Looking For Some Advice

[WildM]

First Time Pool Owner (Michigan)
I purchased a house that has a 20x40 Pool In-Ground and it is around 10Feet Deep
Last year I drained the pool acid washed, and re-grouted the tile, and filled back up before winter and put some bleach in it, and managed to get a bunch of oak leaves in the pool that I am working on getting out.
So far this year I replaced the sand in the sand filter, and managed to get everything up and running (5 days ago), and have been scrubbing and vacuuming what I can see at this point, letting the pump run 24/7. I can see the bottom in the shallow end but it is cloudy the deep end I cannot see the bottom but I have a bunch of leaves that I am in process of removing.
I have been putting bleach into the pool about 4.2 Gallons at a time and I am currently putting some stabilizer into the system (cyanuric acid). (directions add 1 -2/3 of stabilizer for each 10,000 gallons - produce 20 PPM) I just received my Taylor Test Kit and took some readings tonight.
Water Temp 68 - Still Cold Here
PH - 7.4 (looking for 7.2 -8.0)
FC - 2.4 (added 4.2 gallons tonight - 6.3ppm raising it to total 8.7ppm - estimating 40,000 gallons)
CYA - 0 (I have already put 3 lbs in and am in the process of adding another 3 lbs) Not Sure Where This Number Should End Up I Am Guessing 30 As That Is The Lowest Reading On The Taylor Test Kit
TA - 90 (Looking For 60 - 130)
CH - 70 (Looking For 70 - 1000)

As I never have owned a pool before I guess I am looking for some direction or confirmation that I am on the right path, What should my ideal readings be - safe to swim / shocking the pool - You are probably going to tell me to add another 4.2 gallons of bleach getting it to 15 ppm I have been sand bagging on the bleach until I started seeing some CYA

Thanks

[Watermom]

Hi WildM and welcome! You are right that you are not taking your chlorine level up high enough. Go ahead and take the chlorine up to 12. Each gallon of 6% bleach will add about 1.3ppm of cl. You will need to test as many times a day as you can and each time, take the cl back up to around 12. Actually, since you do not have a vinyl liner, forget the 12 and go ahead and take it up to 15. It won't hurt a thing and will clear it faster. Good for you getting the Taylor test kit. This will make things much easier for you! When you get to the point where the water is clear, you don't have more than 0.5 CC and you can go from sundown one evening til sunup the next morning without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine, then I would hold the cl at the high level for one additional day for added insurance and then let it drift down and keep it between 3-6 ppm all the time.


Your pH is good at 7.4. I would leave it right there. TA is also OK at 90. You do want your calcium hardness to be between 200-400. In fact, if you want, you can use cal-hypo as your source of chlorine for awhile. It will be convenient and will add calcium at the same time as chlorine. When you get the CH in range, then switch to bleach or liquid pool store chlorine if you can find it for a good price. It is usually 10 or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite. Since you have such a large volume pool, it will mean fewer bleach jugs to take to the recycling center!

A week after you added the CYA ,test the level. I think you'll find that it will still be too low. 6 lbs. will probably only give you about 20ppm of CYA. So, you'll most likely need to add more at that time. But, give it the week before deciding. It is easy to add more if needed, not so easy to remove if you get it higher than you want it. After you get some CYA in there, you'll be able to go to testing and adding chlorine in the evenings only. But, until that time, frequent testing and dosing.

Run the pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear the pool and backwash as needed when your filter pressure rises 5-10 psi over clean filter pressure.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on how things are going.

[aylad]

Just wanted to add a note to Watermom's post....if you add the CYA through the skimmer, and then backwash the filter before the CYA dissolves, then you are washing the CYA out and will need to start over. IF you anticipate frequent backwashing, then I would put the CYA in an old sock and hang it in front of a return so that backwashing the filter won't waste the CYA.

Janet

[PoolDoc]

While your CYA is low, you'll be much more effective with your bleach if you add it in the evening, so it can work all night long without being broken down by sunlight.

[WildM]

UPDATE: Everything Work As Stated - Shocked The Pool 15PPM For A Couple Of Days And Everything Cleared Up - All The Leaves and Gunk Are Removed And The Pool Is Starting To Look Good
Step 2
Pool Is Clear - It Does Seem Hazy At Times / Not Crystal Clear - Have Been Swimming Temp Is Around 76 to 78 Deg Here Are My Readings (I Have Not Had A Bunch Of People Over Just A Few At A Time / Most Of The Time It Is Just Myself As The Wife Thinks It Is Too Cold)
PH 7.6
FC 3.2 Added 1.42 Gal Bleach At Night Next Night (Day Later) FC 2.4 - I Run The Pump At Night Which Is The Same Time I Add The Bleach - It Is Off During The Day Unless I Go Swimming / Vacuum And I Turn It On
CC 0
TA 90
CH 200
CYA - 0 To 30 - Not Sure On The Reading I Can Fill The Taylor Tube And It Is Cloudy - I Put In 10LBS Over A Week Ago In Stages (Sock In The Return Method) Does The Dot Disapper Completly Or Is It Cloudy / Hard To See - I Think I May Need To Add More CYA But Do Not Want To Add Too Much But It Seems Like I Am Adding A Lot Of Bleach Each Day - How Much Is Normal I Would Say The Pool Is Around 40,000 Gallons A I Add Around 1.42 Gallons A Night

Thanks For Your Help

[Watermom]

I'm not clear on something. Have you added a total of 10 or 16 lbs. of CYA? Also, how did you add it and how many days has it been since you last added it? (If you added it to the skimmer, did you backwash any within 4 or 5 days of adding it?) In regards to the CYA test, you read it when the dot completely disappears.

You need to be running your pump more. Probably a minimum of 8-10 hours a day split into two 4 or 5 hour sessions, although right now while it is still somewhat cloudy/hazy, you should run it 24/7 to allow your filter to do its job clearing the water.

I would say for this big of a pool, only adding 1.42 gallons per night isn't much. That equates to only about 2ppm of chlorine. When you test it in the evenings before you add bleach, what is the cl reading? I would like you to do something. Test this evening before you add bleach and note the cl level. An hour after adding the bleach, test again. Then, test it again in the morning within 2 hours of sunrise and note that level. Then, report all three of those readings here.

TA, pH, and CH all look fine.

You're doing great! Keep up the good work!

(BTW - I agree with your wife --- water in the mid-70s is too cold. !)