Pool just opened, awaiting on testing kit, questions on what to do now

Hello,
New to the pool ownership. Read some books, and unfortunately stumbled into this site just yesterday (fortunate they I stumbled into it at all). Spent at least 3 hours reading and digesting.

Here is what I have: 30,000 gallon dark bottom plastered free form pool with spa, had been maintained by a previous owner via a pool service company that is pushing BioGuard line.

We have a sand filter, Polaris vacuum, and propane heater.

We are located in MD suburbs of Wash, DC.

We had the same company that serviced the pool open it 2 days ago. Here is what they did:
1. Removed the cover
2. Got the plugs out (missed one in the spa - had to take it out later by myself - it's 2.5'' feet deep and the water temp was 52F :-] )
3. Vacuumed to waste some of the silt and leaves
4. Brushed and scooped.
5. Turned on the pump and the Polaris with booster pump
6. Checked the spa jets and air
7. Checked the lights
8. Put 1 quart of Poly 60 in the pool
9. Put 2 pounds of 65% calcium hypochlorite (broad casted it over the pool)
10. Dropped two 3'' tablets of tri-chlor into skimmer.

They said to have the pump and filter go 24 hrs for the first 10 days, and backwash filter as needed.
They also said to run Polaris daily for at least 3 hrs.

When they removed the cover, there was a lot of silt and some leaves, low visibility and brownish/greenish water.

I am running Polaris 2 times a day, and after initial runs when it would fill up its bag in less than 1 hr, and at this point there is little leaves and debris that it collects.

I have also been brushing the steps and places were Polaris doesn't seem to reach - essentially agitating the silt.

So far in 2 days I had to backwash the filter 2 times, and the water is getting noticeably clearer, but still has a greenish tinge, with visibility about 5-7 feet.

Yesterday morning (24 hrs after opening) I got the 6-way strip test (sorry – I do know better now) and it didn't register any chlorine (TC or FC), and no cya. The PH showed at about 7.2. Since I know for a fact that they had been using tri-chlor in the previous season, am I to presume that the bacteria “ate cya”?

Again, I don’t want to make any sudden moves at all, and make only safe and necessary steps prior to having a proper test kit.

Reading here the opening tips I understand that disappearing cya is not uncommon, and that the recommended way of dealing with it is to shock nightly until I can have a sustained TC reading through the night. I also had an impression that this process will go smoother if I increase PH with borax.

So my plan for this afternoon is to get borax and 6% bleach, first add about 6 pounds of borax through a skimmer, wait about 2-3 hours and measure for PH, and then add about 5 gallons of bleach to get 10ppm, again test in about half hour, and then test again in the morning and go from there.

Looking forward to your feedback and suggestions, and if you can see any problems with my plan and my math, and also what should I expect in terms of a timeline to get everything under control.

Thank you!
Vlad

Hi Vlad;

Wow, that feels weird for me -- I hope you'll forgive me, but I'm spending 1 - 2 hours each morning dealing with forum spammers, and the ones who aren't from Rats Mouth, Florida (Boca Raton) are often from places where people have names like Vlad. So to deal with an actual legitimate Forum user named, "Vlad" feels really strange!

Anyhow, it really doesn't sound like your pool guys did anything wrong at all. Actually it sounds like they are a cut above most. Keep in mind, that even though Biolab -- as a company -- markets deceptive and useless products, their dealer network includes guys who signed up because they want to "sell the best", which is how BioLab has positioned themselves. And, it's entirely possible to do a good job with pools using 100% Biolab products -- you just have to stay away from their goop, which BioLab corporate pushes.

Ok, moving on.

The best way to tell if your CYA got 'eaten' is to do two things:
1. find out from the company what the CYA level was last fall -- presumably, the previous owner was taking samples to them?
2. test the water (or have them test it) for both FC (free chlorine) and CC (combined chlorine).

If your CYA got eaten in a bad way, and went to ammonia or urea, adding chlorine will result in low FC levels, but high CC levels*.

Regardless, it sounds like your are well on your way to an easy pool season. A good kit will help -- just follow the Amazon links in my signature, to order a Taylor K2006 or 2006C. My understanding is that those prices are about as low as anyone is seeing.

Ben

* After thought -- if the product is ammonia, a chlorine dose will rapidly proceed through the classic breakpoint chlorination "hump and dip" curve, so you'll briefly have FC, then CC, then nothing as the chloramines are oxidized to gas. You can always add a big (15 gallons of household bleach) dose in the late PM -- if you have little or no FC or CC in the early AM, you likely do have a bunch of ammonia to cleanup. In this case, things will go more nicely if you use borax to gradually push the pH to near 7.8.

You don't want to add 6lbs of Borax all at once. Break it up into smaller doses. Also, you don't just have to shock the pool once per day while you are trying to get a chlorine level to stick. Test it multiple times per day if you can and each time add bleach. The more often you do it, the faster you will get to the point where you can go from sundown one day to sunup the next without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine.

Funny indeed - I guess if I didn't make a fateful decision 20 yrs ago to move over here - I may have been one of the "Vlads" spamming :-]

Thanks for the good words re: the service company, they actually were very efficient. It's just the Biolab branding and obfuscation really gets on my nerves. I am the guy that always reads the labels :-)

I will get CYA history, as well as the test done. Already ordered the 2006C kit.

So I will start to gradually add borax over the next 2 to 3 days, and will add 15 gallons of 6% bleach in an hour or so and will monitor CC and FC through the evening, and then check in the morning.

Thank you! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Glad I didn't irritate you - I probably shouldn't have said that. (But then, if I was the sort of guy who always said what I was supposed to, I wouldn't be the sort of guy to start PoolSolutions ;-)

Anyhow, Biolab is not on my favorite's list. The old Biolab was arrogant without warrant; the new Biolab is just predatory. But their basic chems are still the same as everyone else's, so they do work.

PoolDoc

Thanks for the tips. I can't wait for the drop test kit to arrive so I can ascertain a 1ppm difference :-)

PoolDoc,

You were right regarding the pool service company - they seem to be more than forthcoming with information and pretty straight up.
They said at the end of the season CYA reading was down to 18 and they didn't want to bump it until needed in the spring.

Also some good news on my shock treatment. Immediately after I shocked in the evening, TC was 10+, but FC didn't read at all, so I presume the strips are defective in at least this regard. In the morning TC was still at 10+.

The test strip first indicator for CYA is at 50. So tabulating all of this I assume that I do not have a problem with eaten CYA, only some normal pool opening (I guess?) green algae.

Also in the morning the water appeared clearer and lost some of the green tint. So I'll keep up with shocking until the pool is clear.

Thank you,
Vlad

Also, run your pump 24/7 while you are clearing the water to allow the filter to filter out the dead algae.

Finally got the drop test kit, some sobering results this morning:

FC: 0.2
CC: 3.6
PH: 7.0
TA: 50
CH: 180
CYA: basically the tube was overfilled when the dot was barely visible, if I had to guess around 15...

This is after I added 10 gallons of bleach at the sunset, and added 15 gallons the night before.

I guess I need to proceed with:
1. Borax
2. More bleach

The good news is that I can dedicate this weekend to test and add bleach as needed throughout the day.

Questions:
1. How much borax and the timing.
2. How much bleach and the timing and targets for testing.

Another good part is the the pool visibility is improving greatly, and the sand filter is not getting clogged in 12 hours as before.

Looking forward to your advice and directions!

Thank you!
Vlad

Wow. A user who's teaching himself from day 1. I'm impressed.

Based on your readings, you probably DO have CYA converted to ammonia.

So yes, add borax (20 mule team from Walmart, etc. -- found in the detergent section) 2 boxes at a time SLOWLY to the skimmer with the pump running. Do NOT take out the skimmer basket. Borax can and will 'freeze' solid if you add it too fast, and it's very hard to get out. Add every 2 - 4 hours till your pH reaches 7.6+.

And add chlorine 4 gallons at a time each PM -- once the sun is less direct. Test chlorine in the AM. Continue till your FC is at least 3x your CC reading. Then, begin testing 1-2 hour AFTER you add, and again in the AM. Once your FC reading is more or less constant overnight, and your CC is below 0.2, you are ready to move on to adding CYA and adjusting other factors.

The good news is, once you get your pH is up, the CC that forms from the ammonia will be monochloramine and will kill all the algae remaining, even deep in the cracks and crannies of your plaster. This is precisely the process that products like Yellow OUT and Mustard Master use, though most pool guys don't know it.

Bad news is it may take a LOT of chlorine to get rid of all the ammonia.

But, it's a straight forward process.

PoolDoc

PoolDoc, thank you for your encouragement.

I will try to rephrase your suggestions the way I understand them, please correct me if I'm wrong or confused or both :-)

Phase 1: Adjusting pH with Borax to steer the process of ammonia destruction and take advantage of its byproducts.
1.1. Goal: Increase pH to 7.6
1.2. How much: Add borax 2 boxes
1.3. How often: 2-4 hours between additions until the goal is reached.
1.3 When and what to test: Test for pH in about 2 hrs after each borax addition.
1.4 Tips: Add borax slowly via skimmer WITH basket in place to avoid clumping and freezing in the pipe.

Phase 2: Brute force evening chlorine addition to get rid of ammonia and other organic compounds.
2.1. Goal: Have a morning reading FC >= 3*CC
2.2. How much: Add 4 gallons of 6% bleach
2.3. How often/when: Every 24 hrs in the late afternoon/evening (no direct sunlight) until goal is reached.
2.3 When and what to test: Test for FC and CC next morning.

Phase 3: Taking care of CYA, TA, etc.
3.*. TBD

Questions:
In 1.3 - is 2 hrs OK?
In 2.2 - is 4 gallons OK? It is a little less than 10ppm.
So essentially in phase 2 I will add chlorine only once a day (evening) and test once a day (morning)?

Thank you again, I am getting over my disappointment with the test results. It is what it is (says my real estate agent).

Vlad

Vlad, you seem to have gotten all PoolDocs directions...
You can speed the process a little if you test/add bleach more often, 2-3 times a day, to maintain Cl at your target (3*CC)
Keep your pump running, vacuum/brush walls of pools at least every other day...

Madwil
Note: the mods may add some info, I only jumped in on Ben's advice since he said he was scouting this weekend and so probably won't be online to respond...

Thank you all,

Happy to report I have a sparkling clean pool now, 0 CC, 7.8pH.

I will post more questions on CYA maintenance and TA in appropriate forums.

The water is all the way to 64 F - good enough for a few dips on a hot day :-)

Vlad

64F? Brrrrr. Too cold for me.