What to do next? High Alkalinity & Combined Chlorine, Well Water & Iron issues

[lady.k]

Ok - ran my sump pump overnight for aeration and the pool sat all day without the filter running because our pump really overheats and we don't want to risk leaving it on all day. I'm really not trying to ask for advice then not take it, really. After reading Carl's post I think we have an issue - If you splash water on it, it sizzles - and I don't even know where to start with the pump. We have been back washing a lot, with the iron cleanup we did it at least 6 times over the weekend and pressure is in normal range.

Got more water tested today (pulled it following Ben's test sample instructions on website this time), and here's the results:
FC 0.8
TC Not run
ph - 6.9
Hardness 160
Alk 190
CYA 10
Copper 0.03
Iron 0.12
Nitrate 0
TDS not run

pH is where Ben said to stop the acid, and that is only after 1 gal. I didn't add any since yesterday. Should we add more to get the alk down or leave it and move on to the chlorine?

Also - I do have 3" tabs, should I throw one in the skimmer or just start with bleach? Is household bleach stabilized - will I need to add CYA?

Thanks again!

[aylad]

Don't add any more acid until the pH comes up. Household bleach is not stabilized so you will need to add CYA.

Janet

[madwil]

if your 3in pucks are trichlor, you can add them in a floater along with adding bleach- they will slowly add CYA along with Chlorine. Just stop using them once your CYA is built up where you want it!
They do tend to lower pH, so you need to watch it while using the trichlor...
Or just add the CYA direct, and don't use the pucks!

[CarlD]

Fiberglass pool? Alk= 190? Hardness=160? Nothing to worry about now. Seriously, it's not going to cause you any problems in the short term, so ignore it for now and fix the other stuff first.

I would STRONGLY recommend against using Tri-Chlor puck given a pH of 6.9. It's asking for trouble. Now is the time to rely on bleach and aeration.

Meanwhile, if your pump sizzles, something is definitely not right and needs to be addressed.

Carl

[aylad]

I would STRONGLY recommend against using Tri-Chlor puck given a pH of 6.9. It's asking for trouble. Now is the time to rely on bleach and aeration.

I agree with this--if the trichlor pucks drive your pH down, then it won't rise enough to let you make any progress on your alk. Stick with bleach and aeration.

Janet

[madwil]

didn't see the 6.9, saw the earlier pH reading... so retract the trichlor for now, keep using bleach!

[lady.k]

Ok folks - here's my update: A combo of the homemade batting/sump pump filter, a 1 qt. bottle of GLB Sequa Sol ($26 @ local pools store), a whole-house filter hooked up to the output, rigorous vacuuming, nightly doses of a 1.5 gal jug of bleach and we have a clear pool! We swam last weekend but I didn't have my Taylor Test kit yet so I refrained from posting. Haven't put anything in since Sunday (1/2 lb of Stabilizer).

1st try with the Taylor test kit (K2006) tonight -
FC - 0
CC - 0.5
pH - 7.5
TA - 150
Calc. Harness - 250

-Tried to test for CYA and the black dot never disappeared so I don't know if we just don't have enough to register (???)
- We haven't gotten the chlorine levels up to shock level yet (that I'm aware of) and I don't know where to go from here.
On hand, I have: bleach, borax, baking soda, muratic, 1 lb bags of sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione (9.53% avail chlorine), and pucks that are tricholro-s-triazinetrone 93.5% copper sulfate pentahydrate 1.5% (93.50% avail chlorine), and ~3/4 lb stabilizer. The shock and pucks are from before I did my research and found the BBB method - if I could use them, great. If they will mess up the good thing I have going then I don't want to use them yet.

Do you all think I would be ok to put the pucks in and shock with I have - or just stick with the bleach? I still haven't figured out what the heck I'm doing! Thanks all - I really, really appreciate the input!