New to this Forum from SoCal

Ok, so without using the good test kit because i do not have one yet, here are my readings with the test strip.

TH=1000
TC=3
FC=3
ph=7
ta=120
cya=50

water is a milky blue. i brushed the sides and sturred up a lot of white particles.
I went to wal-mart and got Bleach, Borax, Baking soda but have not put any in yet.
Not sure what the next move should be. Is it time to vacum to waste? or should i wait?

Ps...Watermom, why don't you have your computer at the pool with you???haha. Glad that you got a chance to enjoy your pool. Must be nice. haha

Maybe I should build a floating desk that attaches to a pool float so I can do forum while I'm in the pool!! ;);)

Did you try the overnight test to see if you lose more than 1ppm of cl? If not, do it tonight. Since you apparently have no CC, I doubt that you have live algae, but the overnight test will let you know for sure. If you use the 6% bleach from Walmart instead of the 10% you already had, the dosage will be different. A gallon (4 quarts) of the 6% bleach will add about 2.4ppm of cl. Take it on up to 12ppm this evening after the sun is off the pool. An hour after adding the bleach this evening, test your cl. Then test in the morning within two hours of sunrise. Compare the two readings and post them here.

Also, your pH is a little low. Add a half a box of Borax slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running, breaking up any clumps. Retest pH a couple hours later and redose with more Borax if needed. You want the pH between 7.2-7.8. It is fine to add the bleach and the Borax one right after the other, by the way.

What do you think the white particles are? I'm not really sure what they might be.

LOL...floating desk would be cool.

I wasn't able to try the overnight test but i will try tonight. I am not currently living there but should be there full time by the end of the month. I found a basic test kit and used it but it's very basic as the label says. While i was over at the pool this afternoon at lunch time, i took a reading and it came up with the fc at 5 and the cc at 5 as well. so according to my calculations from yesturday, i have lost approximately 2ppm in 24 hours. ph was at 7.8 and ta at 150.

As far as the white particles go, i think its more of a powder that is clinging to the walls and bottom. I also turned the creeper on for a second and it shot green through the return. I am assuming that it's algae at the very bottom of the deep end which is about 8 feet.

You don't need to do the overnight test tonight..if you're getting green through the return, then you still have live algae living in the pool. Besides, if your CC really is 5 ppm, then that alone is an indicator to shock. So....shock the pool and try to hold it, til you see no more green, the pool clears, and the CC goes down to zero.

Thanks for the advice aylad. So when you say shock it, do you mean to just use lots of bleach? I just went over and cleaned the filters for the 10th time in as many days. It's been covered in a milky white residue and washes off fairly easily. I checked the balance with the basic kit and the cc and fc are still the same which is over 5ppm. ph seems to be perfect and the ta is perfect. I have been running the filter pump non stop for about 10 days. is this over kill? do i really need to run it this much?

Thanks for any and all advice.

Okay, i've done a bit more reading on this forum and think i have figured a few things out. So to keep the pool in shock, i need to be at a minum fc of 12ppm and no more than 15ppm. And since i have a salt system that may or may not be working, i should just keep it off while getting rid of the algae so i can better maintain the fc. Please correct me if i am wrong.

Question: is it better to have a lower cya so the chlorine can work better? Apparently having a high cya makes the chlorine work overtime and requires way more chlorine.

So, i ordered the Taylor kit and should be here shortly. what should i do in the meantime? I'm guessing that if i get a fc reading of 5 on the cheap kit, i should just adjust as accordingly.

You are correct about your first paragraph.

Different pools need different CYA levels. For most people, around 40-50 is best. But, when you have a SWCG, you need to follow your SWCG manufacturer's recommendation which is usually around 80 or so. Check your manual.

Good for you for ordering the kit. You will love it and it will make things easier. Go back and reread post #6 in this thread where I linked an article for you to read called How to Test Without a Good Kit. Keep running the pump and stir up the white stuff on the bottom to try and get it into suspension so your filter can get it.

Your shock levels of 12-15 are a little low-that's for people with lower CYA levels than yours. With a CYA of 50, you should shock it to a minimum of 15 ppm, and since you're at the upper end of the range, I would go between 15-20. Check out the "best guess chlorine chart" in the link in Watermom's sig for the chart that explains the CYA/chlorine level relationship.

You probably do need a higher CYA level with your SWCG, as Watermom indicated, but until you get the pool cleared up, I wouldn't add more, and would just shut the SWCG off and clear it with bleach. No need in wasting cell life!

If you are getting 10% chlorine at Lowes or H-D for $3.50, that's not a bad price. It may actually be 12.5% but they mark it lower to prevent lawsuits.

The reason you weren't given a CC level by the Pool Store and why they said it was 0 is that your FC and TC were the same. TC is total chlorine and TC = FC + CC. This is always even if your test strip says TC is lower than FC (which they do!) So if you have two of the 3 measures you can calculate the third. The standard DPD test that can measure only up to about 15ppm measures FC and TC. So CC=TC-FC. The far more useful FAS-DPD test (which is in the kit you ordered) measures up to 50ppm and measures FC and CC instead. Here TC = FC + CC.

Meanwhile there's nothing I can add to Jan and Lisa's advice on what to do. Good luck!

Carl

Hi, thanks for all the great advice. I believe my last cya was at 20 and can't remember if i put more stabilizer in or not. I will recheck today.

I did find that post on how to test without a good kit and will try it today.

I went to wal-mart this morning and got 15 gallons of bleach at 1.27 ea. Do you think that's a better price than the chlorine at 3.50 a gal? I know i would need less but will it all work the same?

thanks again