Spring Start Up

I tested a couple of weeks ago and can't find my numbers that I wrote down but I started with 6 of the gallon and half bottles of bleach and nothing else because my pH was 8.0+ and no CYA. I did a gallon at night for 6 nights and then we had almost a week of straight rain where I couldn't harldy do anything with it but waste the water and run the filter sporadically.

Now this week I have added a bottle a night for 3 nights. I tested last night and here's my numbers:
FC 0.8
CC 4.6
pH 7.0
TA 50
CYA - none
I still can't see the bottom of the pool. But I brush and vacuum every 3 or 4 days. Pool color is a light blue. I'm going to hit it hard this weekend since Memorial day is usually our "opening day". So any advice?

I thought I'd get the pH up by adding a box of borax every couple of hours and then brush/vacuum and double my bleach and night and in the morning this weekend. Obviously even adding the bleach at night without having any CYA isn't getting my anywhere, right?

Oh and I am using the recommeneded big Taylor Kit.

Sounds to me like the CYA was converted to ammonia over the winter. This stuation creates a HUGE chlorine demand as almost all the chlorine added to the pool will combine with ammonia (shows up as CC) until the ammonia is used up. At this point the CC readings shoud stop rising. Shock level chlorine (and sunshine) is required to clear the CC.

Swimming is probably safe once an FC level can be maintained and the pool is clear but CC stinks (chlorine smell) and can irritate the eyes and skin.

Several member here had this issue last spring and the amount of chlorine required to clear these pools was shocking (that's a little wordplay). Be prepared to use alot of bleach. You could try to clear a sample, 1 tsp bleach in 4 gallons pool water is about 6.5 gallons bleach in 10,000 gallon pool. If you do this, do not add the entire calculated dose to the pool at once - no more than half then let it mix then test and see where that gets you.

You're right about bringing up the pH first - 7.0 is as low as the K-2006 reads and lower pH can be damaging. Adding bleach at night is no problem but trying to maintain a FC level during the day with no CYA could be challenging. The pool will need CYA at some point soon - many of us put it in an old sock and hang that in front of a return jet to help it dissolve.

Run the filter 24/7, Brush Brush Brush - Bleach Bleach Bleach.

Ok, I went back through and refreshed my BBB method. It's been a long winter and this will be my second summer of BBB :) It looks like after I get my pH above 7.2 I need to get my FC up around 10+ to "shock" it. So about 6 gallons of bleach all at once at night? Retest the next morning and add another 6 if FC is not above 10 yet? And keep the FC above 10 and pH above 7.2 until I can see the bottom? I'm guessing without any CYA my "maintenance" doses of bleach having been doing anything.

Thanks! I missed your post while re-reading through everything! And that explains why I thought I was getting somewhere the chlorine smell has been overwhelming so I thought I was really doing something :) lol. So 3-4 gallons of bleach at a time instead of 6?

Also where can I buy the stabilizer? Is that something I have to get at the pool store? I think I did read that somewhere...

Chlorine is more effective without CYA. It also can be completely consumed by the sun in a couple hours (without CYA).

You are getting somewhere - the smell proves it - the ammonia has got to go.

3 gallons of 8.25% or 4 gallons of 6% should get you to 10 - how long it will stay I can't guess. The ammonia will keep turning the FC into CC until it's exhausted. Then it's a matter of maintaining shock level until the CC is gone. Retest and redose after a couple hours to see how fast the FC is being consumed.

CYA (stabilizer) is a pool specialty chemical, it may be available at Wall mart as well as pool stores. Wherever you buy it, read the label and make sure it 100% (or almost 100%) Cyanuric acid.

I found this sticky: Bucket testing for chlorine demand. There's more detail than I gave you before.