Need help with starting chlorine after drain/refill

Hi all - so I am about to drain and refill my pool - water is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Have talked to our original installer at length and am aware of the precautions to take in the process. I have looked at a lot of places on the website and in the forum for specifics of how to start adding chemicals to the pool ( chlorine specifically) and have bits and pieces of it in my head. Was wondering if someone could write it all out stepwise - along with things to avoid - so I can start right away when water is in and already have on hand the chemicals I will need. I have a 10 thousand gallon above ground vinyl oval pool.

Chemicals I already have on hand include
1. Buckman's liquid shock 12.5% sodium hypochlorite ( I know you all recommend regular bleach but wanted to know if it was OK to use this up first since I recently bought it)

2. Conditioner and chlorine stabilier - 100% isocyanuric acid
3. 3 inch 7day jumbo tabs - trichlorisocyanuric acid
3. pH plus - Na carbonate
4. pH minu - Na Bisulphate
5. alk plus - Na Hydrogen carbonate
6. algaecide 50 ( which I have read here not to use)

I am happy to buy different things just wanted your guidelines of what and how to proceed. Thanks! aciam

It is fine to use the 12.5% chlorine. It is the same as bleach, only stronger. (Bleach is 6% sodium hypochlorite.) After you get a few feet of water in the pool, go ahead and start drizzling a little chlorine in there and stir it around with a clean broom or something. Continue to do so after another couple of feet. Be careful not to splash any on yourself or the liner.)

After the pool is full and you start the pump, you can make any adjustments to pH that you need. (Test your fill water tomorrow and post results.)

You'll have to decide if you want to just add stabilizer separately to get to about 40ppm or add some separately to get to a lower level and then use some of the pucks to get the rest of the way to your target level. Most people like 40-50ppm of CYA.

Post test results tomorrow and also decide how you want to add the CYA and somebody here can take you from there.

EDIT --- Also, we need to know what type of pool this is, and its volume. Also, what type of filter and size of pump you have.

So, the type of pool and size is listed in my first post - 10 thousand gallon above ground vinyl pool 15ft x 26ft
Sand filter with 1.5 HP pump

What are the pros and cons of adding stabilizer separately vs adding some to get a lower level and then using the pucks over the long term? Can people maintain their FC levels better using liquid or powder bleach vs the tablets? I have read about how higher CYA levels need higher chlorine levels and problems can arise over time if it gets too high. How do I avoid that if at all possible?

What level of chlorine am I shooting for in the freshy filled running pool? shock level or just 2-4 ppm swimming level?

FYI - we are changing the sand today too. Thanks. aciam

OOPS. I missed your pool info in your first post.

I'm not sure that there are real pros and cons regarding the ways to add CYA. Probably more of a preference than anything. Or, if somebody already has trichlor pucks that they want to use up, then that may influence their decision.

You can maintain FC levels with any form of chlorine. Just have to test and add appropriate amounts. If you maintain levels appropriately and don't have a need to shock, using pucks is fine, but you can't shock a pool with pucks.

In a freshly filled pool with no cya yet, a cl level of 1-3 is sufficient for sanitation purposes. However, with no cya, you lose it all really fast, so I would say take the cl up to 6 after your swimmers get out and that gives you some wiggle room when you lose it. You'll have to add it a couple times a day for the first week or so until you get some stabilizer in there.

OK. so I will drizzle the bleach in when the new water goes in. How much should I try to get in? it is cloudy and cold today so no swimming today - maybe I should shoot for 5-6 and add 1/2 gal of the 12.5 % bleach?

I think I will start out by adding CYA to get to about 20 at first - rather undershoot than overshoot. Can I mix the powder up in water and add it to the pool shortly after the bleach?

And then do I put a puck in the skimmer?

How would you do it if it were your pool starting fresh? I really like the BBB method and have printed off the reference sheets for me to use as a guide. So I am happy to scrap all the chemical I have in my closet and start fresh with what you all recommend. Thanks. aciam

If you add 1/2 gallon of 12/5% to a filled 10K pool, it will add a little more than 6ppm of cl. If you drizzle in the same amount to a partially filled pool, it will be higher than that depending on how much water is in the pool.

CYA is slow dissolving. You won't be able to mix it in a bucket of water and have it dissolved so it would just sit on the pool floor. You don't want that. Just wait until the pool is filled to get the CYA in there.

If I were doing a fresh fill, I would just add the CYA separately. But, there is not right or wrong way of the ways we discussed in this thread. If you want to add about 20ppm of CYA outright, and then use some of the trichlor pucks for a bit, that is just fine. If you decide to do it that way, please make sure the pucks are just trichlor and don't also have other things in them as well like copper for example. You can put pucks in the skimmer but you must make sure to run the pump 24/7 the whole time if you do so because they are so acidic.

I just thought of one drawback to adding some CYA and then going with pucks. It will require you to test your CYA more often throughout the summer. That isn't a big deal really, but the kits only have a certain amount of the CYA reagent. If you just add it outright, you won't have to test but maybe 2 or 3 times and then once the level is set, you can forget about it for the summer. Like I said, not a biggie.

thanks watermom - I have an unrelated question right now - at the end of last season we had a bad bloom of pink algae - we were using baquacil at the time and it was very hard to treat. I tried to bleach my ladder as best I could. I just pulled it out of storage to put it in the pool this morning and in my inspection I noticed that there looks like there might be a lot of dried pink algae stuck inside the bottom step. impossible to clean - and I'm sure the other step have some inside too. The ladder has hollow metal candy cane shaped sides with plastic steps screwed in for the above ground pool - the whole thing then screws into the metal deck attached to the long side of the pool.

I decided not to put it in the pool this morning becasue I was worried that the algae would "reactivate" in some way. I had looked into getting a new ladder last year but found it wouldnt be that easy. Do I need to look harder? or am I ok to put it in? I just picked up some polyquat that Ben had recommended for the pool and was planning on putting some in this morning ( although I admit I'm not sure of the dose - he didnt tell me that) Would that help? Thanks. aciam

My thought is to spray bleach on the ladder and then hose it off a half hour later or so, but I am not sure. I'll ask Ben about this. He is pretty busy this weekend and it may be a bit before he gets an answer back to us.

Regarding Polyquat, it should tell on the label what the dosage is per volume. Be aware that it will cause your FC to drop drastically, so you'll need to add more chlorine after a few hours to bring it back up. Having said that, I have a question for you. Did Ben suggest that you add Polyquat when you were battling your water problems before you drained and refilled? If that is the case, you don't have to add Polyquat to a fresh fill but you can if you want. It actually isn't necessary to use algaecides if water chemistry is maintained properly. I never do. But, it is ok to do so if you want.

I did bleach it last year but then put it back in the pool to use for the remainder of the summer once we cleared the pink algae. I am in no rush to put the ladder in - would rather wait and be sure than create another problem.

So, I did not use polyquat on my troubled water but spoke with Ben last night because my new fresh water ( after I added the bleach we talked about) tested a CC of 5 - which had me in tears. We discussed a plan to move forward which included polyquat because the man who brought the water suggested I test for metals before adding chlorine because he had seen some pools that he had filled go green after adding the bleach. Ben suggested polyquat to prevent that from happening since he figured the water man must know his water.

I haven't added it yet because I only have a FC this morning of 0.5. ( my cc is still 5.5) I added 3 lbs of CYA by the skimmer, and also put a puck in this morning - but I am assuming this will only bring the FC up a little bit. So, what should I do now? I had asked Ben if I should try to get the FC levels up by pouring in bleach but he said not to lest I turn it green. I think he wanted to bindup the metals with the poly first. But my sense was he just wanted me to run it at the low swimming doses for now and see what happened. So, should I add a little bleach first then a little polyquat? add polyquat then bleach? My pool is not green at all - should I scrap the polyquat? Can i add bleach with the puck in the skimmer? ( I know that is a basic question - sorry - I have no idea how to manage a chlorine pool)

The bottle of poly offers 2 doses - one for freshly filled pools ( 8-11 oz) and one for maintenance ( 2-4 oz) I could always just dose low to start, protect the pool from oxidizing metals and different colors and then I am free to raise the chlorine levels if I need to.

Sorry for all the questions and confusion. My ph is fine btw 7.6 and 7.8. alk 70. so not doing a lot on those ends. I went to Ben about my CC because it is just too complicated to post here. He had me check my reagents and we plan to watch the numbers for a bit. Apparently we are in unchartered territory - again. aciam.

It makes it difficult to help when we aren't given all the info. It may be best if you let Ben help you through this.

+ Add the polyquat right away, and keep doing so at 1.5x maintenance doses. Get it in RIGHT AWAY; we don't want your pool to turn green, while the chlorine is low!!!!!!!!
+ Add the CYA
+ Run your trichlor tabs, and gradually increase them to gradually bring the chlorine level up, over a week's time.
+ Don't use bleach before then.
+ Use borax if the pH goes below 7.0

Ben

I understand. It is hard form me too because I don't always know what to do. I was hoping to still be able to ask the basic questions here through the forum if that's OK. And I figured you all worked together. The last time I had run into trouble you all sent me to him so I figured I would be proactive this time is all.

Like for example just now I tested : FC is up to 1.5 and CC down to 3.5 with no bleach smell for the first time since yesterday. My alkalinity is still 70 but my pH dropped to 6.8-7. ( probably from all the cya and puck this morning) I think I should add Borax? is that right? just can't figure out how much though. Is that OK to ask?

He didn't give me all the specific nitty gritty of how to proceed - like in terms of the poly and the FC dropping so that information is truly valuable for me. I hope I can still ask that here since I think you all are probably more available and more accustomed to answering those types of questions. thanks. aciam

Thanks Ben!

+3 lbs of CYA added at 830 am
+1 trichlor tab put in skimmer at same time with improved readings at noon FC=1.5 CC =3.5 no bleach smell
+I will add polyquat now in the dose of 4-6 oz? and then how often do you want me to keep doing so? please confirm both
+pH at noon down to 6.8-7.0 - have Borax but not sure of dose - is there a reference or can you give dose to me?
+ will not add any more bleach just pucks to inc chlorine until you give me permission

Let me know your thoughts about the ladder whenever you have a chance. thanks. aciam.

Hi Ben - just a quick update.

Noon today - added 4 oz polyquat
2pm added second trichlor puck to skimmer to maintain/inc FC after polyquat addition
3pm added app 18 oz borax to skimmer due to pH of 6.8-7

8PM testing
OTO TC =2 pH = 7.2
DPD FC = 2 pH = 7.2

FAS-DPD FC = 2 CC=4 pH 7.2 alk 70

I am adding nothing at this time.

I will retest in am and add more borax if needed. Let me know what I should be shooting for in terms of FC levels so I can add pucks as needed. And when/if I should re dose polyquat. Thanks! aciam

Looks like you are doing well, and just need to 'stay the course'.

Ben

Thanks Ben!

Here are this morning's number:

OTO TC=3 pH 7.2
DPD FC=3 pH 7.2

FAS-DPD FC 3-3.5 CC 3.5 pH 7.2 alk 60-70

remainder of 2 pucks of trichlor in skimmer

I decided to add just a tiny bit more borax but nothing else. Let me know if I should be messing with the alkalinity at all. We are off to a family function. Will retest tonight.

Questions: What do you want me to be aiming for in terms of FC?
Do you want me to redose polyquat once a week?
Is there any threat to re introducing my pink algae ladder into the pool? or should I just invest in a new one?

Thank you. Have a good Sunday. aciam

Don't worry with anything except chlorine and pH, right now.

It looks good -- once you've got everything stable with those, and you

Hi Ben - looks like your last post got cut off so I missed your words of wisdom at the end! Please feel free to fill them in so I know what it is you were trying to tell me! the answers to all my questions and a plan for moving forward maybe? Still haven't done the swim test but plan on it soon.

Things continue to be stable.

8pm numbers
OTO TC 2 pH 7.2
DPD FC 2 pH 7.2

FAS DPD FC 2.5 ( down from 3-3.5 this morning) CC 3 pH 7.2 alk 60-70

I added a bit more borax and put 2 new trichlor pucks in skimmer for the night( had just the remnants of the last 2 left). Will recheck in morning and follow your advice in meantime! Thanks! aciam

Basically, I was just going to say, hang in there, it looks like all is going well.

Ben

Hi Ben - here are my numbers for today - I am happy with them:

6/27 10 am FAS-DPD FC 6.5 CC 3 pH 7.2 alk 60-70 added sm amt borax
2pm FC 5 CC 2-2.5 pH 7.2 added sm amt borax
7pm FC 5.5 CC 2 pH 7.2 added sm amt borax

I have a test strip to measure CYA and still not showing - don't want to waste reagent by testing for it until abt a week is that right?

Not sure why pH is not rising despite slow and steady additions of borax - is it all the acid dissolving from the CYA? and the trichlor pucks? or is it getting all stuck in the filter ( I'm adding it thru the skimmer - wondered if it is getting all tied up with the CYA in there?)

What is my plan now in terms of Cl levels now? where should I be keeping it? If we swim, what should I do in terms of treating the pool after, ie shocking it? thanks! aciam

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aciam

Hi Ben - here are my numbers for today - I am happy with them:

6/27 10 am FAS-DPD FC 6.5 CC 3 pH 7.2 alk 60-70 added sm amt borax
2pm FC 5 CC 2-2.5 pH 7.2 added sm amt borax
7pm FC 5.5 CC 2 pH 7.2 added sm amt borax

I have a test strip to measure CYA and still not showing - don't want to waste reagent by testing for it until abt a week is that right?

---

I'd wait too unless Ben says otherwise.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aciam

Not sure why pH is not rising despite slow and steady additions of borax - is it all the acid dissolving from the CYA? and the trichlor pucks? or is it getting all stuck in the filter ( I'm adding it thru the skimmer - wondered if it is getting all tied up with the CYA in there?)

---

TriChlor pucks are acidic. Borax is very quick to dissolve. The PH drop from the pucks is probably getting balanced from the Borax. That could result in a static PH as they cancel each other out. It's not a result of getting tied up in the filter. One's lowering PH (TriChlor) and one's raising the PH (Borax).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aciam

What is my plan now in terms of Cl levels now? where should I be keeping it? If we swim, what should I do in terms of treating the pool after, ie shocking it? thanks! aciam

---

You're coming off a Baqaucil conversion?---correct? I'd wait on Ben for any recommendations for Chlorine.

Borax dissolves rapidly enough so that what you add would not get 'stuck' on the filter for long. I'm not sure how much you are adding, but a "small amount" may be simply too small to affect things.

Unless you add CYA directly, you don't need to test for the effect of using trichlor more than once every 2 - 3 weeks. You probably should go ahead and test for calcium and total alkalinity, however.

I wish the CC was lower, but since it's not, using trichlor as you are is probably a good way to chlorinate, as it will tend reduce your CC's.

You probably should try to swim, although I'd be cautious since we really don't know how irritating the remaining CCs are. So limit your swim sessions to brief, but increasing, periods till you are confident that the water is not irritating.

-- I see Yeggim & I have been simul-posting --

Hi Ben -

Here are my numbers from yesterday and today:
6/28 930 am FC - 5-5.5 CC = 2-2.5 pH 7.2 ( still)
pucks dissolved so added 1 new trichlor puck and 9 oz of borax

530 pm FC= 4.5 CC= 2.5 Ph still 7.2 added 9oz borax

today 6/29
930 am FC = 5 CC=1.5 ph still 7.2
230 pm Fc = 3.5 CC = 1.5 pH still 7.2 alk 60 CYA <30(but the black dot was obscured if I filled the tube to top so there is some in there)
puck dissolved so new one added
7pm FC= 3.5 CC= 1-1.5 pH still 7.2

Questions:
1. I added 2.5 to 3 lbs of CYA on saturday - is today's CYA level accurate at 4 days out? do I need to add anymore or just retest at a later date? I think my chlorine is not too unstable.

2. Ph is very stable at 7.2. alk is now 60 - what should I do at this point? keep adding borax? or use baking soda? because I am using trichlor, which is acidic, will I need to constantly be adding borax over the summer?

3. Why does using trichlor tend to decrease CCs? ( I am happy to see it happening before my eyes!) does that mean I wont be able to use liquid bleach at all? what will I do for shocking?

4. What FC am I shooting to maintain? Am I able to go away at all and leave the pool for a few days? I have no idea how to do that and not screw up the chlorine levels.

Hope to try some swimming tomorrow and will let you know how it goes! Thanks. aciam

1. If you are using trichor, I'd wait a few days before retesting.
2. Yes, you probably ought to add a box of borax, and yes, you'll probably be adding borax all summer. That is NOT a bad thing. Borax is a pH stabilizer (eventually) and a moderately effective algae inhibitor, once you reach 50 ppm of borates, which will take a bunch of boxes. It's sold as Optimizer or Proteam Supreme for $3 - 5/lb
3. The TC tabs create a high chlorine zone in the pipes and filter, where the ratio of active chlorine to CC is more favorable. (That's my best guess, anyhow.)
4. The answer to what are normal levels is CYA dependent -- see the Best Guess page linked in my signature. Are you going away soon? If so, you need to buy some polyquat algaecide -- see www.poolsolutions.com/gd/polyquat.html . . . but do NOT buy the HTH label shown. I just found out HTH has been playing label games. You MUST go by chemical name.

Hi Ben

this morning numbers look good - FC 5 CC 1 pH 7.2

I added what was left of my box of borax and will go to buy more today.

I just need a plan as to what I should be doing with the pH and alk, and when things will be "stable"

Questions and responses to you:
1. I do have polyquat by clear view - it is exactly the ingredient as you wrote it on the forum at 60%. I used it on saturday at your recommendation - put in 4oz. What do I do now with it?

2. Yes, we were hoping to go away for a few days over the weekend - how do i do that and maintain my chlorine levels?

3. My alk has been 60-70 all week. Do I try to get the pH higher first and then add baking soda for the alkalinity? or do I use the washing soda to fix both?

4. I have not measured Ca because Ihave a vinyl above ground pool. I assumed i didn't care about it. Am I wrong?

I would love a guideline for the next 3-4 days so I can see if I can leave tomorrow or sat for a few days. I mostly have no idea how to maintain the chlorine - I go through about one puck a day and have no one to add puck while I am gone. Thanks! aciam

To go away for a few days, you'll need to let your chlorine drop to less than 5 ppm and then add a large treatment dose of polyquat. Once you are ready to leave, put your filter on "Circulate", not filter (polyquat comes out on the filter) and add 2x the regular TREATMENT (not maintenance) dose.

That will *probably* take care of it.

If you want to go a step further, you can take your borax level to 50 ppm borates, which will add a permanent algaestat to the water. To do this, buy 10 boxes of borax, and 3 gallons of muriatic acid. Add 8 full boxes of borax -- slowly in the skimmer, pump on, followed by 1 1/2 gallons of muriatic acid.

When adding the acid, wear glasses and gloves, and watch out for the fumes. Make sure the pump is on, and do NOT pour more than 1/2 gallon in a single spot. Submerge the jug partly into the pool so you can pour with the lip only a few inches from the pool surface.

Wait 2 hours, and then test pH. You'll probably need more acid. If the pH is above 7.8, add 1/2 gallon doses. If it's below, add 1/4 gallon doses. Adjust the pH to ~7.2

If you do the borax -- and it's probably a good idea -- add the polyquat AFTER you finish the borax. But, you can go ahead and do the borax while waiting for the chlorine to drop.

Lemme know how it goes.

WOW. I'm not sure I want to go away anymore. That procedure seems pretty intense. Is it just because the pool water is new or is that the procedure anytime I would need to leave? and what would I do about the trichlor pucks and cl level when I left? Do I really leave it on recirculate the whole time we are gone?

If we decide not to go, do I just continue the slow and steady course I am on? I am just not sure of my endpoint in terms of stability of the water. Baquacil was much more stable and required less day to day maintenance. Will I ever get there with chlorine? Am I supposed to be adding more polyquat because I haven't since the first dose in the new water last saturday.

Your pool is in the land of "PoolDoc & Chem_Geek & others don't know what's going on with it". Consequently, I'm being tentative.

That said, at summer time temps, pools do NOT do well with a week's inattention.

This is one of the major benefits of salt systems: if you get the water level and salt level up, and get everything running well before you leave, you can be pretty confident that the salt system feed will 'keep' it for a week.

There are other methods:
+ install a tablet feeder, like a Rainbow 320
+ run your CYA up to 100 ppm, and your chlorine up to 20 ppm
+ have someone check it every other day, and pour 5 - 10 ppm worth of bleach in.
+ clean the pool up thoroughly, and then drop chlorine levels and add an overdose of polyquat.
+ add a heavy dose of a copper algicide.

You could do any of those. They will probably work. But given your pool's recent history, I'm not as confident as I might be otherwise.

I don't really think adding the borax and polyquat is all that hard, however. You've had to do worse, in dealing with this pool, and adding the borax will leave you with a semi-permanent algae inhibitor.

Hi Ben -

so we decided not to go away for the weekend and thus will be able to pay attention to the pool. We didnt have enough time to get the materials we needed, follow the pH and be on the road ahead of traffic. We plan to go away for the weekend in about 2 weeks so that will give me enough time to plan on how to get the pool ready for us to leave. We may have a longer vacation planned in august that we will need to prepare for as well.

should I consider doing the borax/muriatic acid method before then (like next week) in preparation ( and add the polyquat before we actually leave) or will the pool be in a better position to leave in 2 weeks and maybe only need a maintenance dose of polyquat?

This mornings numbers look good: FC 5.5-6 CC 0.5 - 1 alk 70-80 pH 7.4 CYA 20-30 as my best guess

We swam yesterday for the first time - my husband first - with no ill effects; then my kids. everyone is fine this morning as well. no burning or red eyes.

1. do you want me adding weekly doses of maintenance polyquat?

2. what is the procedure for after swimming? do I just maintain my chlorine with the pucks or do I need to shock the pool? you have told me to stay away from liquid bleach so how do I do that ?

3. can you use a tablet feeder in an above ground pool or could I get something like a floater to hold extra pucks for times away from the pool?

4. let me know about whether I should do the borax/acid method even though we aren't going away ( are those amounts correct for a 10 thousand gallon AG pool? 8 boxes seems crazy high! I'll have to go to like 4 stores to find them!)

Thanks! aciam

#1 - No; not till you are ready to leave.
#2 - Just use the pucks. Use bleach only if the chlorine gets below 2 ppm.
#3 - Use a floater.
#4 - The borax is pretty cheap and is a good way to make your pool more resistant to algae. 8 boxes is correct, but you don't have to add it all at once. If you shop at Walmart, there's a good chance you can get by with 2 trips.

Otherwise, your pool numbers look good.

Thanks Ben!

we had another period of swimming today with no ill effects. and my CC is down to 0.5 for the first time ever!!!!! I am just a little ecstatic :)

Who knew watching that tinge of pink turn totally clear could feel so good!!!!

In any case, I am going to need to add some water from my hose tomorrow to top up the water level - our town water supply is known to be hard but I never had any problems with the baquacil pool in terms of metals ( at least as far as I was aware!)

Do I need to do anything special before or after adding the water from the hose tomorrow? ( either now or in the future?) With the new water you had me put in a 1.5 maintenance dose of polyquat. ( was that for the metals or algae? or both?)

Thanks! aciam

Fill through the skimmer. If you got any chlorine tabs, put one in. That way any metals tend to come out on the filter.

Hi Ben - so we had another great day of swimming yesterday - we didn't swim today because of rain.

I added water from my hose yesterday and then again today through the skimmer with a trichlor tab in it as you suggested with no problem.

When I was checking the skimmer basket this evening, I noticed it had an orange-brown hue to it - so I took it out to better inspect and noted some thick black substance on the underlip of the basket. My best guess is that the brown hue was some metal residue from adding water into the basket the last 2 days. I was able to clean it off with some ajax - it did not feel slimy at all - more a color coating.

However, the black substance I am a little more worried about. It was a small amount but thick and almost greasy - it spread out and smeared under my finger and was difficult to clean ( like grease).

I did some reading on the site about black algae and learned about your "schmear" test - I don't remember it looking green at all when I smeared it and I even went back to check the papertowels I had used to clean it - they don't look green to me either. Not sure what black algae feels like or if this is a typical location. I inspected the rest of the pool and it looks pristine.

We did put a new ladder in yesterday - and we used some black silicone sealing tape at the railing ends - but they are not submerged in the pool. ( Is that tape OK to use or should we change it?)

Otherwise my numbers have been stable : FC has been maintained between 3.5 and 5.5 over the last 2 days and CC has been 0.5 most recently. I have seen no increase in chlorine needs. I continue to use trichlor tabs.
Ph is 7.3 and alk 70-80
CYA today was btw 30 and 40

1. do you agree the color change in skimmer is likely due to some metal deposition from adding water with tab in it? and not a worry.

2. any thoughts about the black substance? do I need to be worried? ( I have a 10K gal vinyl AG pool)

Obviously I will inspect closely again tomorrow. The drain/refill of my water happened on june 24th so the new water has been in only 9 days. You did have me add 4oz of polyquat on the 25th. Other than that, I have only added borax, baking soda, bleach and trichlor to the water. Thanks! aciam

It's pretty normal to have black goo accumulate in skimmers and such. It seems to be related to body oils, sunscreen, and/or mold compounds used in making tabs. I wouldn't worry, though I would wipe it offl.

The test for metal is vitamin C -- if a crushed damp v-C tab removes it, it's metal.

Hi Ben - so it's been a couple of days since I have posted and I just wanted you to know that - I don't have any more questions for you!!!!

You and your moderators have fixed my pool!!!!! I have had a CC of 0 for the last 24 hours - yes that's right - big fat zero!!!! I almost can't believe my eyes when I look at the non-pink clarity of my water in the taylor comparator tube!!!! I keep testing just to get the thrill of the end result! So thank you for all of your patience and diligence and for sharing all of your knowledge with me - and thank you to chem geek and waterbear and watermom and everyone else who responded to my posts and helped. It has been a truly crazy 6 weeks! You were right when you said it might get better in a week or two - after I added the new water and it still had a CC of 5. And I am so thankful! Just wanted to let you know! aciam

PS - I still am quite an amateur at managing a chlorine pool so I am sure I will continue to have questions unfortunately for you :) and since I trust no one but the pool forum here I will be asking them all to you guys! - just in case you were thinking about closing out this thread!

Congratulations on having finally gotten the pool under control--now enjoy it!! And we wouldn't be closing out this thread...but you're welcome to ask any questions you come up with, just start new threads with them!!

Happy swimming...

Hi Ben - so all has been well with our pool these last few weeks. I went ahead and added a total of 8 boxes of borax with muriatic acid to neutralize per your instructions last week over several days so that I have a semipermanent algistat in the water. ( in preparation for going away) I now have a few questions:

1. my cya is now up to 60-70; a while ago you told me to switch to liquid bleach from the trichlor tabs I have been using once I hit a cya of 60. But, because of my pool's tenuous history, you had also told me at one point not to use liquid bleach.
-So, I was just wondering what I should do at this point.
-And, if I use the liquid do I add it through skimmer?
-And I think you once said that the cya would decrease by backwashing my sand filter - is that right? and so should I do it and continue with the trichlor tabs since they have worked so well.

2. we are planning to go away sunday through thursday - I have someone who can come a couple times to test and put bleach into the pool while we are away. Do I have to do anything to prep the pool to leave it now that it has been up and running almost a month and the borax is in. would your advice be different if friends will swim in it while we are away?

Thank you! aciam

+ When you lose water by backwashing, you replace it with water that has not stabilzer. So, over time, you reduce stabilizer. Chem_Geek has also reported that you may lose as much as 5% per month, via various mechanisms.
+ Add the bleach to the pool. You could add through the skimmer, but you've got to make sure there's nothing in the lines, so it's just easier to add to the pool. Just make sure your pump is running, either way.
+ It's fine to use bleach now, but while you're gone it might be easier for someone just to maintain 2 - 3 tabs in your skimmer. That's what I'd lean toward.

Hi Ben!

Well we have had a great summer swimming in our drained and freshly filled newly chlorinated pool and I have used only borax, baking soda, and bleach to maintain it! Here in Mass the nights are getting cold so our above ground, non heated pool has come to its last weekend of use. We are preparing to close it for the winter and I need a cheat sheet version of how to do it with chlorine based pools.

As a reminder, our pool is approximately 10 thousand gallons, oval above ground pool. ( and remember we have used baquacil for the last 10 years prior to this summer's conversion/drain and refill so I am unsure if the closing procedure is different with chlorine). We always use a pillow in the middle of the pool and put a cover on. I usually just drain it to below the skimmer basket and plug up the inlet opening to minimize having to add water next season. And we always take in the motor and cover the filter.

I most importantly need to know about the chemicals to put in and the timing for them in order to winterize the pool. And if you have any other suggestions about my above described plan feel free to let me know!

Thank you again for all of your help - we would never have gotten through the conversion without you! aciam

There is a sticky at the top of the Fall Preparation forum that may be helpful to you.