Help - brown stinky dark murky pool

[pairadocs]

Doc,

None of your questions are pertinent if you are not able to calculate the correct quantities you need to clear your water.

Gee, thanks - If I was able to do that, then I wouldn't be here on this forum looking for help. INstant mathematician this forum does not make, maybe you it did, but not me, not yet. I'm just looking for help, trying to learn from others who are helpful, and probably had the same questions as me initially.

[Watermom]

I wish I could give you an answer to your question about muriatic acid vs. sodium bisulfate, but I don't know anything about sodium bisulfate. However, I will say that you are definitely at the right place for some help. There are lots of people on this forum who are willing to help. Hopefully somebody will come along soon who will know the difference between the two. By the way, welcome to the forum.

[duraleigh]

Your reluctance to use the bleach calc implied to me you wouldn't be willing to do the work this would take. Read everything you can on this forum to start.

Since your test numbers were before you added the things in your first post, you'll need to post up some new numbers for Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine, pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness and Cyanurid Acid. That'll give us a baseline that we all can work from.

[waterbear]

Muriatic acid is more efficient and less costly than dry acid but it is not as nice to work with. It's biggest plus is that it is only adding chloride ions to the pool while dry acid (sodium bisulfate) will add sulfate ions to the pool. There has been some indication in some quarters that sulfates can possibly damage plaster but the jury seems to still be out on that and many people have used dry acid for years with no problems.

IMHO, put as little extra stuff in your water that you can and use the most efficient and economical product to get the job done. For lowering pH that would be muriatic acid.l

[pairadocs]

Muriatic acid is more efficient and less costly than dry acid but it is not as nice to work with. It's biggest plus is that it is only adding chloride ions to the pool while dry acid (sodium bisulfate) will add sulfate ions to the pool. There has been some indication in some quarters that sulfates can possibly damage plaster but the jury seems to still be out on that and many people have used dry acid for years with no problems.

IMHO, put as little extra stuff in your water that you can and use the most efficient and economical product to get the job done. For lowering pH that would be muriatic acid.l

Thank you for the kind, simple, and informative answer. It's nice to know there are forum members like you that newbs can rely on.



My plan is to test the water tomorrow morning, but these questions are just driving me nuts. Really, the brown mudhole of a pool is driving me nuts.

Carl - I did what you said, and added 9 gallons of regular household bleach, and have added sodium bisulfate acid to lower pH from 8 to hopefully a better range.

I'm still left wondering the following:

Why should I remove the pucks? How troublesome is it to leave them in - I take it they may cause trouble with balancing and calculations, right?

When to put the pucks back in? - Is the answer to that not until pool is clear and balanced?

Is the brown pool most likely due to 'green' algae?

If this is algae, is polyquat not effective enough since it is more algaestatic than algaecidal?

Is the best algae killer chlorine and proper pH? Or should I search out a better algae killer specific product?

Can't wait for the sun to come up sunday and continue my pursuit of a clear pool

[PoolDoc]

Your reluctance to use the bleach calc implied to me you wouldn't be willing to do the work this would take. Read everything you can on this forum to start.

Uh-h, Dave "implied to me" pretty much equals 'assumed'.

I 'assume' you are familiar with the little pun on ASS-U-ME?

I have done it. I'm pretty sure all the moderators have done it. And, now, you've done it, too.

Please be careful; newbies are just that, and I have a strict 'be nice to newbies' rule here.

It doesn't make any difference how 'educated' someone is in other areas; when it's new to you, it confusing no matter what your background is. In years past, 'newbies' here have included well, actual "rocket scientists" from JPL. And, they asked the same (well, no . . . ALMOST the same) questions as everyone else.

Granted, sometimes newbies need to be told to "go do what I told you to do, and don't come back till you've done it". But . . .

RULE #1: Never, EVER say it that way!
RULE #2: PM me or one of the moderators first.
RULE #3: Watch your 'tone' (I know, 'tone' is a property of spoken, not written language, but I assume you know what I mean.)
RULE #4: Never rebuke a newbie the first time it's deserved; always wait until the second time. (If it's a really egregious faux pas or rules violation, please "Alert" me).
RULE #5: If you think you have to 'rebuke' someone, see RULE #2 first.

Oh, yeah.

RULE #6: Before you ass-u-me that someone needs a good ol' slap on the head, RE-read their post CAREFULLY. Otherwise, you might act too quickly, and end up being the 'equine' of the non-horsey type. (Been there, done that, got the egg-on-the-face to show for it!)

Thanks,

Dave