Accepting the challenge

[lstinthot]

The neighbors got the pump running today so I spent a few trips over there adding borax to bring the Ph up to 7.2 to 7.4. I added the first two boxes of borax and it did not bring it up the the range after about an hour of mixing. Added third box and was not able to test it before leaving for work. Will test in the morning. Pool was brushed today and pump is running. Only bottom drain and return jets work. Skimmer line has air intrusion issues being fixed.

Today's results (Taylor 2006C test kit):
FC - 3.5 ( this is down from 32 and nothing was added since last post)
CC - 0
Ph - off scale low
TA - 60
CYA - most likely still over 200, we have been diverting rain water to the pool, however not tested again since last test, want to dillute more out before testing again.

How can FC be 3.5 ppm and CC be 0 with an almost black pool?

The pool color is not as bad as the first pictures posted above. It is also taking a long time for the Cl to be used up, I believe this is expected due to the high level of CYA.

Will I have to raise the Cl levels high enough to where I see the Cl actually being used up quickly to know I have some active Cl to fight the algae?

Seems like if my Cl is all bound up with the CYA, it may not be as effective or effective at all at fighting the algae and I will be throwing money away trying to get the pool clean.

thanks for your help

Mike

[Watermom]

Your most critical issue is low pH. You need to get it above 7.0 ASAP. Readings below 7.0 are acidic and can damage a pool! Keep adding boxes of Borax two at a time. Wait a couple hours, retest, redose.

Keep slamming it with bleach. You really need to know what the CYA is so you'll know if you are taking your chlorine high enough. Buy some distilled water and dilute a water sample (half pool water and half distilled water) and then test and multiply your result by 2. See if you can get a CYA reading that way.

If there is stuff that can be scooped out of the pool, do that. The less organic stuff in there the better and the faster you can get it cleared up. Run the pump 24/7 and clean the filter as needed.

[lstinthot]

Test results this morning:

CYA - 160 using 3 parts clean water 1 part pool water mixed in separate container results were 40ppm. Looks like the rain water has lowered the CYA a good bit from a month ago.
Ph - 7.0 to 7.2

Adding another box of borax and should be able to start adding bleach. Looks like about 11 gallons to get up to the 30 ppm range.

What kind of drop in Cl levels should I expect?


Thanks,

[aylad]

The drop in Cl levels will be pretty big at first while the worst of the mess is cleared up, but you should start seeing the drop decrease as the pool clears. With a CYA that high, I can't really tell you how far it will drop, but the more consistent you are about keeping it at or above shock level, the faster the mess will be cleared up.

[lstinthot]

Ph was high today. over 8.0. What is the general tendency for pool water Ph for a liner pool? Will we have to add acid to bring in back down regularly as we are maintaining high Cl levels?

This is day 2 of pump running. The first picture of section was taken about a month ago, however pump was not running during this time while they found the leak or reason it would not stay running. All that was done for the first month was direct rain water from the roof to start diluting out the CYA. You can see the gutter system in the picture.

Pool is starting to show progress, this picture was taken this morning and my wife said she was able to make out the bottom of the shallow end this evening.

FC last night was 32
FC this morning was 25
Added bleach to bring back up.

5.17.12 pool pic.JPG

[Watermom]

You can't test pH accurately when the chlorine is that high. You often will get a falsely high pH reading. Wait until the chlorine drops below 15ppm before trusting your pH reading.

[lstinthot]

I took the water into work and it read 7.9 with the equipment there. They do not use drop wise testing, is it possible to affect meter equipment?

[chem geek]

Since the CYA is still high, I would do a partial drain/refill and also try to remove as much physical debris as possible from the pool. Both steps will reduce the amount of junk that chlorine and the filter need to clear out.