Spring Pool Opening Problems

[JRDLEE]

Boy oh boy, does the Taylor K-2006 test kit ever make a difference! After several weeks of fighting cloudy water with mega-gallons of chlorine, the pool is finally looking pristine! Some of the lessons I've learned throughout this summer:

1. A really, really good FAS-DPD test kit is absolutely required. Don't even begin to think about clear blue water if you can't test it to see what's happening. The OTO kits are basically useless.

2. At times, chlorine is cheaper as "pool chlorine" rather than regular Clorox. Price comparisons in my area: 3x - 182 oz. jugs of 6% Clorox for $8.99 from Costco, versus 2x 128 oz. jugs of 10% Kem-Tek for $6.86 from Home Depot.

3. Not using stablized tri-chlor tablets means getting the CYA levels high enough to support effective chlorine sanitization. I try to maintain an CYA level of 40-50. Now the chlorine really works well!

4. pH levels are much easier to maintain if the alkalinity level is correct. My pool seems to stay in the 7.6-7.8 range with an alkalinity of about 80.

5. So far, I haven't had to use any borax for raising the pH at all. Have had to use about 1-gallon of muratic acid to adjust the alkalinity first, then the pH. And only about 2 lbs. of baking soda to raise the alkalinity.

6. The pool sand filter needs to be backwashed about once a week, even though the pressure gauge doesn't really indicate a higher pressure. Looking at what gets backwashed out via the sight glass and seeing algae build-up starting is enough for me. I am thinking about replacing the sand in the Triton II filter with zeolite for better performance without having to install a cartridge or DE filter. Any suggestions?

Thanks for all for helping out with your advice!

[PoolDoc]

A really, really good FAS-DPD test kit is absolutely required. Don't even begin to think about clear blue water if you can't test it to see what's happening. The OTO kits are basically useless.

It's a little more accurate to say that the OTO kits are not very helpful for troubleshooting. Once you've got a routine down, you can do a quick-n-dirty test with an OTO kit, so make sure you're still 'in-range'.

But, collecting the Pool Chart data has made is VERY clear that people who don't get the K2006 end up having a much harder time solving their problems.

2. At times, chlorine is cheaper as "pool chlorine" rather than regular Clorox. Price comparisons in my area: 3x - 182 oz. jugs of 6% Clorox for $8.99 from Costco, versus 2x 128 oz. jugs of 10% Kem-Tek for $6.86 from Home Depot.

This can definitely be true. The problem is that in many parts of the country, pool chlorine is stored all summer in hot warehouses. The higher the temp, and the higher the %, the faster bleach breaks down. 15% bleach can lose 1/2 it's strength in less than 2 weeks, if stored at summer time temps!

3. Not using stablized tri-chlor tablets means getting the CYA levels high enough to support effective chlorine sanitization. I try to maintain an CYA level of 40-50. Now the chlorine really works well!

Trichor is one way of adding stabilizer, and can be a good one. Stabilizer is definitely necessary on outdoor pools.

4. pH levels are much easier to maintain if the alkalinity level is correct. My pool seems to stay in the 7.6-7.8 range with an alkalinity of about 80.

I'm glad you've found your pool's 'balance point', but it tends to vary from pool to pool.

6. The pool sand filter needs to be backwashed about once a week, even though the pressure gauge doesn't really indicate a higher pressure. Looking at what gets backwashed out via the sight glass and seeing algae build-up starting is enough for me. I am thinking about replacing the sand in the Triton II filter with zeolite for better performance without having to install a cartridge or DE filter. Any suggestions?

We've not seen ANY evidence that zeolite media does anything better than sand.

However, you do not want to backwash your sand filter without seeing a pressure increase. Check your gauge to make sure it works, and then backwash after you've seen at least a 3# increase. If you have seen green in the backwash, put a tab in the skimmer OR add bleach to the pool via the skimmer. (Do NOT add bleach on top of a tap or anything else in the skimmer.