High Phosphates > 1,000 & High Nitrates 90ppm

[CarlD]

Your problems are two-fold and obvious:
1) You need to raise your FC level to shock level, which, if I remember correctly is 20ppm, and KEEP IT THERE for several days. You have an algae bloom on the way. After that, IF you can establish that your SWCG is working you'll need to set it so your FC stays above 3.5ppm (if you have a CYA of 60-70). You are not keeping enough chlorine in your pool in relation to your CYA level to keep algae at bay and keep your water sanitary. IF it turns out your SWCG isn't functioning correctly, then you must MANUALLY maintain your FC in the 5-10ppm range--both are after shocking to kill everything.

2) You keep listening to the pool store and pool companies who are trying to sell you stuff, and, because you won't are pushing for drastic major action: "Oh, if you don't buy our special super-duper phosphate remover your only alternative is to drain and refill your pool!" NONSENSE! Your eyes and pinkeye aren't due to phosphates, they are due to insufficient chlorine unable to kill all the nasty stuff in your water it needs to kill. Your water is UNSANITARY. I, my fellow mods, our deeply experienced senior members, and our founder ALL told you what you need to do. You haven't done it.

It's just that simple. You need to add enough chlorine NOW to get the FC to 20ppm and you need to keep it there for several days.

And it is simple. Pool care is simple but pool companies and pool stores make their living out of keeping it complex. Fear trumps hope.

Carl

[applepar]

Wow! Believe it or not, no one put it as simply as you just did. I was just on my way to the store to buy bleach to shock the pool. I've spent all day researching and trying to figure out how much bleach I needed and what level is considered shock. I found a calculator on Trouble Free Pool that indicated I needed a level of 24-28 requiring 13 gallons of bleach.

I have ordered the add on testing kit as recommended.

So - what I'm hearing/reading is: I have algae that I can't see but is there and it is the cause of my chlorine disappearing. Once I get rid of the algae (by shocking) and keep my chlorine level up I should be ok. Won't I still need to keep the chlorine very high to keep algae from coming back?

What about the borate post?

Looks like I still have a problem with the SWCG. I contacted Jandy/Zodiac about the SWCG and this is what they said: Thank you for contacting Zodiac. Typical life span of the cell is 3-5 years. It sounds like the cell is reaching the end of its life span. You have a 5 year prorated warranty on the cell and can purchase a new one at a discounted rate from a dealer. Try increasing production until you can get a new cell put in.

By-the-way: The stores actually were not trying to sell the phosphate remover, because they said the nitrates were so extreme.

[CarlD]

Actually some good questions:
"Shock" level is to kill the algae in your pool. That's the 20ppm you need--or higher.
But "Maintenance" level is what you need to KEEP your water sanitary. With a working SWCG, the level of chlorine should be NO LOWER than 5% of your CYA level. So if your CYA is 60, you need to keep at least 3ppm of chlorine for maintenance.

Here's a silly analogy: Say you have flying bugs in your house. You need to "bomb" the house to get rid of them. But once they are gone all you need to do is make sure your screens are well-fitted and not left open.

Borates is a whole different story. I wouldn't worry about them for now. Later, when you are comfortable with the basics, you can look into that. Some don't bother with borates (like me). Others do. There's no "right" answer just choices. You are OK without them for now.

The pool calculator works great but you can estimate too.
1 gallon of 6% bleach add 6ppm of free chlorine to 10,000 gallons of water. So, for your 26000 gallons (and it's probably really 25K) you need to use 2.5 gallons of 6% chlorine to get the same 6ppm. 5 gallons gets you to 12ppm. 10 gallons gets you to 24ppm (That's why I like Liquid Chlorine at 12.5%--you get the same effect from 5 gallons of LC 12.5% as you do from 10 gallons of 6% bleach.)

Carl

[applepar]

Thank you -
1. I haven't found 12.5% bleach anywhere - suggestions on where to find it?
2. Just went to Walmart & Lowe's looking for the recommended HtH Algaecide, but the HtH they have does not have the 60% Polyquat, so I didn't buy it. Sounds like you think I don't really need this? (Getting ready to try Leslie's or Anthony Sylvan.)

[PoolDoc]

For now, just use plain 6% household bleach (no flavors, scents or gels, PLEASE). Just use 2x as much as you would pool bleach.

Regarding Walmart pool chemicals -- I hadn't checked them out for several years, till just the other day. Long story short: Walmart has gone over to the 'Dark Side' with their pool chemicals, and is totally a BioGuard / Chemtura mind-slave.

You can still buy 'bleach, borax and baking soda' there, and they now are selling "washing soda" = pH Up. But their algaecides and sanitizers are AWFUL.

I need to write a post about this, but I just haven't gotten around to it.