spring prep and a new pool owner

[TheGoose]

Ah yes, the long-neglected pool battle. Been there myself. My pool was abandoned for at least 3-4 years before I bought the house, and I let it languish for several more years.

I'll save the mods the trouble: Get a Taylor 2006 test kit. Without it you are running blind. Imagine having thousands of dollars invested in something, now you need to invest $50-100 more for the proper test kit.

Find the area under user settings to change your signature and add your info because there are far too many people posting for the mods to keep up. It helps them have a quick glance of your pool type and size. Put the type (IG Gunite 18,000 gallons with X pump and X Filter). The important stuff is size, type like gunnite or vinyl, location, and filter type. DE Vs Sand etc.

You can buy a taylor made knock-off (everything but the DPD-FAS drop test) at wal mart and that will tell you your CYA. My bet is that it's '0'. I wasn't clear whether you used strips or the cloudy dot test in your first post. Don't use test strips, they aren't accurate and only give you mixed results. You need to get some CYA in the pool or else a good portion of your chlorine is not being used to kill algae and getting ate up by our blistering Texas sun.

Good luck, I'm just an amateur like you, but I have done everything from replacing the pump and filter to fixing the piping to the skimmers and installing a salt cell etc. I sincerely hope the mods don't mind me posting, but I have been in your shoes, and in some ways still am.

[aylad]

I'll save the mods the trouble: Get a Taylor 2006 test kit. Without it you are running blind. Imagine having thousands of dollars invested in something, now you need to invest $50-100 more for the proper test kit.

.

Just FYI, the K2005 kit is the same basic kit as the K-2006, except that it uses DPD testing for chlorine, which won't measure chlorine levels as high as DPD-FAS will. Adding the K-1515 adds the DPD-FAS capability.

Janet

[mogwai]

Thanks for the responses! I don't feel like i'm flying blind anymore.

I ordered the Taylor kit for FAS/DPD chlorine test. Should be here in a couple of days, but in the meantime i'm estimating the chlorine using the K2005's method for high chlorine levels...seems to be hovering around 15ppm or a bit higher. I'm trying to keep it there.

I have begun adding bleach at night, per your suggestions PoolDoc, and brushing it when I add it. There is still quite a bit of algae on the walls and some settling on the bottom of the pool. About how long will it take for the algae on the walls to die off assuming I continue to keep Chlorine high and brush it at least once a day? I'm just using a standard nylon brush...should I use something different to make sure i'm getting that layer of slime off? Is it okay to begin vacuuming the stuff off the bottom of the pool while i'm doing this super-chlorination process?

It's only been a couple of days but the water is pretty clear and the Ph is now 7.2.

Should I begin adding stabilizer now or should I wait until my algae problem clears up?

I will add my pool details later today (as many as I know ), but I have a Haywood C1200 cartridge filter. We just replaced the cartridge on Saturday (i have no idea how old the prior one was, but it was falling apart).

My wife and I are considering adding a water softener to the water main so i'm not sure I need to do the cal reduction process until we make that decision. I definitely don't want to increase my calcium level so i'll reach out to you if I get to that point.

[PoolDoc]

+ Dunno how long to clean / kill it all -- I've quit making predictions on that; too many variables! But, if the WATER is clear now, you should be able to get the pool all cleaned up in a week.

+ Nylon brush is fine; vacuuming the debris is fine AS LONG AS THE CHLORINE IS HIGH when you do it!

+ I'd recommend starting the stabilizer AFTER the algae is gone, but if you buy dichlor, you can begin chlorinating with dichlor now -- just don't over do it.

+ Hayward C1200 will work well up to 40 GPM / 19,000 gallons.

+ Some of the most common cartridges out there are well, sub-standard, and name games are being played -- notice the second "Unicel" cartridge is NOT a Unicel! I just wrote this up for another post:
Here are 4 links to Amazon for Jandy CL460 replacements:

Pleatco or Chinese?(DOUBTFUL) => 4 PACK - Jandy CL460 Quad Pack Cartridge Filter C-7468-4 @ Amazon
Pleatco (DOUBTFUL) => Unicel 4 PACK - Jandy CL460 Quad Pack Cartridge Filter C-7468-4 @ Amazon
Genuine Unicel (OK) => Unicel C-7468 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 115 Square Foot Jandy CL460 @ Amazon
Genuine Filbur (OK) => Filbur FC-0810 Antimicrobial Replacement Filter Cartridge for Jandy CL460 @ Amazon

Check out the pictures; if your cartridge doesn't have the pleat ties . . . you got one of the low grade cartridges. My understanding is that Unicel or Filbur are OK, and of course the Hayward OEM is fine. Pleatco or no-name or private label . . . not so much.

+ Don't plan on using your softener to fill the pool, unless you've talked to your water treatment guy about it. Have you ever worked with a softner before? You'll end up doing a LOT of regenerating that way!

[mogwai]

Been a couple of days since i posted, but wanted to update. Thanks again for the help.

+ Dunno how long to clean / kill it all -- I've quit making predictions on that; too many variables! But, if the WATER is clear now, you should be able to get the pool all cleaned up in a week.

+ Nylon brush is fine; vacuuming the debris is fine AS LONG AS THE CHLORINE IS HIGH when you do it!

Been brushing and keeping the chlorine above 15...this morning the water is super clear with some sediment at the bottom of the pool which i'll vacuum out tonight, but making great headway!

+ I'd recommend starting the stabilizer AFTER the algae is gone, but if you buy dichlor, you can begin chlorinating with dichlor now -- just don't over do it.

I suspect i'll begin adding stabilizer this weekend but I absolutely forgot to order from Amazon. I have a Leslie Pools by me and I wonder if their Stabilizer will work. Because of our hard water I am leaning toward using unstabilized Chlorine but would appreciate feedback.

If the Leslie Pools stabilizer will work, are they any special instructions you suggest?

+ Hayward C1200 will work well up to 40 GPM / 19,000 gallons.

if your cartridge doesn't have the pleat ties . . . you got one of the low grade cartridges. My understanding is that Unicel or Filbur are OK, and of course the Hayward OEM is fine. Pleatco or no-name or private label . . . not so much.

New filter has the pleats and pleat ties

+ Don't plan on using your softener to fill the pool, unless you've talked to your water treatment guy about it. Have you ever worked with a softner before? You'll end up doing a LOT of regenerating that way!

Never worked with a softener before. The original reason for considering a softener was to help our washing machine and dishwasher...also the faucets. I have enough room in my well house and well filtration to run a faucet before the softener as we only wanted the softener for the main house. I would still have access to unsoftened water for the pool and the gardens.

I'll ask you about the CAL reduction process once I get the pool chemicals right in the next few days unless this is something I need to absolutely do while stabilizing the chemicals?

[PoolDoc]

You can add stabilizer 3 ways:
1. Use a stabilized chlorine, like trichlor tabs or dichlor powder.
2. Use the liquid stabilizer -- 1/2 strength; 2x the price.
3. Use granular stabilizer BUT it's slow to dissolve so you MUST get your water clean first. Otherwise, you'll have to clean your filter and dump the stabilizer before it dissolves. You have to allow about 60 hours of circulation time to dissolve the granular stabilizer. If you have a pump timer, this can be 10 days!

Unstabilized chlorine has two practical forms: bleach, and cal hypo. Bleach is fine with hard water, but you'll have to tote a lot of bleach. Cal hypo will ADD hardness, if you use it according to the label instructions. There's a way to use it that will tend to REDUCE hardness, but it would be tricky with a cartridge filter.

What you might want to look at is getting a 50# container of diclor from Sams Club (NOT Costco!) for $105. At that price, it works out to be about $4.50/lb as 100% chlorine gas . . and about $5 lb as stabilizer. 6% bleach is costs about the same, on a 100% chlorine comparison, but does NOT include stabilizer. Dichlor is completely soluble, so you don't have to mess around trying to dissolve it on your filter.

You will have to switch to bleach or cal hypo at some point, because your stabilizer level will keep climbing. And, you'll need the K2006 testkit to manage both the hard water and the stabilizer / chlorine ratio.

[mogwai]

Thanks Ben.

Im going to do exactly as you said. I'll pick up the dichlor from Sam's Club this morning and liquid bleach for when i need to switch. you also mentioned not overdoing the stabilizer so I'll be very careful.

I've got the Taylor K2005 test kit with the Taylor 1515 kit for DPD - FAS chlorine test on order.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.