I Want To Be A B/b/b Convert!!!

[2dogpool]

Hi everyone....been lurking since pool was opened a couple of days ago. Am very interested in becoming a B/B/B convert. Hate being a slave to the local pool supply store!!!!

We've had major problems this year...long story short...pool cover fell in and we have quite a mess on our hands. Tested water again this morning and these are the results:

FC = <.6
CC = <.6
TC = ???
pH = <6.8
Alk = 100
Cal = 150
CYA = <20

Pool is an 18x36 IG w/vinyl liner, in-line chlorinator currently holding what was left of last years 1" trichlor tabs, shocked yesterday with 3lbs. cal hypo powder. Filter is a PacFab DE also have a 405,000 BTU Raypak heater.

Any help/words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Kelly

[mbar]

You need to raise your ph asap, if it is testing under 7, it may be lower. Using the pucks will bring down your ph all the time. You need to add chlorine to get up to shock levels, here is a chart:

Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

here is a link to a calculator that is very helpful:
http://www.hal-pc.org/~mwsmith2/BleachCalc262.exe

You will have to add some stabalizer cya) to get it to around 30 - 40 (the pucks will raise your stabalizer). So if you plan to use your inline feeder, don't take your cya up higher than 30, and you will have to keep an eye on the amount of chlorine you need compared to the amount of cya you have.

So raise your ph using borax because your alk is good. Put in a box, wait 2 hours test again, and add to get it up to 7.4

Shock the pool up to 12, and you will be good to go. I would also suggest you get a good test kit - it makes taking care of your pool a whole lot easier. The test that is sold on this site is really good.

[2dogpool]

can I add Borax thru the skimmer and broadcast granular chlorine at the same time?

[2dogpool]

Another Borax question.....You say to add a box...the box I have is a 4lb. + box. Just put the whole box in???

[mwsmith2]

Yup, the 4#+ box is the standard size. I'm going to guess your pool is around 24,000 gal, so you might want to start with 2 boxes. Adding thru the skimmer is fine. You can broadcast CaHypo at the same time, but be aware that the CaHypo may make your pool somewhat cloudy. Plain, unscented bleach is the way to go if you want to impact the clarity the least.

Michael

[nater]

Yup, put the whole box in through the skimmer with the pump running. It will take some time for all to disolve and circulate through the pool.

My 16x32 vinyl IG was in similar condition with pH this spring, and I initially added 16 lbs of Borax and 6 lbs of Baking Soda to get my pH up to 7.4 from below 6.8. I did this over a series of 3-4 days. The good thing is that now my pH never moves off its current level and has been steady for the last three months.

At the same time, I was adding bleach to bring my Cl up to shock level. Unfourtunately for me, my CYA was over 150, so I needed LOTS of bleach. I went through at least 15 gallons in a span of 4 days before my pool was clear. (My SWC was also running at the same time) You'll need to test at least twice a day for CL level with a good drop based kit. Add the bleach as many times a day as it takes to maintain the shock level (KEY POINT!!).

You'll want to be very dilligent to monitor your CYA and pH levels if you're going to keep using the pucks.

[2dogpool]

Ok....added chlorine this morning and a box of borax. 4 hrs. later tested water again. These are my results:

FC = 3.0 or >
CC = 5.0
TC = i'm guessing here 8.0????
pH = 7.6
Alk = 100
Cal = nothing???
CYA = <20

So, since this morning, pH and chlorine levels have gone up, Hardness has dropped to nothing and stabilizer is still the same?? Does this sound right.

[KurtV]

dog,
What are you testing with? I ask because your chlorine and calcium hardness results are both a bit odd (that's a very high level of combined chlorine and hardness can't change that much that quickly, especially in that direction and especially because you added calcium yesterday).

[mbar]

I would check the hardness again, because you don't lose hardness by any way but draining. You need to add more bleach to bring you back to a ppm of 12 right away. Your other numbers are fine now - so don't add anything else. You don't need hardness in a vinyl liner pool. So you are good to go - just keep the bleach going in until you hold chlorine overnight. You can put stabalizer in by putting it in a sock, tying it to a skimmer pole and placing it in front of a return jet ( a smart perosn on this forum thought of it!) , this way you can keep backwashing the algae that was killed out of the pool. If you put the stabalizer in the skimmer you shouldn't backwash for a week.

[2dogpool]

just bought a new drop test kit yesterday. I understand the reason for the drastic change in the chlorine level......I threw 2lbs. of granular in 4 hrs. ago. I don't get the hardness level dropping like that. I also put a box of borax in 4 hrs. ago. Actually almost 5 hrs. now.