Please help with these numbers

[astargel]

FC 8
CC 0.5
pH 7.6
TA 120
CYA 53

Water is cloudy/white, can't see bottom since I added the chlorine.
Based on what I've read, it's dead algae.
Pump is running 24/7 x 1 day.
I'm thinking my numbers look good, just need to bump up and maintain FC to 15? Or should I go to 30 for super shock algae removal? Should I drop my alkalinity a bit? It's on the high side of normal according to my Taylor K-2006 manual.
TIA!

[Watermom]

Have you recently had an algae bloom? What are you using to chlorinate with? What is the volume of your pool? What type of pool is this --- vinyl, fiberglass, gunite, concrete? What kind of filter do you have and what size pump?

[astargel]

Woops, sorry, I left out the vital statistics lol
I just opened the pool for the season.
I use BBB method, but added 2 lbs of granulated shock when I fired up the pump.
Pool is 18' AG round, 52" walls (7,200 gallons?)
22" sand filter with a 1.5HP pump (I know the pump is too big for that filter, but it will have to do)

[aylad]

I wouldn't go to 30 if your CYA is 50-ish (don't know how you got 53 because the tests are way more subjective than that). It wouldn't hurt to go up to 15 just until that CC is gone. Make sure that you're backwashing the filter as your pressure indicates. You didn't give a reading for CH--if it's high, and the "granulated shock" you used was cal-hypo, then that may be the reason for some of the cloudiness. If the pool was really green before the shock, that's probably part of the cloudiness, too. If it's dead algae, then you should start to see some improvement before long. If it's calcium being too high, then the water will probably stay milky looking until you either partially drain/refill or drop your pH and alkalinity.

Janet

[Watermom]

Did you recently have an algae bloom?

[astargel]

I used tri chlor to shock. I averaged my cya number because it was between measurement lines.
So should I mess around with the alkalinity/pH and then worry about the rest?
I didnt think calcium mattered much in an AG vinyl lined pool but I will check it out.
I could see the bottom of the pool when I removed the winter cover but it had a slight tint, so I guess I did have a algae bloom.

[PoolDoc]

What kind of granular shock did you use? Cal hypo or dichlor?

The reason it matters is that cal hypo adds calcium, and if your calcium is ALREADY high, adding more can cause it to 'drop out'. But, it usually doesn't 'drop' very well; the fine dust floats around your pool making it look milky. Calcium never needs (almost never? ) to be ADDED to a liner pool, but it can be too HIGH.

If you had algae, then the problem with the filter can be an issue, since the tendency is to keep circulating the dead algae, blowing it through the filter, and then circulating it some more. Do you have a way throttle flow back? (A valve, usually)

How are you testing?
The only kits that let you *measure* 8 ppm are DPD-FAS kits, but those usually include calcium tests, and you didn't include calcium readings.

Best wishes,

PoolDoc

PS Can you take pictures of your pump, your filter and them both together?

--This has nothing to do with helping you; only with helping others avoid the problem. But I'd love to have some pictures of a 22" filter with a 1.5 HP pump to use in a page on PoolSolutions in sort of a "don't ever buy this on your AG pool" caution. Those big pumps with small sand filters REALLY complicate the process of cleaning up AG pools, and there's no reason for it. If you can do so, great. No hurry, but if you do, email them to poolforum AT gmail DOT com

[astargel]

Today's numbers:
FC 11.5 (I added another lb of shock last night)
CC 0.5
pH 7.6
TA 110
Calcium Hardness 260
CYA - I'm out of the reagent, will order some today

I use an FAS-DPD kit (Taylor K-2006)

Is there anything I can do to lower the number of ponies my pump puts out, or just buy another one?

[astargel]

Oops, I forgot to mention, the shock I used is Aqua Chem Shock Plus in the orange bags

[Watermom]

What are the ingredients of the Aqua Chem Shock Plus? I looked a little online, but didn't find the ingredients listed -- not even on the Aqua Chem website. It did say that it was "An oxidizer, buffer, flocculant, and clarifier all-in-1." Is there any other product that you have added as well as the shock? If so, tell us and also tell the ingredients of that other product, too.

Also, by the way ---- if you make a post and then a couple of minutes later realize you need to add something, or fix a typo, etc., you can click on the "edit post" button instead of having to create a whole new post. Just FYI.