Pool problems.

I have been a pool owner for about a year now and I must admit that I didn't do a good job running the pool. I promised my self that I would learn the correct way.

My pool is really brown/cloudy. Here are my test results.

About 20000 gallon plaster IG pool
Hayward cartridge filter has been on 24/7 for weeks

CL - off the chart. I put 6 large bottles of bleach in yesterday (4-25-06)
PH - 7.2
Total Alkalinity - I stopped putting drops in the tester at 70 drops
Total Hardness - I added 5 drops of hardness indicator and the water started to turn blue until I mixed the water then it went clear.
CYA - About 120


I think the first thing I need to do is get the CYA down no?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Edit:

I read the FAQ on HOWTO: Step-by-Step Guide to lowering your alkalinity.

I turned on the water fall to help aerate the pool
Should I put acid in the pool even know my Ph is low? I will hold off on putting anything in the pool until I am instructed to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by localfinesse

CL - off the chart. I put 6 large bottles of bleach in yesterday (4-25-06)
PH - 7.2

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That should have raised your chlorine by 15ppm or so. ETA: you said large bottles-do you mean gallons, or the big jugs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by localfinesse

Total Alkalinity - I stopped putting drops in the tester at 70 drops
Total Hardness - I added 5 drops of hardness indicator and the water started to turn blue until I mixed the water then it went clear.
CYA - About 120


I think the first thing I need to do is get the CYA down no?

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I'd be more concerned about why the water isn't clearing up. Have you cleaned the cartridge, and how does the clean pressure now compare to what it was when new? Cartridges can get dirty or get a hole in them, both of which will make the filter ineffective for different reasons.

You do need to lower your CYA, and the only way to do that is water replacement. However, if you replace water, you also have to replace chlorine in order to keep algae under control.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by localfinesse

I turned on the water fall to help aerate the pool
Should I put acid in the pool even know my Ph is low? I will hold off on putting anything in the pool until I am instructed to.

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I don't really think your TA is over 700. Did you use the 0007 neutralizer? My fill water is insanely high at 400ppm TA. I don't think 700 ppm water would be drinkable. I wouldn't mess with it until you get the other stuff cleared up. If you replace water for CYA, it may undo whatever alkalinity changes you make. Leaving the waterfall on should raise your pH without raising your alkalinity, which is good, but you'll need to keep an eye on your pH.

You also need to know and watch your calcium levels. The life of your plaster depends on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnT

That should have raised your chlorine by 15ppm or so. ETA: you said large bottles-do you mean gallons, or the big jugs?

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Yes it was 6 gallons. I don't know why I said 6 large bottles.

Quote:

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I'd be more concerned about why the water isn't clearing up. Have you cleaned the cartridge, and how does the clean pressure now compare to what it was when new? Cartridges can get dirty or get a hole in them, both of which will make the filter ineffective for different reasons.

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I cleaned the cartridges 3 months ago. I will have a look at them on Sunday. I am having lasik today. (Friday) I will need a few days to rest. I will report back then. Today it isn't green any more just really cloudy. I can only see the 3rd step.

Quote:

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You do need to lower your CYA, and the only way to do that is water replacement. However, if you replace water, you also have to replace chlorine in order to keep algae under control.

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So how much water should I drain? And do I add more bleach when it is drained?

Quote:

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I don't really think your TA is over 700. Did you use the 0007 neutralizer? My fill water is insanely high at 400ppm TA. I don't think 700 ppm water would be drinkable. I wouldn't mess with it until you get the other stuff cleared up. If you replace water for CYA, it may undo whatever alkalinity changes you make. Leaving the waterfall on should raise your pH without raising your alkalinity, which is good, but you'll need to keep an eye on your pH.

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What is 0007 neutralizer and where do I get it? I ready a few posts saying if you CL is too high it may bleach out your other results. Do you think this could be the case? I tested the water again today and I had the same results. My CL was orange.



Thanks

The R-0007 neutralizer is the Taylor test kit reagent that you use for the pH and alkalinity test to neutralize high chlorine levels. Draining and refilling to fix the CYA is straightforward: Replace 10% of the water, reduce the CYA by 10%. Replace 50% of the water, reduce the CYA by 50%.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by localfinesse

So how much water should I drain? And do I add more bleach when it is drained?



What is 0007 neutralizer and where do I get it? I ready a few posts saying if you CL is too high it may bleach out your other results. Do you think this could be the case? I tested the water again today and I had the same results. My CL was orange.



Thanks

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Yesterday morning I cleaned the the cartridges. When I checked the pool this morning I could see the bottom and it doesn't look that cloudy any more. I kinda clear but not crystal clear.

Here are the results from the test.

CL - still orange (high)
pH - about 7.3
Total Hardness - Took 10 drops to turn water to red and took 60 to turn to blue
Total Alkalinity - After it turned green it took 60 drops to turn blue
CYA - I tested it 3 times. All 3 times it was 95 - 100. I think the first test was incorret.


Anybody know where to get the Taylor test kit? I will check walmart today.

Thanks again.

Brad

Brad,

Most local pool stores carry Taylor reagent vials. That's were I get my re-stock each spring. Walmart carries a 5 or 6 way drops kit that many people use. Good luck

CaryB

We did some construction around our pool a year ago (sewer line and new sidewalk leading up to the pool) - and our water was a yucky brown color just like yours when we opened the pool last spring. It was closed properly, I'm guessing we got a lot of dirt and silt from all the dust in the air from digging.

Anyway, I just kept hitting it with several bottles of bleach every day, and I think I used a 1-pound pack of Cal Hypo shock each day as well. It cleared up nicely in about 5 days. I had to have the pool guy come out and vacuum with his truck-mounted vacuum because there was a lot of dirt and gunk on the pool floor. That helped tremendously.

This year the water was clear when we opened the pool this weekend. The only real difference is that the pool guy drilled holes in a big chlorine bucket and put some tabs of Tri-Chlor in it and tied it off to one of the rope hooks when he closed the pool last fall. Not sure how many tabs he used. I will definitely do that again this fall when we close it up.

bcb1 - After a bucket full of trichlor tabs, you should test your cya.

Ok after testing tonight.

CL - bright yellow still high
pH - 7.4
Total Alk - 110
Total Hardness - couldn't get a reading. I had to add 11 drops to get it to turn blue to start.
CYA - is now 60 - 65.

Questions for everybody else now?

How do I get my total hardness down to a readable level?
Why is my CYA dropping so fast? I used pucks for 3 straight weeks about 1 1/2 months ago. Could that have something to do with it?

I currently have a 2 year old Hayward vacuum cleaner. How long do these things last? I was looking at the Hayward phantom tonight. That thing looks very nice. Anybody have one?

One more question not about my pool. If I register to this site for 1 year. Would that get me access to the poolsolutions guides? What does registration get you?

Thanks again to everybody that replied.

The water is looking a lot better now. There is a lot of algae on the bottom of the pool that I can't brush off. What can I do about that?

My test results are

CL - Still of the chart - Not as bright yellow as it was thought.
pH - 7.3
Total Alk - 100
Total Hardness - couldn't get a reading.
CYA - 60 - 65.

Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by localfinesse

Ok after testing tonight.

CL - bright yellow still high
pH - 7.4
Total Alk - 110
Total Hardness - couldn't get a reading. I had to add 11 drops to get it to turn blue to start.
CYA - is now 60 - 65.

Questions for everybody else now?

How do I get my total hardness down to a readable level?
Why is my CYA dropping so fast? I used pucks for 3 straight weeks about 1 1/2 months ago. Could that have something to do with it?

I currently have a 2 year old Hayward vacuum cleaner. How long do these things last? I was looking at the Hayward phantom tonight. That thing looks very nice. Anybody have one?

One more question not about my pool. If I register to this site for 1 year. Would that get me access to the poolsolutions guides? What does registration get you?

Thanks again to everybody that replied.

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1. To get a more accurate reading on your chlorine, have you tried the dilution method? Take one shot glass of pool water and one shot glass of DISTILLED water and use that to test your Cl. Then multiply the number you get by 2. If still to high to read, then change to 2 shots of DISTILLED water to 1 of pool water and mutiply number by 3. Should be able to determine a high Cl level this way.

2. Algae can eat up CYA, and could be why yours is dropping. A reading of 60 is okay. Pucks drive up the CYA, push down the pH. By switching to bleach, you avoid this completely.

3. On the calcium test: I've only used Ben's test kit for this, so if you're using something else I can't help. My advice woud be to take a sample to a pool store if your can, and let them test for this. But don't let them talk you into buying anything. Get numbers, then get out.

Hope this helps.

CaryB

We've had a Hayward Phantom for about 2 months now and have been very happy with it. Easy to install. Comes with an installation DVD. I did it myself in about 20 minutes. I love how it cleans the sides, steps and top of the pool. It doesn't do a perfect job on the steps but pretty good. We got it from flpools on eBay for $480 and would gladly buy from him again. Quick and helpful response to pre-sales questions, and lighting fast ship.

Thanks for all the help so far guys/gals. I posted a few pictures of my pool
http://slabindustries.com/brad/myalbum.html Does my pool look about 20,000 gallons? What is the best way to measure? Its 3ft at the shallow end and 6ft at the deep end.

I still have a lot of algae in the pool as you can see if the pictures. My water is pretty clear. My test results from Leslie’s pool are;

CL 5+
pH 7.4
Alk 120
CYA 120
Total Dissolved Solids 2500
Phosphates 500

That’s all they tested. They said I need to drain my pool to get the TDS down. I asked him to test my hardness but he said no because my TDS was so high. So what is the next step that I have to do? If I have to drain my pool do I need to drain it completely?

Also what do you guys use to clean the cartages? I have been using a hose and my thumb. :) Is there an easier way? Is the stuff at the pool store good to soak them in? If not what else can I use.

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks,

A couple of things are making it difficult to know what to tell you to help. Your cya readings are all over the place. It makes a difference in how much chlorine we recommend that you add. Also, we need to know what your cl level is. Not just 5+. Can you use the dilution method described above and try and get a more defined reading? Also, try your cya test again. I know your pool store did it for you, but many pool stores give rather "shaky" readings and we are pretty apprehensive to rely on them. Someone else can better advise you about cleaning cartridge filters. I have never had one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ivyleager

1. To get a more accurate reading on your chlorine, have you tried the dilution method? Take one shot glass of pool water and one shot glass of DISTILLED water and use that to test your Cl. Then multiply the number you get by 2. If still to high to read, then change to 2 shots of DISTILLED water to 1 of pool water and mutiply number by 3. Should be able to determine a high Cl level this way.

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I did the dilution method. With 1 shot of pool water and 1 shot of distilled water. My result was 3 x 2 = 6 CL


Thanks for the tip

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Watermom

A couple of things are making it difficult to know what to tell you to help. Your cya readings are all over the place. It makes a difference in how much chlorine we recommend that you add. Also, we need to know what your cl level is. Not just 5+. Can you use the dilution method described above and try and get a more defined reading? Also, try your cya test again. I know your pool store did it for you, but many pool stores give rather "shaky" readings and we are pretty apprehensive to rely on them. Someone else can better advise you about cleaning cartridge filters. I have never had one.

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I know my CYA reading have been all over the place. In the past I have relied on the pool store. So I may be doing it wrong. I should slowly put drops in the canister waiting for the black dot to completely disappear correct? When the poll store does the test for me they stop when you can faintly see the dot. When I test it I keep going until I can't see any black dot at all. Which is the correct way? I just tested the water again and I came up with CYA about 70. That is when the dot completely went away.

Thanks for all your patience

You are correct. You take the reading when you can no longer see the dot. So, we'll assume that your cya is 70. With a cya that high, you'll have to run higher than normal chlorine levels to kill algae and subsequently to keep it from coming back once it is gone. Take a look at the chart at the following link. You need to shock to 20ppm and try and hold it there to clear your pool. Test 3x a day and each time, add enough bleach to raise it back up to 20. After the algae is gone, you'll need to maintain your chlorine levels between 5-10 all the time. In a 20,000 gallon pool, every 2 quarts (half gallon) of 6% bleach will raise your chlorine level by about 1.5ppm.

I really think you should consider buying Ben's testkit at the www.poolsolutions.com website especially since it will allow you to test high chlorine levels which you are going to need with high cya. Most other kits you can buy can only test up to about 5. Well worth the money and what most of us use. Another option you have after you clear your pool is to do a partial drain and lower your cya. If you replace half your water, that would put your cya at about 35 which would be good. But, that is a lot of water to replace. You may just decide to live with the high cya.

Hang in there and keep hitting it with bleach. We'll stay with you until you get your problem taken care of.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365

Thanks,

But what about the
Total Dissolved Solids - 2500, Phosphates - 500, and how high my total hardness is. Would I need to drain my pool to correct these things?

What is so bad if the 3 things above are high? Will it hurt my pool at all? If it would I would rather drain some of the water.

Thanks again.

Can anyone help me on the last question I posted? I would like to refill the pool tomorrow if I have to.

thanks again.

Brad

I ended up draining about 1/4 of the pool and am in the process of filling it back up. I will report my results when it is full.