Startup Question

Starting up my above ground pool late this year because of travel. According to hth test strips, several days ago pH=8.4, FC=0, TA=120, CYA=30-50. Added bleach to get FC above 10 (highest I could read with strips), and dry acid to reduce pH. Pool water color changed from green to cloudy grey in 24 hours. Searched house and found my old Taylor 2006 kit and retested. Found out that the test strips were lying to me about the stabilizer. Latest readings are pH=7.6, FC=8.5, CC=0.5, CYA=0. Put some tri-chlor tablets in a floater, and CYA in an old sock inside the skimmer. Added some bleach to get the FC over 10.

I think that the FC will go to 0 every day until the CYA dissolves. Which should take several days. Until I get the CYA to 30, should I run the pump 24/7 and add bleach at night for FC over 10?

Yes that sounds reasonable. Some CYA will get into the water early on, but will climb over time. If you put it into the skimmer to go to the filter, then that will take the longest. If you put it in a sock over a return, then that may take only a couple of days.

If you find that in the evening when you test that your chlorine level is depleted, you might want to test and dose it with bleach a couple of times a day. After a week or so, you should have enough cya in there that once a day should be fine.

I just checked the water and the ph=7.5, FC=9.5, CC=0.5. The sun is above the mountains and lighting up the entire pool. Clear blue sky, going to be a hot day, about 90. I think that the FC is holding OK over night, since I added bleach per pool calculator with a goal of FC over 10 last night before bed. Yesterday the FC was about 2 when I checked it after work. I'm thinking the bright sun is removing the FC since there is no CYA. I am hoping the three tri chlor pucks will keep some FC in the pool during the day today.

Water is still gray cloudy with some dark stuff on the bottom. I think I will wait for evening and brush, vacuum to waste. Pull out the sock with the CYA and keep in a bucket while I do the vacuum. I don't do patience well, but I think I have to wait for the CYA to hit 30 before I can try to maintain FC all day and open the pool.

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Originally Posted by chem geek

Yes that sounds reasonable. Some CYA will get into the water early on, but will climb over time. If you put it into the skimmer to go to the filter, then that will take the longest. If you put it in a sock over a return, then that may take only a couple of days.

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Thank you. I just realized one way to do what you said. I now have a bent up coat hanger hooked to the top of my above ground pool, with an old sock containing CYA in the flow from the single return. Looks like Rube Goldberg, but a milky flow is coming from the sock, so I'm guessing the CYA is dissolving in the current.

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Originally Posted by jimk0512

Water is still gray cloudy with some dark stuff on the bottom. I think I will wait for evening and brush, vacuum to waste. Pull out the sock with the CYA and keep in a bucket while I do the vacuum. I don't do patience well, but I think I have to wait for the CYA to hit 30 before I can try to maintain FC all day and open the pool.

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Have you back washed your filter? You may be shocked at the filth that will come flying out by watching your sight glass. These initial start ups can get a filter really mucked up fast with dead algae.

Last bloom I had made me have to backwash once an hour for like 8 hours and then less and less as the muck cleared up. Three days later and my water was pristine.

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Originally Posted by jimk0512

I just checked the water and the ph=7.5, FC=9.5, CC=0.5. The sun is above the mountains and lighting up the entire pool. Clear blue sky, going to be a hot day, about 90. I think that the FC is holding OK over night, since I added bleach per pool calculator with a goal of FC over 10 last night before bed. Yesterday the FC was about 2 when I checked it after work. I'm thinking the bright sun is removing the FC since there is no CYA. I am hoping the three tri chlor pucks will keep some FC in the pool during the day today.

Water is still gray cloudy with some dark stuff on the bottom. I think I will wait for evening and brush, vacuum to waste. Pull out the sock with the CYA and keep in a bucket while I do the vacuum. I don't do patience well, but I think I have to wait for the CYA to hit 30 before I can try to maintain FC all day and open the pool.

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Regardless of the CYA you should try to maintain your FC levels so a bloom doesn't start.

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Originally Posted by Searcher

Have you back washed your filter?

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I have been back washing the filter. I fell behind once and the flow of water from the return practically stopped. Oops! Another backwash fixed that problem.

The sock full of stabilizer hanging in the return stream worked well. All of the stabilizer in the sock dissolved. Current numbers:

pH=7.5, FC=5.5, CC=0.5, TA=140, CYA=35.

I didn't bother with testing CH (above ground pool with vinyl liner). I'm out of powdered stabilizer, but I have three more Tri Chlor tablets. I plan to use them up to raise the CYA a bit more. I plan to ignore the TA, since I haven't thought of a way to aerate my pool (no fountain or anything like that). The pH has been dropping and I am using borax to keep it at 7.5. The FC has been holding well enough, it dropped from 7.5 last night. We have started swimming - life is good!

Beware!

The tri-chlor tabs will drop your pH even more! If you are fighting a falling pH, you don't want to use Tri-Chlor.

Unless you are in an environment that uses excessive chlorine, a CYA level of 35 should be fine. Still, if you want more CYA, given your pH situation, don't use Tri-chlor.