Problem Pool

I'm starting a new thread for a new pool.

My MIL has a pool that has been pretty much uninhabitable for the past three or so years. She REALLY let it get away and now I'm not even sure if there is much hope beyond filling it in with dirt and planting a garden. (Only halfway kidding) I told her I would post here and hopefully you guys can help me figure out if there is anything that can be done. Any advice you give, keep this in mind: I'm going out of town on July 12 for a week. If it would be best just to leave it until after I return, let me know. MIL won't be able to be relied upon to do but the simplest of tasks and won't do ANY testing beyond strips. I'd hate to put in a lot of work now on my part only to have it go to heck in a handbasket while I'm out of town. :D

Pool specs:

20 x 40 IG gunite - 9 ft. @ deep end - She says 38,000 gal. ????
Pentair 2HP pump / Sand Filter
Pool Frog Cycler mod. # 5400 (currently set at 5 1/2)

Pool has pretty much been a swamp for a couple of years. Someone a while back told her she has black algea. She's been putting some stuff in lately and the water is really pretty clear right now, but the sides and bottom of pool look like something out of the Creature from the Black Lagoon movies. She said she bought 4 boxes of something called HTC Green to Blue...some sort of start up kit. She put those in about 2 weeks ago.

I tested the water today with my new Taylor test kit:
FC - 0
CC - 0
pH - 8.0 + REALLY bright pink
did the acid demand test - 1 drop
base demand - hadn't changed any after 10 drops, so I quit adding
Alk. - 80 ppm
Calcium Hardness - First did x10 test - got 200; redid test x25 and came up with 225 that way
CYA - perfectly clear all the way to top of tube - so I'm assuming zero?

A bit about this algea. Here is a link to a few pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6448643...7626922601891/ When you brush it, nothing happens, nothing comes off. The yellow looking stuff on the steps that looks like it would just brush away doesn't budge. Maybe it's stained? One thing I noticed is that she has a nylon brush. I told her she may need a wire brush?

I don't EVEN know where to begin. Is there hope?

Thanks if you've made it this far!!

Hi Jstkiddin.

First thing I have to ask before anybody sinks a lot of time into replying ---- is your MIL going to continue to throw a bunch of pool store "GOO" into the pool? If so, then we're not really going to be able to help her. It isn't productive use of time to spend time typing and trying to help if someone is not going to take the suggestions we make and try and implement them. Also, it is usually difficult to help somebody fix "somebody else's pool."

Cleaning up a pool takes daily attention. Are you (other than the week you are out of town) going to be able to go over there daily to work on the problem?

As you know, we are really glad to help people with their pools, but we need to know the answers to these questions before we commit a lot of time. Hope you understand! :)

I completely understand!!

We live on the same farm/land and share a driveway, so going to her house is no problem. I have to drive right by it multiple times a day.

Granted, I don't want to (nor do I have time to) spend HOURS at her house every day, but I can go daily or even more than once a day with no problem. It's literally right across the pasture. I can probably get her to vacuum, brush walls, etc. But she's definitely more than willing to hand over the reins to someone else. She doesn't have trouble standing back and letting others do the thinking.

The biggest issue that might come up is money. And naturally, I have no clue where the cutoff point is....only she knows that. I just know, that like many others, there isn't a lot of it right now. LOL

She's just got this horrible looking mess in her backyard and if there is any way to fix it, I'd be willing to help. But I'm not sure it's fixable without something drastic.....like replastering/painting, etc. And I'm nearly positive she doesn't have the funds for that....so there really may be nothing I can do.

OK then.

Scoop out as much debris as you can and unplug the frog. We don't think too highly of those units.

Start with adding 10 gallons of 6% bleach. That should take the cl reading up to about 16ppm. (Don't have to be so conservative since it is a gunite pool.) Test as many times per day as you can and each time add enough bleach to get back up to somewhere around 15ppm. For reference, in a 38K pool, each gallon (4 quarts) of 6% bleach will add about 1.6ppm of cl. If you have somewhere that sells 10% or !2% liquid sodium hypochlorite for a good price, that would probably be easier than 6% and fewer jugs to deal with.

Run the pump 24/7 and backwash the filter when the pressure rises 5-10 psi over clean filter pressure. Brush the pool as often as practical to help rid it of the algae.

Also, work to lower the pH with muriatic acid. Start by adding a couple of pints slowly in front of a return jet. Wear gloves, glasses, stay upwind of fumes, pour close to the water to avoid splashing. After a few hours, retest pH and redose until pH is somewhere between 7.2-7.6.

You also need some stabilizer in there. 11 lbs. will give somewhere around 40ppm of CYA. Since there is so much algae and you'll have to backwash frequently, it will be best to put the stabilizer in an old sock and hang it in front of the return jet. Keep the pump running 24/7 and give the sock a squeeze once in awhile to help it dissolve faster. I doubt you'll be able to put it all in the sock at one time. A week after it is added, test the CYA level but not before or you'll just waste the reagent. Move the sock before adding other chemicals.

Hope this helps you get started. What a good guy (gal?) you are for helping her!

Thanks! I need a few clarifications.

First, does it matter which order I do the above steps? For instance, ph first, chlorine second, etc? Or can I just do in any order?

Second, one problem I can already see coming up (and that I forgot to mention) is that I noticed the pressure gauge on her filter is broken. Have no clue if this is a big deal to fix or not. BTW - The answer is gal, not guy. :D So I'm not exactly Mrs. Mechanic here, not to mention I really wouldn't even know where to begin finding a replacement gauge. But I can use a pair of channel locks and a screwdriver. LOL I'm sure hubby could fix it no problem, but he has big job going now and poor guy is leaving house at 5:30 am and not getting home until 9:30. Literally working sunup to sundown 7 days a week and will be for the next 2 or 3 months. Anyway, I'm guessing there is not really a way to do this without functioning pressure gauge? Can someone point me in the right direction for a fix?

Third and last question: I know you can't say for sure, but just off the top of your head, how many gallons of bleach should I tell her to buy to get started? I mean after the initial 10 gallons? Guess what i'm asking is, think I'll be adding another 5 each day, every day? I'm going to try to get a shopping list and don't really have any clue what approx. amount of bleach we are looking at here....at least to get me through the first week.

Oh wait...I lied. One more question. Nylon brush or wire brush? Or does it even matter?

And if we are unplugging Frog, what to use in it's place? Or do we not worry about that for now? She had a Pool Pilot (SWG) just like mine hooked up and made hubby take it off earlier this year. ?? I think it was a mistake, but she said she couldn't figure out how to work it (i know, i know) and didn't like dealing with the salt, said it was too heavy to lift, etc. But I guess if the pool has been in that bad of shape, obviously she didn't know how to work it correctly, wasn't keeping the salt added or something. Whatever method she winds up using needs to be simple, easy and not involve heavy lifting. She won't do anything that's very complicated or takes a whole lot of thought/studying.

Okay...that really was the last question! Thanks so much!

You can work on them both at the same time as long as you only test pH when the chlorine level is below 15ppm. When the chlorine is any higher than that, you will get a falsely high pH reading.

You will need to replace the pressure gauge and you don't need hubby to do it. You can pick one up at any pool store. They are pretty cheap --- around $10 or so. The only thing you have to do is unscrew the old one, put about 8 turns of white Teflon tape (get it at Lowe's etc. or the pool store will have it but just more expensive there) around the threads of the new one and then screw it in. Easy.

Who knows how much bleach??? Just go to Walmart and load up a buggy with as many as you can hold. With this big of a pool, it will take a lot. Maybe even take someone with you and get two buggies of bleach. Initially, while the pool is green, you'll use LOTS. Then, as it clears, you'll taper down, but will still use several gallons a week with this big pool.

Don't worry about the Frog. Ever. Just unhook it and don't use it anymore. Just use bleach for your chlorine.

Regarding type of brush -- I don't know. Probably wire but I don't have a gunite pool.

Let us know how it is going and if you have any more questions, ask away and we'll try and help.