Confused Newbie needs CYA advice

[Watermom]

Until your kit arrives, you can use a dilution method to force your kit to read higher. Not super accurate and doesn't replace getting a good kit, but better than nothing. More about it here:

Testing Without a Good Kit

Hope this helps!

[BigDave]

Dark yellow OTO is a good start but i'd be happier with orange. With the apparently high CYA in your pool, you'll need to maintain at least 25ppm FC to clean up the algae.

[dognostrils]

After your last post, I am beginning to see that not knowing the CYA level is going to keep me from going much further. After adding 7 gallons of bleach yesterday and running the pump all night, visually the water doesn't look much different. The 7 gallons only got me to 5 or 6 Cl yesterday and when I tested this morning the Cl is at 1 and the pH is as 7.2, and I understand that I need to be at 25 ppm to kill the algae. So without CYA info I could be adding bleach all day.... 15, 20 or more gallons to reach the 25 ppm goal. Then who knows how much I would need to continue to add on a daily basis... Wow! I think at this point I should drain at least half of the pool and refill to get the CYA down to a more manageable level in order to moderate the amount of bleach I'll have to add in the future. Will let you know the test results after the drain/refill and after I get the kit with the CYA test in it we will have some actual numbers to work with.

[BigDave]

I've read about using a large sheet of plastic to keep fill water separate from the water being drained - this way you mitigate against the possibility of floating your pool out of the ground.

You need a CYA measure for almost everything. Even to know how much water to replace.

Have you ordered a K-2006? You can also buy stand alone CYA kits, even at some pool stores if that's convenient.

CYA tests only measure to 100ppm but you can use the dilution method to measure higher. Mix 1 part pool water and 1 part tap water (tap water has no CYA) test the mix and multiply the result by 2. If it's still over 100, dilute 1 part pool water with 2 parts tap water and multiply by 3. This will give you a range of how much to drain / refill.

[Watermom]

He has the K-2006 ordered.

If you decide to use the sheet method, you need a very large piece of plastic sheeting that will extend several feet on all sides of the pool. You drain from the bottom and fill from the top.

[dognostrils]

Finally got the kit and after much rain this past week I did some tests. I had drained it about a foot and refilled (did this 3 times over the past couple of weeks waiting for the kit hoping to make a dent in the CYA without much luck). I first did the CYA test and it was right at 100 so I did the dilution test and it tested 40 x 2 = 80 so I redid the first test and it was at 100 again and ran out of reagent. The cl was at 0 so I added 12 gallons of bleach and it tested 22ppm Saturday night, I ran the pump all night. Last night it was at 10 ppm so I added 6 more gallons and it went to 25ppm, this morning 13.5. This was the FC test, the CC test was 1 and .5. I tried the other tests last night, TA at 150, CH at 450 and pH at 7.8. The water is still very cloudy this morning and I have cleaned the cartridge twice. I actually can't see the drains but the water seems more blue-ish. I thought I would keep the Cl at 25 until the water cleared and wondered how long you thought that might take. We have been under drought condition water usage so I can't drain it completely yet, but thought in the mean time I would run the sprinklers off of the pool water and add new water to the pool as that drains out some of the water each week. With the chlorine level so high and the cloudiness no one wants to swim yet but we are anxious.... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

• Watering with pool water, and putting fresh water in the pool sounds like a winner.
• You should lower your TA to 100 ppm or so, given your high CH. Read the muriatic acid page in my sig, and the Alkalinity page
• Make sure you BRUSH the pool completely while the chlorine is high, to expose any remaining algae.

OK.

We've seen several cases this spring of above-ground pools that take a long time (more than 1 weeks) to clear significantly. Usually, there's reason to suspect the big pump / little filter issue as the ultimate cause, but obviously we can't ask people to just go out and get a new filter and pump. The problem we have, at that point is that what we KNOW will work (a new optimal pump and filter combo) is off the table. And all the things are left fall into the "it might help, or it might not category".

So with that said, here are some other options:

1. Getting 2 new Unicel (or Filbur, or OEM) cartridges, and rotating them AND cleaning them properly will likely improve filtration all season, and may help clean up the current mess more quickly.

2. Using a clarifier and/or a liquid floc may help. If you go this route, be careful to follow instructions of the bottle. Products that have been reported to have helped include Bioguard Polysheen and Omni Super Floc Plus. Note that successful use of these products likely will require you to vacuum to waste.

3. Simply raising the chlorine, and then turning the pump off for 24 - 48 hours may allow the algae debris to settle and be vacuumed away.

But . . . no guarantees.

Good luck!