Green (algae ?) water-test results karenkr

Karen, don't feel dumb!
(I know, easy to say...but that link doesn't work for me either)

Assuming your pool guy's estimation of your pool volume is correct, there's a truth you'll have to face right now: you're going to need a whole bunch of chlorine to get going. Partially due to the size of your pool, but also due to the high CYA. Brace yourself, with that size pool, and with the guidance of Ben's Best Guess CYA chart indicating a need for 25 ppm chlorine level to shock, you'll need 20 gallons of Clorox Ultra laundry bleach (6% sodium hypochlorite). And that's just the initial shock. You'll have to sustain that 25 ppm for a couple days to clear the algae. Quite a task!

First, I think it would be a big help to lower your CYA level which can only be done by draining half the water and refilling to dilute it. This will reduce the amount of chlorine you'll need.

Next, I think this might be a situation where you might consider buying the higher concentration chlorine available at pool stores. It's typically 10 or 12.5%. Double the concentration, halve the dosage. I've recently found I can buy it at a local family-run pool place and it's actually cheaper than Clorox.

I hope Mike comes along with the link to his bleachcalc (Mods: can't this be a sticky somewhere?) because it's a Godsend for finding all your chemical needs.

Anyway, I'm not an expert, just a veteran BBB user. I hope a real expert can comment on my advice because that's what I'd do in your shoes (actually I think I'd jump for joy at having such a pool too!). Hope you don't have to heat it too.

C.

Tested water this Morn with both strips and drop test Results
Drop Test:
Chlorine: 5/10
Ph: 7.5
TA: 140
Hardness: ???? water did not turn red only yellow did add drops 120 of them and the water finally turned a very light blue. Tested it twice same results
CYA: Did not register. Black dot dissappeared before water was half way up to 90 Tested twice same results

Test Strip Results
Chlorine: 3/6
Ph: 7.2
TA: 120
Hardness: 200
CYA: 100
Do I need to add some Cya? Is my hardness level anything to worry about? Will keep adding bleach at 2 bottles a day or should I add more to shock the heck out of it? Please help and advise
Thanks for your patience and help
Karen

Rely on the drops based test. The 5/10 chlorine reading is really 5ppm - OR 5 TIMES LOWER THAN YOU NEED.

Right now just test the chlorine and PH. The CYA and ALK and CA shouldn't change that much.

If you have the OTO test (which is the one that is yellow)- get some distilled water from the store and take one part pool water and one part distilled water. Mix them together and then test and multiply your results by 2. This will allow you to test to 10ppm. If you take two parts distilled water to one part pool water and then you miltiply your results by three (15ppm)....and so on.

Otherwise I would recommend a FAS-DPD test kit for the high chlorine levels. Call your pool store before you drive all the way out there to see if they have one.

Ok here goes--new test re: Chl: 5/1 this was done using 2 parts distilled water and 1 part pool water. Does this mean that my chlorine level is 15 times lower than it should be????? Ph tested 7.2

I have some dura chlor (bucket says that it is sodium dichloro triaizinetrone 57%)--plenty of that left , Haviland DuraChlor 3in tabs(bucket says that it is Trichloro-s-triazinetrone 99%) and a bottle of OMNI Algae terminator. This is stuff I had bought before I found this site(MUCHO BUCKS) Should I add any of these or should I stick to bleach???? I am going to the pool store tomorrow so if someone can tell me what I need I will pick it up.

We do love our pool its just so frustrating right now. I have never had this problem before--dont understand what happened to cause it --and cant seem to get the problem under control. I know PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE----IM a Leo so dont have much(HA HA) better to laugh than to cry HUH!!! Anyway if some kind soul will tell me what I need to get at the pool store and walmarts I will get started THE RIGHT WAY thanks to this site.

Thanks
Karen

Since you are still reading 5PPM with a 2 to 1 ratio you are at 15PPM+. You might want to try a 3 to 1 ratio of distilled water and the water you are testing (multiply by 4 for the result), this will get you to read up to 20 PPM. If you still get a reading of 5 do a 4 to 1 ratio. Eventually you should get a reading of less than 5, this should be close to what your levels are. (Not sure how much you can dilute and still get a good reading).

I hope that makes some sense.

So far I have not had to deal with algae, but from what I have seen here, you want to keep it at shock levels until you have won the battle.

I agree with getting a FAS-DPD test kit if you can find one locally, or you could order one on-line.

And yes, it is better to laugh than cry.

Oh yeah, darn Leo's, no patience I tell ya. LOL! :D

Went to Pool store yesterday. YEP they wanted to sell me bunches of stuff but I held my ground and didnt buy anything. I wanted a FDS test but they did not have any so right now will continue to use the drop test I got from walmarts. Anyway they were nice enough to run a computerized test on my water--------this is what they told me
CYA: 100
Tot. Chl: 10plus said they couldnt measure higher

Free Chl: 10plus
Ph: 7.2
Tot. Alkalinity: 118
Adj. Total Alk :125
Total Hardness: 337
Copper: none
Iron: none
Manganese: No
Cloudy: none
Staining: none
Green Algae: EXTENSIVE
Black Algae: none
Mustard Algae none
slime/mold: none

Have found out since that my pool size is about 32,600 gallons not 50,000 like my pool guy said
I did not tell the pool store that I had added 12 gallons of bleach before they tested it.
So where do I go now--how much more bleach do I add and when ---testing 3x a day on week-ends and 2x a day when I work.
Do I need to double whammy the bleach again. No where I ckd yesterday had the stronger bleach so will keep with the ultra(6%)

Question: since this post is getting so long should we delete some of it?

Thanks so much for your help
Karen