2008 first time numbers....(PS234 kit)

Hello all!
It has been awhile since I've posted....but I own both a PS232 and a PS 234 testkit.
I have a 30' round AG pool with about 20k gallons. I live outside of Buffalo Ny, but am one of those rare pool owners who do not cover their pool. Usually come spring my pool is very clear, with only a small pile of leaves in the middle to scoop out. This year we spent most of May at our Florida home, so now my water is a tad cloudy and has a slight tinge of green...(first time in YEARS, thanks to the BBB method.;)

Anyway, I hooked up the pump yesterday and added 3 gallons of 6% bleach. Ran the pump today, backwashed a couple of times, and did a OTO test. My ph was a tad down, (6.8), so I added a few cups of Borax.

3 hours later, here are my numbers;

FC- 8 ppm
CC- 0.5 ppm
TC- 8.5 ppm
ph- still 6.8
Alk- 30 ppm
Cal-80 ppm
Stabilizer- about 60

Temp...too cold to jump in, (hey, it's western NY)

I'm thinking I need to add some baking soda to increase the Total Alk, and add some more Borax to get the ph up more. I understand ( I think ) that when you have both low ph and low Alk, adding soda ash is a easier/cheaper way to fix both, but I'm not sure where to even get soda ash, and really, borax and baking soda is not too expensive.

I'll continue to run the pump and backwash, adding bleach when needed to keep that up until my CC is zero and the water is clear. When the water is clearer, i'll start to vacuum the bottom, (which has a winter's worth of dirt....not bad, but it is dirty on the bottom.....not green, just dirty from the dusty winds.

Usually my water looks better then it does now, but I'm picky, and for me, this is below my normal standards, even for the first pump day.

Does this sound right...? It's been a long winter and I forget easily:o

thanks! Frank D.

Hi Frank! Good to have you back on the forum. I think you are definitely on the right track. You know the drill to kill algae. Test at least twice (and 3 times is better) per day and each time take the cl back up to shock level. Try to maintain that level instead of letting it yo-yo up and down and also run pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear the water. Only thing I think you need to do differently is get your cl level up higher than where you have it now since your cya is about 60. Take a look at the link to find the level you should be shocking to.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365

Thanks Watermom!

Great to hear from you, and good to be back. I haven't posted much because the BBB method works so well! Last year we were busy buying the second house, (our future retirement home in Florida), so life was nutsy.

My CYA level is high simply because of my unconventional method of not covering the pool in the winter. The downside to that is when the springtime comes and the foot thick ice melts, I add two floaties full of those nasty pucks to keep some Chlorine in there. Being gone 3 weeks in May messed me up a little bit.

Doing this gives me my yearly dose of CYA, and then I just need to keep the correct amount of chlorine in there. I do have that chart taped to my kit, I should have known I needed to add more.

I'd run the pump overnight, but because of some of those cottonwood things clogging up my skimmer, I need to empty that skimmer every few hours the first few days, so i'll keep it off during sleeping hours.....(my wife won't get up every two hours to do this....how selfish!!:D :D )

Thank you again for your kind help...it IS good to be back!!

Frank D.

Welcome back, nice to see you back this season!

Janet

Thanks Janet and Watermom!

Pool looks 100% better. I'm keeping my Cl level to shock level (15-20 ppm), high for most people but good for 60ppm CYA.

The CYA will slowly go down throughout the season with rain, etc....no problem.....more important to know the CYA number and adjust to it then to worry or fight it. It's always high for me in the start of the season due to the use of pucks in the spring. Now that I'm "in-season" it's all 99 cent 96 oz Aldi's beach for the pool.

I still show .5ppm of CC, so I'll stay the course until perfect. just thought I'd post an update, more for others to show that the BBB method works, etc....

Frank D.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by faithfulfrank

just thought I'd post an update, more for others to show that the BBB method works, etc....

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Yes, it does!!! :)