Pool Opening - PS234 Test

FC - 21
CC - .5
TC - 21.5
PH - 6.8 or < (yellow)
Alk - 60
Cal - 40
CYA - 0
Temp - @40

IG, Vinyl liner @22,000 Gal. W/chlorine that high, should I try to correct everything now? And I have a LP heater so I guess I should get the Cal. up as well?

We had a few problems last year with algae blooms and PH/Alk all over the place. We've used the pucks ( 3B's now :) ) for chlorination, so I expected CYA to be at least a reading, but nothing. I have some pucks left over ... shall I throw them in there (or get the PH up first?)? I had a mesh cover and although the pool is filthy, it doesn't look that bad algae-wise. On to vacuuming...

Any tips on where to really start would be appreciated, thanks!! I know it needs work.

First, raise your pH, now, with borax.

Second, make sure your pH is up, to at least 7.2. If it's not, keep going.

Third, get your pH to 7.2 - 7.4, and don't stop till you get there.:p


After you finish that, you can worry about other levels. Meanwhile, filter 24/7, and brush and vacuum till you're all clean. And, if the chlorine drops below 5.0, add bleach in the evening to get it back up to 10 ppm or so. Don't use tabs; don't mess with other stuff; don't try to fix everything else, till the pH is up and the algae gone.

Good luck,

Ben

PS: You need to get your pH up! A reading of 6.8 means that it's 6.8 or LOWER, not that it's exactly 6.8. It may be 4.5!!

PPS: If you add borax, and nothing seems to happen, add another box. Add slowly, via the skimmer, and wait 2 - 4 hours between additions. If you think you are using too much borax, and that your testkit's not working, sprinkle a pinch of borax into your pH water sample: if it turns purpley, your test is fine. So, add another box of borax.

Hi, Rhosk,

What strikes me as needing work just might be your test results!! :) :)

If your results are good, you must've put a really big dose of Cl into your pool within a couple hours or less of the test. Otherwise your Cl would be ZERO since you have no stabilizer. Confirm that's the case....I'm gonna' assume it is.

Assuming the above is accurate, your Cl will be close to zero this evening. I would get some CYA right away, I would get some 20 mule team borax as well.

The sooner you get your stabilizer and borax in the pool, the better your pool will hold the Cl during the day. (again, assuming CYA of zero) Bring stabilizer up to around 30-40ppm and put enough borax in to get your pH up around 7.2 - 7.6.

Then, bring your Cl back up to around 4-6ppm and keep it there as a maintenance level.

All this advice is groundless if your test turns out to be different than what you posted....it's really unusual to test that much Cl in a pool with no stabilizer. Let us know :)

Yes, I did shock first, should've mentioned that, sorry. In my (ignorant) mind, I assumed that I should get chlorine (bleach & 1 bag of 50%) in there right away (shock level --- or in my case --- or above).

I have 5 boxes of borax. Thanks for the start-up step by step. I'll (slowly) get the PH back up (that's why I indicated 6.8 or less). And of course I trust the test kit - it's fantastic! More than I thought it would be. I'm used to test strips and pool store reliability ... no more!

I have a lot of "grime". Algae may be mixed in there as well, but I'm having to backflush every 5 minutes or so and I'm only about 1/3 done vacuuming - whew. I don't think I like the mesh cover deal. Lets a lot of dirt through.

Thank you very much for the prompt replies. Love this place :)

PS, taking pics along the way too.

Rhosk,

Yeah, that makes sense. As always, Ben's info is the most pertinent. I overlooked the importance of getting the pH up out of danger as the first priority.

Sounds like you're on your way to sparkling water. It also sounds like you've got a better grip on things than I gave you credit for.......the Cl of 27 threw me....Sorry! :)

NP, I appreciate the help, no apology needed!!

Hmm, well I stepped outside to add the borax to the skimmer when I realized that I was in the middle of vacuuming and backwashing every 5 minutes or so. Even if I'm not vacuuming, I'm still having to backwash a lot because of the "stir up" I've caused. IOW, I didn't want to add the borax to the skimmer in case I needed to backwash in a few. So, I just scattered it around the pool (it seemed to dissolve fairly quickly - a few 'chunks' fell to the bottom, but I've ceased vacuuming for now until the PH is up). I hope that's OK? So far the pressure is maintaining a 15 psi, not too bad for now ( just don't want to backwash the borax :D ).

I'll check chlorine and PH levels in a few hours and report back.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Watermom

It is fine to broadcast the Borax. However, it is also fine to add it to the skimmer. It will dissolve immediately and quickly be dispersed in the pool water, so even if you do have to backwash, you won't lose it. (Cya doesn't dissolve immediately, it sits in the filter for several days dissolving slowly. So, it does get backwashed out, but the same is not true for Borax.)

---

Thank you ... good to know!

New numbers a few hours later (after 2 lbs borax) -

PH - 7.2 :)
FC - 10 (I think we're killing some stuff)
CC - @ .5 (maybe a bit less now - makes some sense)

Shall I just run the pump all night and check chlorine in the AM?

And, should I raise the PH a bit more? ie, 1 more lb of borax?

Then I'll test all numbers again mid-day tomorrow. I won't budge until I hear something here.

If it were my pool, I'd add a little more Borax and aim for 7.4-7.6. I also think, if it is practical for you, that I would retest chlorine later tonight and add more bleach to raise it back up to 10 and then do the same thing again in the morning. The key to killing algae is to sustain the high chlorine reading and not let it yo-yo up and down. While fighting algae, we usually advise testing 3x a day and each time raising the cl back up to shock level - which in your case, for now, is 10ppm. Run the pump 24/7 while you are working to clear the pool.

OK, I checked my numbers this morning and my PH shot up for some reason :confused:

FC - 14
CC - < .5
TC - @14.5

PH - > 8.2 ?
Alk - 110

Maybe the bleach added the extra PH? Should I apply a bit of muriatic acic? If so, how much? A quart to start?

The water is looking a little better, but I still need to vac some more.

Double check your ph reading. If it truly is that high, then yes, you should add some muriatic acid.

Thanks again. Got it down to between 7.5 - 7.6.

FC - 11
CC - < .5
TC - @ 11.5
Alk - 110

Still filtering/vacuuming. Even when I'm not vacuuming, I have to backwash every 20-30 minutes or so. Lots of dirt.

Thanks for everything thus far!

PH - 7.6
Alk - 90

FC - 8.5
CC - 0
TC - 8.5

Took cover off:

http://s92220213.onlinehome.us/personal/5.jpg

10 minutes later with initial 'shock':

http://s92220213.onlinehome.us/personal/4.jpg

Day 2:

http://s92220213.onlinehome.us/personal/3.jpg

End of Day 2:

http://s92220213.onlinehome.us/personal/2.jpg

10 minutes ago (day 3 - AM) after vacuum/brush

http://s92220213.onlinehome.us/personal/1.jpg

This is the final:

http://s92220213.onlinehome.us/personal/0.jpg

Even a drastic difference from the last one above. All of my numbers are perfect (MO) and I'm using up some pucks from last season to start getting my CYA up. Other than that, it was bleach (@7 gal.) and 1 box of borax for my opening 'stuff'. A far cry from past years 'kits' from the local pool store ... done with that :)


Thanks everyone! Couldn't have done that without this forum or the PS234!

I couldn't edit the original posts, so I revived this old thread and fixed the links.

My pool is still going strong after all these years and still using the BBB method exclusively. Added solar panels, had the liner and pump replaced.

Just opened mine about 2 weeks ago with about the same results as those pics.

I merged the new links into the old post, and deleted the other . . .

Hi all,

Still going strong. Will be opening mine soon (been kind of a chilly spring in Maine so far). I'm thinking of maybe doing a time-lapse for the open, we'll see.

Can't believe that it's been more than 10 years since I joined this forum.

PoolDoc, Watermom, etal,.. hope all is well!