First time opening pool since joining this forum

Hi all, Spring is taking forever to warm up here is Wisconsin and I'm finally able to open my pool. Last year I learned more from this forum than I did in the previous 20 years of pool ownership. Because I want to break more of all the bad habits I had pre-forum, I wanted to get your advice on pool opening chemical balancing. I tested the water and have the following
PH = 8+
TA = 110
Hardness = 150
CYA = 0

If I've learned anything, I believe the first things I need to get a handle on are the CYA and PH. Am I correct? Thanks

That is correct. Do you have any FC/CC readings?

Hi, I forgot the FC/CC readings. They are both at zero.

Well, CC of zero is great; FC not so much. What have you done so far? I hope you got the FC to 2ppm.

All I've done so far is
skim the pool of winter debris

I would not wait any longer to get some chlorine in there. Do it ASAP. Do you remember quantities and stuff? Do you have some CYA you can start adding?

Just in case, for now add ABOUT 16 oz of 31.45% MA or equivalent. Add a little over 1/2 gallon 8.25% bleach or equivalent. Then test about a half hour or hour later and see where you are. Let us know what type of CYA you have and we can figure out quantities. You don't want to overshoot your goal.

I bought some HTH granular conditioner that is 96% cyanuric acid. The package calls for 4 lbs for a 20,000 gallon pool to get a reading of 20ppm. I've added the chlorine and some muriatic acid as well to start bringing the PH down. I'll test in a half hour to see what reading we have.

While you're waiting, how does your water look? Is it clear?

Water is green and cloudy

Bummer. More questions:
1) did you retest? If so, did you register any FC/CC?
2) can you see the bottom? If so, is there any gunk you can clean out? If not, use your leaf Rake and see if you can dig up any organics in there.
3) did you add cya yet? If not, don't.
4) how is your supply of 0871 and powder for testing? You will need a good supply for your next steps.

I did retest. FC is 4, CC is 2. I can't see the bottom. I did add the CYA. I'll have to start cleaning the debris of the bottom over the next few days. It's going to be a cool week, so I'm not too concerned about having it ready for the weekend.

.
Okay. Read CarlD's excellent post here: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...You-have-ALGAE!!!

Towards the bottom it talks about algae and the importance of brushing, etc.

Get the crud out ASAP as it will use up your chlorine as fast as you put it in. Your high CC proves this.

Bring your FC up to 15 and keep it there, not letting it drop below 12. Keep your pump on continuously.

If adding 1/2 gallon of 8.25% brought you to FC of 4, your pool volume might very well be less than you think.

A green, cloudy pool would not be clear by this weekend anyway; it will take a while, sorry. S-)

Stock up on bleach, Taylor reagent R-0871, and patience.

Let us know how it goes and if you have any other questions. Wishing you good luck!

Hi again, I'm working on getting the crud out. It appears to be working. The color has gone from a deep green to a light green. It's still got a lot of brushing and pool cleaner work to go, but i'm seeing progress.
I'm sure I've got 25,000 gallons, I actually added a full gallon of 12.5% to get my FC to 4.
2 gallons of 12.5% and a gallon of acid over the past 3 day, my ph is down to 7.4, but my FC/CC is only 3/.4. So I added another 2 gallons tonight of 12.5% to get that chlorine level up. I m considering some clarifier to get the finer granules to clump, but I'll wait to see how the weekend goes.

No clarifier, please. Good job on the crud. Thanks for explaining the FC results. What kind of filter do you have?

Our filter is a sand filter, not sure what brand though. Why no clarifier? I wasn't planing on buying any, I have about a pint left from when I was trusting the local pool store for advice.

Just did my chem tests. FC/CC is great. 13.6/.2. PH is 7.2. the only issue was my CYA was under 20. I added enough acid to bring it up to around 30.

Clarifier is just one of those things that you don't need when you follow our methods. Vacuum the big stuff, filter the small stuff.

With a sand filter, you can add DE and it will help your filter remove fine particulates. Here's how: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...to-sand-filter

I just saw your edit with your test results. Good job keeping FC towards 15. Remember, no lower than 12. Assume you are at 30 CYA for your calculations.

You will save on reagents if you use the 10ml sample instead of the 25ml. Use 1 scoop of powder, then add R-0871 dropwise. Multiply by 0.5. In other words, 23 drops is 11.5ppm.

Also, check your supply of R-0871. Order more when it looks low so you don't run out! You need plenty when you are at shock level.

Yeah, I found out quickly last year how much R-0871 you can go through. I use the 25 ml sample only if I know my levels are low. I was actually surprised yesterday when it was where it was because of how much algae my pool cleaner stirred up. This morning my pool color is a light green. Still can't see the bottom of the deep end, but definite progress.

How did things go over the long weekend? I hope you were able to stay on that FC and keep it at shock level or above! Let us know.

Hi, The weekend was no problem. Ran the pool cleaner the whole time and had to backwash often. We had a downpour on Sunday that added about 3" to the pool and brought the FC down to about 5.5. I've needed about a gallon of 12.5% each day to keep the chlorine level at 14 or higher. Testing tonight when I got home from work I found my FC/CC was at 6.5/.5. My PH is 7.2. Alkalinity is 110 and hardness 150.

Well, the CC sure looks better! There's no need to retest your TA and CH right now. (Remember that you can only accurately test pH with FC levels under 10). So don't worry about pH either for now.

How does the water look? How often are you able to check FC?

Get that FC back up and now that your CYA should be there, bump the FC up to a minimum of 15. Since you're working during the day, you could raise it higher in the morning so that it doesn't drop below 15 during the day. You can go higher if you don't plan on swimming.

Am I getting too impatient if my water hasn't cleared up. I'm going through about 2 gallons of 12.5% a day to keep the FC up over 15. My CC is hovering at .5 to 1. All my other tests look good, but my water is a very pale teal color and I can't see the bottom yet. Don't know if it matters, but we've had a lot of rain this past week.

Patience is the hardest part of the process, for sure! Have you tested your CYA after your addition? The rain might have diluted it a bit.

My CYA was at 50 when I tested last week on Monday. I haven't tested it since, but I doubt a couple of inches of rain would take it down below 40 or so.
Well, to quote Yoda, "PATIENCE YOU MUST HAVE, YOUNG JEDI". And patient I shall be.

Haha! Keep it up, young padawan! A few inches of rain, I agree. We have had more than you apparently.

Any news?

We've finally had some warmer days. So far this summer seems colder than last. Anyway, the pool finally cleared up early this week. It's crystal clear, clean, and COLD AS THE ARCTIC. If this global warming, ahem, climate change keeps up, I'll need a heater. Thanks so much for all the advice.

Hahaha. Gotcha on the climate change! More rain today for us...

Congrats!!!! and thanks for the update. It's great to know.
Did you keep your FC at shock level the whole time?

Let us know if any questions come up. Again, congrats!!!

Sorry for not looking at this in a while. Yes, the shock level was kept over 14. Even the weekend we went camping, it stayed up there. As of today, we're still clear. I'm keeping my FC around 3 to 4, my CC has remained near zero, and my PH has been steady at 7.2 to 7.4 with very little acid needed. I'm thrilled with the way things went this year and will keep reading things in this forum in the future. Thanks again fir all your help.

Welcome!!!!! It's always great to hear the final news!