Algae loves my pool

[mrsbusymomee]

I should of said cal hype u don't need quite as much as bleach. I'm still going to buy bleach as well. I've already drained my pool 2/3 and refilled. My water bill is going to b outrageous already. I'm so frustrated. So drain again? Or just deal with higher chlorine for now?

Thanks.

[aylad]

You can easily just maintain higher chlorine levels...in fact, given your geographical location, that might be the smarter choice. I'm near Shreveport, LA, and I intentionally keep my CYA levels at 80-90 because I actually use less chlorine in the long run, and don't have to add it daily.

Be careful with the cal-hypo, though--like Watermom said, your hardness is already at 200, and when it gets too high (somewhere in the 300-400 range), you're going to start having problems with milky water that won't clear due to the high calcium, and the answer to that issue is more drain/refill. So I encourage you to switch to bleach (or liquid chlorine if you can get it) as soon as you can to avoid having to dump more water.

Janet

[chem geek]

You can live with 80 ppm, but need to keep the Free Chlorine (FC) level at 6 ppm or higher for a manually dosed pool. Some people in hot sunny climates keep their CYA levels this high and many saltwater chlorine generator pools do this as well so its certainly manageable. The main downside is that IF you end up getting algae or unusually high chlorine demand (i.e. nascent algae bloom), then the shock level is very high so would take a lot of chlorine. So long as you manage your pool properly, you should be OK. Your chlorine loss rate will be lower at this high CYA level -- probably around 1.2-1.5 ppm FC so you could start at 8 ppm and end up above 6 ppm each day, for example (assuming you are adding chlorine every day). I'm assuming your pool is open to sunlight -- if you have a pool cover, the chlorine loss would be lower.

[CarlD]

If you pour in 3 gallons of 6% bleach when your FC is 7, your FC should go to 20ppm, which is the recommended shock level for CYA=80. Cal-Hypo won't get into your water nearly as fast.

If your pump MOTOR is seized up, you can replace the motor. If the pump is seized up, it may be repairable.

But your pump's capacity MUST always be lower than your filter's capacity or you will ruin your filter.

My Dad ran a 13,000 gal AG with a 3/4hp uprated pump and DE filter combo for something like 15 years. A bigger pump uses more electricity, too.

Carl

[mrsbusymomee]

Well I bought 10 96oz bottles of bleach so I'll start with that then. Thanks for all the advice and I'll keep my chlorine higher. Do I need to do anything about the alkalinity after my pool is clear?

[Watermom]

Yes, but one thing at a time. So that you can start reading about the process for lowering it though, here is the link.

http://poolsolutions.com/gd/lowering...p-by-step.html

So, did you get a pump?

[mrsbusymomee]

I did get my pump. I got the same one. Cost right at 200. Soon as I make it home we will get it going and I'll add the bleach. My test kit won't b in until next week and the one I have only goes to 5ppm. But I read about diluting so I'll just do that.
Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep y'all posted on how it looks in a couple of days.

[mrsbusymomee]

Ok, actually we had an extra pump that we forgot about (our neighbor gave us) and I believe that is only 1hp. We're hanging on to the new one for a backup. We've had 1.5hp for 15 years with the same filter.
Never had any algae problems until now. But this completely makes sense about CYA and chlorine levels and why my algae keeps coming back just as fast. No wonder the stores don't know what to do. I tried to tell them I need to get my chlorine levels up and they all looked at me like I was insane. LOL They also tried to sell me a crap load of chemicals. I said no thanks I'm just going to go buy bleach. Lady in there said that won't work. Can't wait to disappoint her!!
How often and when should I test the water again using my 5ppm dilution method so that I maintain at least 20ppm? Every morning?
Once the algae is gone and I'm maintaining 5-10, how often do you shock. The normal once a week?
Sorry for all the questions, but this is a new procedure for me.
Thanks again and hopefully the water will be clearer in the morning.

[Watermom]

While you have algae, you should try and test a minimum of twice per day (morning and evening) and more often than that is even better and will clear the pool faster. There is no such thing as testing and adding bleach too often when you have a green pool. When you test, add enough bleach to take it back up to shock level. After you get to the point where the pool is clear, you have no more than 0.5ppm of CC and you can go from sundown one day to sunup the next day without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine, then you can let the cl drift back down and go to testing and adding bleach in the evenings only.

As far as how often to shock routinely when there is no algae, the answer is that you actually don't have to shock on a regular basis. As long as you maintain the needed chlorine levels based on your cya level and you are diligent about doing so, it isn't really necessary to shock. I rarely shock my pool because I am diligent about testing and maintaining adequate chlorine levels. If I detect a CC reading above 0.5ppm, or if we have a heavy bather load or lots of rain that drops a lot of organic matter in the pool, I will shock but otherwise, I don't. I probably don't shock more than 4 or 5 times during the whole swim season.

You should also be running the pump 24/7 while you are working to clear the pool.

Don't worry about all the questions. That is how you learn and that is why we are here --- to help!

[mrsbusymomee]

How do you test for FC TC and CC? I know FC-TC=CC. FC is basically testing your pool for free chlorine level, but TC (total chlorine?) how do you test for that? My kit won't be here until later next week so I'm using the "shot glass" method. This method only shows the FC, correct?
My pool water isn't that bad. I can see all the way to the bottom and there's a thin film of algae on the bottom that is easily stirred with the brush so it shouldn't be long before my pool is back to normal. That's good to know that I won't have to "shock" my pool. What about when it rains a lot? Will I have to shock then? Guess I'll get used to this when I start testing more often and becoming familiar with it all.
Thanks!