Fighting the Mean Green

[aylad]

It is okay to add the dichlor through the skimmer as long as you don't have trichlor in a feeder--you never want to mix forms of chlorine outside of the pool water itself. Just either sprinkle it in slowly so that your pipes don't choke, or you could pre-dissolve it in a bucket of water and pour it in that way. I don't think you're going to see a noticeable rise in CYA until after several pounds, so I wouldn't waste the reagent just yet.

Polyquat is much more efficient at preventing an algae bloom than it is in clearing one up--so if you're fighting an algae outbreak, I'd hold off on the polyquat. Many people on this forum just use it for closing up for the winter, and some of us don't use it at all. The polyquat will quickly consume the chlorine you're putting in, so I would just leave it aside for now and concentrate on chlorinating the heck out of your algae.

Janet

[Watermom]

Note to isdsms: I created a new thread for you. It is best to start a new thread for yourself rather than tacking onto another thread already in the middle of discussing someone else's pool. Your new thread can be found at the following link:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...0904#post70904

[paigemetoo]

I have been adding enough dichlor to keep it at a steady 12 ppm. Most days that is about a pound. There has been a few days when I didn't need to add any, so I think I am winning!!! So how long should I expect to have to do this till my water clears up??
The water is a teal blue (cloudy) I can see the bottom in the shallow end (4 ft) and can see a shadow of the vacuum head when it is in the deep end (8 ft). Note, we have been getting alot of rain but I do test 3 times a day...rain or shine

Test results from today:
Free Chlorine 15 ppm (just added a pound 1 hour before the test, was at 10 ppm before)
Combined Chlorine - 0
Ph - 7.4
Alk - 70 ppm
CYA - 70 ppm
Cal Hard - 300 ppm
Should I be adding anything else at this point?

Thx for ur help!
Paige

[aylad]

With a CYA of 70, you need to be chlorinating up to 20 ppm, not 12. The 12 ppm was good while you had no CYA, but now that the CYA is that high, you need to compensate with higher chlorine levels. I strongly encourage you at this point to switch over to bleach, because the dichlor is adding a lot of CYA, which you're going to have to compensate for all summer by keeping higher chlorine levels. In a pool your size, each 1 1/2 quarts of regular, 6% bleach will raise your chlorine by 1 ppm. So to get it from 15 to 20, you'll need roughly 2 gallons. Once you achieve the proper shock level for your CYA, and if you can hold it there consistently, most messes can be cleaned up in just a few days. However, if you don't get it up to the 20 ppm now that your CYA is high, you'll be fighting this for a very long time. At this point, I would not add any more dichlor--just switch to plain bleach to finish the job!



Janet

[paigemetoo]

I have clear water for the first time in a year and I am thrilled! I have search pool solutions and have not found what I do next. Do I put any chlorine based product in the skimmer on a daily basis? If so what do you recommend? Should I use the polyquat now that it is clear or just skip it completely? When I shock it how much bleach should I use? If I'm understanding correctly I should shock to 20 ppm at night but will it drop enough by morning to swim in it? I'm sorry if I sound needy but I am scared as heck to end up like last year w/a green and/or cloudy pool.
This is my latest test results:
Chlorine - 9 ppm
Ph - 7.4
Alk - 70 ppm
Cya - 65
Other then my cya being high I think my numbers are good. I messed up with the dichlor and added too much so now i'm stuck w/the high cya. Will it stay that way all summer? How often should I test the cya?

Again THANK YOU for your continued patience,
Paige

[aylad]

Congratulations on the clear pool--ain't it great??

I wouldn't worry about the polyquat--some of us never use it, some of us only use it for winterizing, or if you're dealing with metals in the pool. If none of those things apply, then just know that adequate chlorine levels will keep the algae away. With your CYA of 65, you want to keep your chlorine between 5 and 10 ppm at all times. If you need to shock it, shock it to 20 ppm until it clears again and you're not losing any chlorine overnight. There's nothing else you need to add on a daily basis, other than bleach. In a 22K gallon pool, each 3 quarts of 6% bleach will raise your FC by approximately 2 ppm, so you can use that as a guide when adding your daily bleach dose.

Your CYA may lower slightly over the summer, depending on how much you backwash the filter, and how much splashout you have, but that's the only way it will come down. I wouldn't bother testing it more than once a month unless you're adding more CYA via dichlor or trichlor, which I wouldn't do for your pool. It's fine where it is.

Take 5 minutes a day, test chlorine and adjust it as needed, test for pH once a week or so, and you should be good to go through the summer!!

Janet