New pool owner needs help.

[shoogles]

So my husband and I bought a house with a huge hole in the backyard with a deck built around it. Amazingly, after considering the cost effectiveness of filling it in, removing the deck, and adding sod... we discovered that replacing the pool would be cheaper (and way more fun than sod!) as long as we were able to maintain it.

One week later and we are seeing that that is going to be a tall order. Presently, I have a greenish tinge to my pool and a little bit of cloudiness.

My first problem is that I don't have a decent test kit. After reading here a bit, I can see that its vital for me to be able to test my CYA level. The test kit we just bought at Home Depot does not do that. So, until I can talk my husband into buying me a Taylor kit, is my best bet to take samples to the pool store? Can I maintain my pool using the BBB method without it?

HELP!

24' AG sunken in
approx. 15,000 gallons

Test results
FC: Measures below test level - my guess, .3
CC: same as above
pH: 7.6
TA: 300 ppm

[aylad]

Hi Shoogles, and welcome to the forum!!

Yes, you can run the pool without a Taylor kit, although it'll be much easier once you break down and get it. For now, go to WalMart and get the 6-way drop-based HTH kit (no test strips!!). Also get several gallons of plain, unscented bleach. If they don't have the 6-way kit, then take a sample to the pool store and have it tested, then come back and post your results here. They will try to sell you a long list of stuff--do NOT buy any of it unless it's a drop-based test kit or some toy that you want. The list will probably start with calcium, which pool stores will insist that you need, but is useless in a vinyl pool.

Have you added CYA? If not, go ahead and get the smallest container that they carry--I think it's 4 lbs. The bottle may be labeled balancer or conditioner, but look at the ingredient list--if it says cyanuric or isocyanuric acid, then that's the stuff.

In your pool, assuming no CYA, each 2 1/2 gallons of 6% bleach will take your chlorine up to 10 ppm, which is your shock level. To get rid of the green, get the water up to shock level, and keep it there by testing for chlorine and adding more bleach to get back up to the 10 ppm as many times as possible during the day. Each 3 cups of 6% bleach will raise your chlorine by 1 ppm, so you can use that as a guide when figuring how much more to add. The more consistent you are about keeping it up at shock level, the faster it will clear. Keep the pump and filter running 24/7, brushing the pool daily. Keep an eye on your filter pressure, and clean your filter as the pressure indicates. Keep it at that level until the water clears up, your CC goes to zero, and you don't lose any chlorine when testing at night after sundown and again in the morning before the sun hits the pool.

If you have added CYA already, test for it and let us know what it is--that may change your shock level.

Janet

[shoogles]

Thanks for the reply Janet. I'll see about picking up the test kit at Walmart.

[aylad]

Thanks for the reply Janet. I'll see about picking up the test kit at Walmart.

It sells in the $15 range, but it'll make it much easier to handle your pool.

Don't wait to get the bleach in, though--if it's cloudy and already starting to look green, the longer you wait, the worse it'll get before it clears up.

Janet

[shoogles]

Gotcha... I'll put the bleach in tonight.

[shoogles]

Oh I forgot to ask... and this may be a dumb question, but whats the best method for putting the bleach in?

[Watermom]

Either pour it slowly into the skimmer while the pump is running (this is what I do) or pour it slowly in front of a return jet while the pump is running. Either way is fine.

[shoogles]

Ok, so I went to Walmart and they didn't have the HTH tester... only strips. So I took a sample to the pool store and got the numbers from them.... and now I think I completely wasted my time doing so.

The numbers I got from the pool store are:
FC: 0
CC: 0
pH: 8.4
CYA: 18
TA: 134


My drop test (which has everything but CYA) numbers are:
FC: too low to be measured
CC: too low to be measured
pH: 7.8
TA: 260

So now I don't know whats right? Should I shock according to their CYA level? Should I take it to another pool store and get another opinion?

[shoogles]

Also, I forgot to mention that I didn't get to put in the bleach last night... the sun went down and then a storm moved in. Our pump is a little tempermental right now, so I didn't want to run it when there were leaves and other fun stuff like that blowing into the pool.

[aylad]

Have you put any CYA into the pool? It would have had to be in the form of CYA granules, or using dichlor powder or trichlor pucks to chlorinate. If you haven't added any of that, then shock based on 0 CYA, which is what you have. CYA has to be added in order to be present in your pool water. If you haven't added any CYA, then you need to shock based on a 0 level. Bring your water up to 10 (bringing it up to 12-15 actually wouldn't hurt) by putting the 2 1/2 gallons of bleach in (or 3 1/2 gallons if you want to go up to 15) . Test the water as often as possible and add more bleach to get back up to the 10-15 range as often as possible, as I described in the above thread. If you haven't added any CYA up to now, you can go ahead and add it either via skimmer, where it will sit and dissolve on your filter (but you can't clean your filter until it dissolves, probably 3-4 days) or put it in an old sock and hang it in front of a return to help it dissolve. You want to target around 30-40 ppm of CYA, but only put in about 2/3 of what you think you'll need at first, because it's easier to add more later than it is to add too much and overshoot, requiring higher chlorine levels or drain/refill to compensate.

And as for your other question, I would trust my drop-based test results over any pool store, any time!!!

Janet