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Hi, I am new to the forum and have been searching to see if there is a post that shows what brand of chemicals everyone prefers. The only pool supply store I am near carries Bioguard. But, I don't mind shopping on Amazon. I need a good shock for algae.
Chlorine in the form of good 'ol bleach. "Shock" just means you bring your chlorine in the pool up to a level that will kill an algae bloom, usually up to 20-25% of your CYA or stabilizer level. You can buy bleach from any store, for me the cheapest is walmart brand regular bleach, costs about $2.90 for 121 oz (not quite a gallon). Even cheaper is the Pool Essentials chlorine at $2.50 in the pool section of walmart, and it is more concentrated. Some people on this forum get chlorine elsewhere, it depends on where you live. I have checked with my local pool store and their chlorine is way too expensive. The only thing I buy at my local pools store is Taylor testing reagents and PVC parts for my pool brand, and even then I can usually find it cheaper online.
Thanks! I guess I need to educate myself a bit more on chemicals. I assumed "shock" purchased from the pool store had something else in it!
Now you mention it, yes it has. Usually more cyanuric acid stabiliser, A lot of pools get into trouble through being over stabilised so adding bleach removes that issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by spatt
Very powerful shock (HTH brand etc are calcium hypochlorite) this doesn't contain stabiliser but is usually more expensive than bleach and can add even more calcium hardness.
That means bleach is the way to go!
Your welcome! You can learn a lot by browsing around this forum or the sister site Pool Solutions.
Thank you both. I didn't get much education when we had the pool installed 3 years ago. Just a pentair test kit, chlorine tabs, baking soda, muratic acid and a huge bill. The pentair test kit seemed fine until I developed some sort of algae a few weeks ago. It actually looked like a rust stain at first then morphed into what looked like a clot of dirt stuck to the bottom then it started spreading. I am assuming it's black algae but the color is still rust so maybe mustard algae. So, I headed to the only pool store in my town and they had me shock it and add an algae killer which did nothing except cause my pool to foam and develop a weird green film on the water line of my filter baskets. We have brushed, scraped and rubbed with a chlorine tablet but nothing has changed. So, after reading a few posts her I decided maybe I better order a different test kit and see what is really going on with my water. Until I get the Taylor K2006 kit that I ordered I don't feel comfortable dumping bleach in because my current test kit only goes to 3.0. I have never tested anything other than chlorine, PH and alkalinity. I am confused about all the other tests mentioned in posts. Hopefully, after doing some additional research on the boards I will be able to find out what else I need to be doing!
Maybe we can get started now rather than wait for your taylor kit and your pool is a disaster.
1. Get an HTH 6-way test kit from Walmart, if you can. You can test everything fairly accurately and use the reagents for daily testing of chlorine, its cheaper than the taylor drop test but is certainly not as accurate. Test your pool TODAY and post all the results.
2. List your pool specs: vinyl or not, size, fill water source, pump and filter set-up, temp, etc.
3. What's in your pool now? what did the pool store have you put in and how much?
4. My guess is you need to stop using the pucks (tabs) for now, and use only chlorine in the form of bleach. I am betting your stabilizer (CYA) level has gotten way too high.
Once you post the above we can help you along, but don't wait too long or you will have much more work to do, and summer is almost over.
Well, I doubted my little Wal-Mart was going to have the HTH kit but they did!
I have run the tests and here are the results. Also, I updated my signature line with my pool specs.
Temp - 86
TC - looks a little greater than 5 ppm but the test didn't go any higher.
PH - 7.6
CYA - 80 ppm
ALK - 120 ppm
Hardness - 700
Doesn't that all look pretty good other than the chlorine and the hardness?
Honestly, I need to get a picture of the "algae". I had a pool guy look at it and he couldn't tell what it was.
I went to my local pool store and followed his directions. I shocked it two weeks ago with bioguard 3 and immediately followed with bioguard banish. I brushed before and after for several days. After a week I cleaned my filter cartridges. I saw no results other than foam on the top of my pool the next day.
Then I was able to go to Leslie's (after reading the forum, I wish I hadn't) and was told to use their Black Algae killer. I added it per the bottles instructions on Thursday last week and brushed. I waited to wash my filter cartridges. Again I saw no difference. The pool foamed again and a green gunk stuck on the water line around the pool. I'm still struggling to get that all cleaned off.
Lastly, my husband got into the pool with a chlorine puck and scrubbed each spot but I still see no difference. And, it's not spreading quickly either. It has stopped where it is so maybe thats progress. Or maybe it's just a stinkin stain and I cant tell (insert hair pulling emoji here)
Thank you for your time - I really appreciate it!
Sounds like a beautiful pool! Yes, your numbers look good for now. One question you didn't answer is what do you usually use in your pool?
Don't put anything in your pool right now but chlorine in the form of bleach. If you the label of regular bleach and the Pool Essentials chlorinating liquid in the pool isle at Walmart, they are the exact same substance. Don't get rid mof the tablets, they will be useful, they have chlorine, cya and calcium. You don't need any more cya or calcium.
A good rule is to only put in your pool what it needs. Read up on the BBB method here and at Pool solutions, I can't explain it as well as Ben and the other mods did back when this forum was in its prime.
Then first thing to do is to get your chlorine up to shock level. If your test kit is still yellowish and not orange, we can add some bleach safely. According to the best guess chart, your shock level is 20+ppm. 1 bottle of bleach at 8.25% will add approx. 4 ppm FC to the pool, the Pool Essentials chlorine will add a little over 5 ppm.I feel comfortable adding at least 2 bottles, that should get us close to 20 ppm.
After that, brush your pool every day, vacuum and backwash as needed. Other than that, we'll have to wait for your new test kit and see how it goes. Let Mme know!
I have been using the 3" chlorine tabs from Leslie's.
I am out of town until this evening. I will add the bleach when I get home. Which, after reading this forum is better anyway. Are the metal brushes better? I'm terrified they may be to abrasive?
When should I retest?
Retest every day, though accuracy of chlorine testing will not be good until you get the taylor kit. Many pool problems are the result of not testing everyday, and inaccurate testing using strips or the pool store. I am sorry, I just noticed the size of your pool was 25K (thought I read 20K earlier), so would add 3 bottles of bleach.
I am not familiar with gunite pools, so maybe someone else can chime in with what kind of brush to use.
Just to clarify, you will need to use a chlorine source in the future that has calcium in it, you just don't need the stabilizer in the pucks right now. Again, someone familiar with gunite pools can add to this.
Ok, I just got home and it's raining but I am heading out to pour in the bleach and remove the chlorine tabs. I will keep testing and update you! Also, since it appears its just you and I in this thread, I may post under algae and ask about the brush.
Test for black algae in this manner and report back:
Do the fingernail test to verify that you've got black algae. Scarpe some of the algae so that it gets under your fingernail and then smear the collected stuff onto thick white paper. An index card will do. If it's black algae, it will be dark green. If not green, you have something else going on.
How is your pool doing?
Well, the spots are still there and I am still debating what the heck it is. I did shock it with 3 gallons of bleach a couple of weeks ago. The spots were and still are unchanged. At least they havent gotten any bigger or multiplied. I was out of town for a few days and was just able to test my water a minute ago. I used the Taylor K-2006 test kit.
FC - 2ppm
CC - 0
PH - 7.8
ALK - 110
CAL - 270
CYA 80
I struggle with the CYA test. Do you drop until the black dot is really completely gone? It seems I can always make it out a little ... This time I just added until my hubs couldn't see it!
The spots are still there because 3 gallons of bleach was not enough to shock a 25K gallon pool. That would just get you started... some algae will only respond to VERY high levels of chlorine over an extended period.Quote:
Originally Posted by spatt
And having that level of CYA (80 ppm) in your pool works against you when you're trying to get rid of algae.
If you type the results of your most recent test into a calculator, you'll see what I mean.
http://poolcalculator.com
If possible, drain some of the pool water until you can get CYA down to 30-40, ideally. Otherwise, shocking will require 20-40 ppm of chlorine -- perhaps more, over any number of days. That's a lot of bleach!
To effectively rid your pool of the algae, prepare yourself for a multiple day attack. Buy twice as much bleach as you'll think you need. Buy that stainless steel brush and use it. It should be OK with gunite and it's meant to be abrasive. But any brush is superior to not brushing.
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"It actually looked like a rust stain at first then morphed into what looked like a clot of dirt stuck to the bottom then it started spreading. I am assuming it's black algae but the color is still rust so maybe mustard algae."
Sure doesn't sound like green algae. Recommend using amount of chlorine appropriate for mustard algae.
Start by dropping your pH to around 7.4. Do this because the chlorine will be more effective at a lower pH level and it will be impossible to test it in the days that you'll be shocking the water (the chlorine affects the phenol red pH indicator in Taylor kits).
Then hit the pool with a dose of chorine that will bring it to shock level ALL AT ONCE. If you can do it in late afternoon or evening, all the better. Test the chlorine every few hours and first thing in the morning and KEEP adding chlorine to maintain shock level until there's no more than about 1 PPM drop in FC from midnight to dawn.
If possible, run the main filter pump 24/7. The entire process could take a few days... to a few weeks. Some species of algae can survive high levels of chlorine for days or months which is why you must....
Brush at least once every day.
Clean the filter cartridges once this is all over to be sure nothing is lurking in there... and thereafter increase your minimum FC level to 10-15% of CYA.
Example CYA 50 PPM x .10 = FC 5 PPM
Best of luck to you!
Oh yes, check out these pics of the CYA test at Taylor's website, linked below. The black dot really does disappear.
WHY MONITOR CYANURIC ACID?
https://www.taylortechnologies.com/C...P?ContentID=44
I'm sorry I am quick to respond but I do read posts as soon as they come up and put the advice into action.
I could drain some of the pool but not half as the pool calculator states.
I am lowering my PH today and adding bleach tonight.
Wish me luck ..
I decided to do a partial drain to get my CYA down before shocking. This took a few days to accomplish because my husband had to track down the pumps. The CYA is still at 60. I guess since the pumps are still here, I will drain again, re-adjust PH to 7.4 and shock. The pool calculator is a GREAT TOOL! I had never seen it before.