Chem log, to see....

[Watermom]

I bet it is just dirt. My pool does the same thing. (I don't have wrinkles in the bottom of my pool floor but there are slight indention lines where the pad beneath the liner is taped together.) When you vacuum, no matter how slow you go, some of it gets disturbed into suspension in the water. Then, overnight when the water quiets down, the dirt settles back out on the floor. It is no big deal because as soon as people are in the pool, it gets mixed in again and you can't see it. It is not possible to have an outdoor pool with absolutely no dust/dirt in it.

[Charlie_R]

Just came in from a dip in the pool followed by the evening tests.

Results:

FC.......32.5 using 10mL sample.
CC........0.0
TA.........60
CH.......180
CYA.......70

Note on the TA: test solution didn't turn from blue to red, went yellow. Don't know what that is supposed to mean, but there it is.

I'll run the filter overnight tonight, and check the FC/CC in the morning.

When I see that brown stuff on the filter, it kinda resembles a series of filaments, but that could be nothing more than dirt clinging to hairs and (low quality pleatco/intex) filter fuzz.

Note to anyone sitting on the fence about the K-2006: BUY IT! As all the moderators have already stated, it is well worth the $$ spent. NO guesswork on "How much of that chlorine level is FC and how much CC"?

Thank you all for your advice and help for this pool newbie! To parrot what several others have said, This forum and the people in it are a wonderful, helpful community of people.

[Charlie_R]

A quick question:

A few posts back, I noted that the TA test turned yellow instead of red, using the 2 drops of R-0009. My question is -- Is this chemical a chlorine neutralizer? I just did another test, and instead of the 2 drops I put in 3. This time, the color DID change to red. Now the follow-up question: Does this affect the outcome of the test?

[Charlie_R]

Ok, I must have goofed a bit last night and this morning.

Last test yesterday evening showed (10mL sample) FC 9.5, CC 0

This morning, pool was a bit cloudy, (10mL sample) FC 6.5, CC .5, and I observed a small water boatman swimming around. Brought FC up to 10.5.

Current readings, (25mL sample) FC 7.2, CC 0 water still slightly cloudy, with lots of leaves floating around and on the bottom.

Another thing I'm seeing, is my TA keeps climbing back up to the 140 - 160 range. I know, this is not normally a problem in this type of pool, however, from what I've been reading here, things seem to work better if I try to keep it <100. So brought pH down to 7.2, and aerating again.

Re the slight cloudy, possible algae trying to get started? Or as noted earlier with the occasional white flakes, could it be the CH trying to precipitate out?

[Charlie_R]

Oops.....

In going over my activities for the last several days, I think I might have inadvertently contaminated my pool with metals. I have been doing a lot of metalworking over the weekend, and may not have been as thorough as I thought at getting the steel dust out of my hair and beard. Would this cause a white cloudiness in the pool? Along with a bit of a chlorine demand? As noted in my last post, FC never dropped below best guess chart for 70 - 90 CYA.

[Charlie_R]

Twice now, I've lost 4 - 5ppm FC overnight, with NO as in 0.0 CC remaining in the water. However, each morning I've had to remove a huge amount of leaves from both the surface and what sank to the bottom. Enough leaves to have covered the surface an inch thick. Have brought FC to shock level, in case I have another algae bloom trying to start.

Could it be the breakdown of the leaves that is taking the FC?

DW ordered a pool cover set (winter and leaf covers), arrived yesterday, with hidden damage to the leaf cover. We are working with the store on a replacement for the damaged goods. When DW talked to the store, they said they would ship a replacement out ASAP, but still needed to talk to us about it. Took pics of the damage, appears to be caused by an inattentive worker in the packaging dept of the manufacturer, which they tried (unsuccefully) to hide.

Note on the previous slight cloudiness -- Have had some major construction going on upwind of us for the past several weeks, and everything seems to be getting a thin layer of concrete dust from them cutting the expansion joints into the parking lot. Since running the filter 24/7 for two days after the cloudiness, water cleared up. However, the loss of FC still remains.

[Watermom]

Organic matter in a pool will definitely increase the chlorine usage but I wouldn't think it would cause a 4-5ppm chlorine drop overnight.

[Charlie_R]

So I am probably right in bringing the pool to basic shock level then.

Thanks!

[Charlie_R]

Ok, confirmed algae attempting to get a foothold in the pool. What I'd like to know is why the CC never showed more than .5ppm. Only clues I had were the odd lightly cloudy, and slightly elevated CC, with only those two overnight losses of around 4 FC. Water is now at shock level, and will be held there for the next two days.

Question for PoolDoc: In your experience has there ever been a relationship between low or high pH and the ability for algae to start even with FC being held within nominal levels of the best guess chart?

CYA is 70 - 90, so FC being held between 6 - 10. Do I need to keep it a bit higher range, like 8 - 12?

Also, could a mod change my pool chart data to show my having the K-2006?

[Charlie_R]

Obviously, I am not doing something right.

After the first bout of algae, I thought that I had a clean pool. Such is not the case. For the last week, I have had to keep it at shock (20ppm) levels, but am still losing 4-6ppm overnight.

Looks like I'll have to take it up to around 50ppm, while the pool is too cold (68-74F) to swim in. I'm evidently dealing with chlorine resistant type of algae.

What I'm finding strange about this is that even on the 25mL sample, I get 0.0 CC. So what else could be happening here?

I'm thinking that part of the problem lies in the not so great circulation in this pool. I have a bit of PVC pipe on the return, giving me a circular flow of the water. I'm wondering if that isn't leaving the center of the pool without adequate circulation. I might try a 45 instead of a 90 where the return enters the pool, to bring the flow more towards the center, while maintaining the circular part. PoolDoc is right, these Intex round pools do have a serious flow problem from the factory. I'm attempting to remedy that with mine.