just added CYA 2 days ago. It was at 0 and I added 3lbs CYA)

We have a sand filter - it is appropriately sized for the pool, but might need new sand. We have a salt water generator for once we get the water clean.

I added 1 cup of borax after testing the water to raise the ph.

What else should I be doing?

Hello, and welcome to the forum!!

With a CYA of 90 ppm, you need to get your chlorine up higher. According to the "best guess" chart (which isn't a guess!!), you need to have your chlorine at 20 ppm and hold it there in order to get the green cleaned up in your pool. In a pool your size, each 3 1/2 cups of 6% bleach will raise your chlorine by 1 ppm, so 2 1/2 gallons should take it from 8 to 20. You'll need to get it up to 20 ppm and hold it there by testing and adding more to maintain that 20 ppm until the pool clears up, and until you no longer lose chlorine from sundown to sunup. The more often you test and add, the more consistent with the 20 ppm you will be, and the faster the pool will clear. (THat's the value of that test kit you bought--it's one of the only ones that will test accurately chlorine levels that high :) )

Brush daily, keep the pump and filter going 24/7 but watch your pressure and backwash as it indicates. Otherwise, don't use any form of stabilized chlorine--stick with bleach, and you should have it cleaned up in no time!

Janet

Hi Gray;

You need more chlorine -- everything else is OK.

But you need to use the "Best Guess" chart to determine your shock level (20 ppm or more) and use bleach to reach that . . . OR you need to drain 2/3 and refill. There is some risk of having your liner fade with that dose of chlorine -- it shouldn't but some liners, are pretty chlorine sensitive. It won't actually hurt the liner, just the color and/or print.

Also, you need to get a leaf net, if there is goop on the bottom, and scoop it out. You can't clean that sort of stuff up with any amount of chlorine you'd want to use.

And, you need to make sure your filter is working and your pump is running 24/7. If in doubt, add some sand. Most AG pool sand filters are too small for the pumps they are mated with, with the result that you lose sand on every backwash.

Ben

I think we have a good combo of filter/pump - I checked that awhile back and it was good though I do not remember the type we have. I'll check in the morning and post.

We have been going at the bottom with the leaf net - we'll just continue on that till we get it all. I don't mind the liner fading - we'd rather not drain and refill.

When we got the test kit, I read about how to shock your pool you need to put in enough chlorine to bring your FC levels to 10 times the CC levels. The CC was 5.6, so we got the FC to 56. Then we waited 2 days and tested again. This time the CC was 3.0, so we got the FC to 30ppm - it's been 2 days since then. We continue to brush the sides and rake the bottom and vacuum.

So I should test and add chlorine more often? I have 1/2 a bottle of 65% chlorine granuals left that I'd like to use before going to bleach - that isn't stablized chlorine is it?

Wow, 56 is a really high chlorine level, even with that high a CYA level. With chlorine levels like that you are very likely to bleach your liner. Check out the "best guess" table in my sig, and you'll see the guideline that we use, very successfully, around this forum.

You do need to be testing your water daily, and adding enough chlorine to get back up to shock level, although I doubt with the levels that you're reaching that you 've ever come down below adequate shock levels, which would be 20 based on your CYA. If your chlorine granules are cal-hypo, then they'll be fine to use up.

Janet

Thank you all for your help.

The water is now blue, but not clear. You can see about half way down.

Right now the free chlorine has been right around 20ppm the past 36 hours. Our ph is still a bit low - right about 6.9-7.0 We will be vacuuming it again later today. We keep adding about 2 cups of borax each day and it is still low.

My question now is should I use some of that 'clean and sweep' stuff that I have. It is supposed to bind everything and drop it to the bottom so it can be vacuumed up. And if I do use it, should we vacuum first and then use it and vacuum again or just use it and vacuum once?

And last time I checked my alkalinity was nearly nothing (see first post) - is this why my ph is staying low? Should I add some baking soda to get it up & if so how much?

Now that the water is not green, should I let the chlorine drop? Do I just unplug my salt water generator for a while and have it naturally evaporate? Or should I add something to bring the chlorine down? My kids are anxious to swim.

The real test to see if it's time to let your chlorine drop is to test after the sun is off the pool, and again in the morning before the sun is on the pool--if you don't lose any chlorine in that time, then you can let the chlorine drop--but in your case, do NOT let it drop below 5, and I would keep it closer to 7 or 8 ppm. One day in the sun will probably accomplish this. You do still need to be working on your pH, though--anything below 7.0 is acidic and can do damage to your liner. I think the reason you're having trouble getting it to move is not due to the alk, but rather that it was far lower than you thought, and it's just taking a lot of Borax to bring it up. If you want, you can use Washing Soda to bring up both TA and alk at the same time. Or, if you already have them, continue with the Borax for pH and you can add baking soda to bring up the TA.

I would not use the "clean and sweep" stuff that you have, if the water is clearing. You'd be better off to just be patient and let the filter do its job. Remember that the chlorine killed the algae, but the filter is what's going to get it out of the water. The floc that you have might or might not speed up that process, but it may also cause you other problems, too. I would just let the filter get it. If the algae is dead, and the chlorine drops a little, the only real danger with swimming in cloudy water is not being able to see somebody underwater in the deep end if they get into trouble--so make sure if they swim before it's completely clear, that you keep a really good eye on anybody in the water.

Janet

Thank you - That is what I thought about the clarifier. We will just keep brushing the sides & vacuuming till it clears up. It already looks worlds better than it did when I started this thread 4 days ago.

I'll pick up some more borax and just keep adding it. For 12,000 gallons and a ph of right about 6.9-7.0 - how much is a good amount to add? I can test again in 4 hours and add more right?

What is the dosage on the baking soda too? I don't want to end up with too much TA.

For the pH, I don't know how much it's going to take, but you can add 2-3 cups at a time (I'm assuming it's going into the skimmer) and give it 3-4 hours to circulate, and then you can certainly add more. Some people say you can estimate how much it will take by taking a sample of your pool water (maybe 3 gallons in your case?) and adding borax to that until you get to your target ph--and based on how much it takes to do that, you can multiply it out to get an idea of what it will take in your pool.

I think you need to verify that TA is indeed zero before you start adding a lot of baking soda. Also, adding a lot at one time will contribute to your cloudiness problems, so go slowly with that like you do with the Borax. I'm thinking you're going to need somewhere around 10 pounds or so to get your alk up to 60 ppm, but please verify that starting zero first!!

As with all other things, go slow, add little amounts at a time, and sneak up on your target--don't over shoot it. Patience is the key!!

Janet