Finally got some K2006C numbers.. please look

[mastamoon]

Nice.

Im in about 60 bucks on bleach alone this year since opening the pool in early May. My father in law has a pool similar to mine, lives close to me, and has 0 problems keeping his pool clear with out more than a bottle of shock every week or 2 and some hockey puck tablets in a floater. Mine seems to be a constant battle. Really think I need a better pump/filter combo.. this package that came with the pool, bought from Branchbrook cant be anywhere near "top of the line".

Mastamoon, I was in Brick yesterday! The pool feels like a big money pit right now, but once you get command it is really A LOT cheaper than people think. As long as you stay out of the pool store. You can beat that price too. I have been getting 98oz. Bottles (the "regular" size bleach bottle) for .99 cents each at Aldi. I was not much over a hundred bucks total last year and I am a 33,000 gallon pool. Granted, I will spend more this year, but some leftover chemicals will make next year like last year. I think running a big 'ol IG pool for the same cost as a tank of gas in a Chevy Suburban is pretty darn reasonable! Good luck!

[mastamoon]

Added those 2 gallons of bleach at 12pm, at 7:50pm the FC was 5.5.

Did I wait long enough for the 2 gallons of bleach to mix fully? Should I add more before calling it a day?

==============================

Added 2 more bottles at 8:30pm. See how she looks in the morning.

[PoolDoc]

With your low stabilizer, you will lose chlorine very rapidly on sunny days. If your Memorial Day was like ours, solar loss was at a maximum today!

If you have brushed your entire pool, and have no more green anywhere, you can drop your chlorine levels back to the 1 - 3 ppm range. I'd recommend adding a single 96oz jug in the evening, for max effect, and then maybe 1/3 of a jug before swimming.

However, you need to get some stabilizer in there. How do you want to do that? If you have access to a Sams Club, a very easy way is to buy their 24lb pack of PoolBrand dichlor shock -- on your pool, the whole package equals 160 ppm chlorine, and about 140 ppm stabilizer. But, the sealed bags will keep till next year. A good dose for your pool would be 1/3 - 1/2 bag in the evening. Each bag will add about 13 ppm chlorine and about 12 ppm stabilizer. Sams is selling those packs for a little more than $2/lb, at least in my area.

If you can't do that, and need to get it from Amazon, here's the link:

Kem-Tek Stabilizer 4lbs

If you get granular stabilizer, put it in an old sock, and hang it in front of the pool return.

[mastamoon]

I woke up to a clearer pool, back to a light blue but still not clear.

Going to test FC this morning and depending on where that is, add some more bleach.

Whats weird is this turn to green happened while the chlorine level was a steady 3-4ppm for a week or more.

========================================

Tested this morning around 8:15am and had about 10ppm chlorine. Water is clearer, but still cloudy. Figuring today is going to be another hot and sunny one, I added a gallon of 6%.

I have no Sams Club, but have a Costco, and other various stores (walmart, kmart, target, aldi, etc..).

One question.. I believe I read that when doing the chlorine test with the k2006, you can use just one dipper of that crystal stuff correct? As long as it turns the water pink? Hope so Otherwise double my readings (minus the first reading where I followed the directions exactly!).

[PoolDoc]

At least around here, Costco, Walmart, Kmart are ALL selling goop. Haven't check Aldis and Target.

With regard to DPD testing -- if you've got pink, you don't need more. It's just a dye.

[mastamoon]

So I need that Kem-Tek Stabilizer from Amazon or head down to the pool store and look for some stabilizer without breaking the bank.. If I go to the pool store, im looking for "100% Cyanuric Acid". What CYA level is 'ideal'? 50-60ish? According to bleach calc, if my current is less than 20, probably close to 10 since there is some in there, as the test was slightly cloudy.. I would need 3lbs and 15oz to get to 40-50 est. Is there any reason not to use liquid stabilizer (minus cost)?

With your low stabilizer, you will lose chlorine very rapidly on sunny days. If your Memorial Day was like ours, solar loss was at a maximum today!

If you have brushed your entire pool, and have no more green anywhere, you can drop your chlorine levels back to the 1 - 3 ppm range. I'd recommend adding a single 96oz jug in the evening, for max effect, and then maybe 1/3 of a jug before swimming.

However, you need to get some stabilizer in there. How do you want to do that? If you have access to a Sams Club, a very easy way is to buy their 24lb pack of PoolBrand dichlor shock -- on your pool, the whole package equals 160 ppm chlorine, and about 140 ppm stabilizer. But, the sealed bags will keep till next year. A good dose for your pool would be 1/3 - 1/2 bag in the evening. Each bag will add about 13 ppm chlorine and about 12 ppm stabilizer. Sams is selling those packs for a little more than $2/lb, at least in my area.

If you can't do that, and need to get it from Amazon, here's the link:

Kem-Tek Stabilizer 4lbs

If you get granular stabilizer, put it in an old sock, and hang it in front of the pool return.

[PoolDoc]

Liquid stabilizer is fine, except for the cost.

50 - 60 ppm CYA is fine for general operations. Higher is good if you are going to use unstabilized chlorine exclusively or with SWCGs. Lower is good if you ARE going to use stabilized chlorine.

[mastamoon]

Tested pool at 7:20pm, FC was at 8ppm.. Water was much nicer looking but still cloudy so dumped another gallon in. Have a big line of storms about to roll through so had to dump it in at dusk.. see what we got tomorrow.

Again I would like to know how I got this algae bloom with a low CYA and atleast 4ppm FC. I think my red/yellow test kit was lying to me.

[PoolDoc]

I think my red/yellow test kit was lying to me.

They don't. OTO is not the most accurate test, but it is the most goof-proof. It said you had chlorine: you had chlorine.

I can't remember if your a guy or a gal . . . but I learned the hard way (working with 100's of lifeguards over the years) that some guys, who aren't color-blind, are color-dumb and have to be trained to pay attention to colors. I hired a guy like that -- did color blindness tests with him, which he passed fine. But he was reporting bogus test results on customer pools because he just had never bothered to pay attention to color differences. Took 6 weeks of hounding him, to get him to make the effort to make the distinction. I ran into the problem multiple times over the years. I actually never had a guard who was physically too color blind to read the kits, but we found a number who couldn't be trusted to pay attention to small color increments.

Dunno if that's the issue, or not. But there are other potential problems. If you have moderate chlorine, very low CYA, and very high pH, your chlorine will be ineffective.