The Algae Wars Continue - - -

At Last - - - (with respects to Etta James of course!)

FC 18.5!
CC .5
pH 7.8
TA 110
CH 120
CYA 20

To get FC to this level I added another 8.04 gals of bleach last night around mid-night. Finally something like I would expect!

And I have to go along with you aylad, I haven't had the FC levels high enough to really do the job.

Thoughts and/or ideas on my next plan of attack?

I'm really looking forward to getting the cover on it this year I'm sad to say.

Thanks -

doc

And so it Goes - - -

Today at 1:00 p this was my results -

FC 13.5
CC 1
pH 7.4
TA 100
CH 110

Tonight after work (about mid-night) I'll add another 5+ gal of bleach. http://www.poolcalculator.com/ advises to add a box and 1/2 of borax to take the pH back to 7.8.

The pool looks a lot better! It's still cloudy but at least it's not green! There is still algae laying on the bottom I'm working to get out.

And so it goes -

Thanks -

doc

Second Verse Same As the First (Almost) -

Today @ 10:40 a -

pH 7.4
FC 16
CC 0
TA 90
CH 120

Cloudiness is getting better! Tonight I'll add another 4.26 gal of bleach and 3 boxes of borax. That should keep the FC in the `shock range` and bring the pH back up to 7.8 or there abouts.

I'd appreciate it is someone would holler back if those are not the correct steps to take -

Thanks -

doc

You're doing fine--now it's just a matter of maintaining that shock level over 12-15 ppm until you're no longer losing chlorine overnight. Keep the filter running as much as possible, preferably 24/7, to clear out the dead algae that's causing the cloudiness. Watch your pressure, and backwash the filter when it gets to 6-8 psi over "clean". If you don't notice your filter pressure rising, then you might try the DE trick that my co-mods use on their sand filters, where you put a cupful of DE in through the skimmer (just enough to raise your filter pressure by 1 psi) to help coat the sand and help it filter out smaller particles. You've got the right idea--now it's just going to take some persistence, some time, and some bleach :)

Thanks aylad,

Good to know I'm on the right track!

As I've discussed in another thread, I've been having trouble with my system not drawing as it should. I may have found part of the problem today. It's drawing some better for now.

I really appreciate your words of encouragement. From all I've read here I thought things were going as they should but its nice to have some conformation.

Thanks -

doc

I am happy to say "These wars are almost complete!"

pH yesterday 7.4 today 7.4
FC yesterday 15.5 today 15.5
CC " 0 " 0
TA " 100 " 100
CH " 150 " 150
CYA " 25 " Not Ck'd

Are there suggestions as to where to take the numbers for closing? I still have a very little bit of algae laying around on the bottom so I'll get all it out before closing.

Thanks -

You folks have been great!

doc

Get the algae completely out before closing--if you don't, then you stand a much greater chance of it biodegrading your CYA into ammonia over the winter, and then you have to fight the "ammonia chlorine demand" monster when opening. Once it's completely out, then I suggest that you get the pH in the 7.6-7.8 range. The TA, CH, and CYA will be fine as is. Some folks then will add a dose of polyquat, allow it to circulate for a day or so, then shock the pool before covering, and some skip the polyquat and just shock before covering it up. I don't close my pool, so that part is up to you--the important thing is to make sure that you don't close it with algae in it, if you can help it. Also, the colder the water when closing and re-opening, the less chance you are of algae in the water. If you wait until the water warms up, then you'll have algae wars Part II to contend with...

Thank you aylad. I'm still not able to get the pump to draw as well as it should or I would have had it cleaned out weeks ago! I'll keep at it until all traces are gone.

Thanks again for your help -