Newbie who lacks pool smarts needs those who have The Smarts

[PoolDoc]

Never mind -- you gave your address when you registered, and Google seems to have pictures of your pool. Your pool is closer to 20 x 20 than it is to 36 x 48:


11,000 gallons is probably a reasonable estimate. I cropped the photo so your location can't be guessed from the photo.

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Yup, that's my pool! My 20x20, 38,000 gal pool . Oops. I measured last night using the 'step it off' method, except it's quite clear that I didn't understand it; when I entered last night's numbers, I thought wth? bc I knew they seemed bizarre. Thanks so much for helping me out on it. My poor, poor pool is in challenged hands.

Anyway....I followed Watermom's advice and added 5 gal of 6% last night....which I thought might bring me up to the 25ppm suggested. Here are this morning's numbers:

--chl: 7ppm
--alk: 180
--pH: 7.6
--cya: 150
--no visible signs of any algae; water clear

I'm really confused as to why it only went up to 7ppm, after 5gal...any advice on what I might try next? Should I use actual Shock powder this time, would that be easier until I get it to a better place? For longer term, how will I get that cya down permanently so that the chlorine is better managed? I may be asking all the wrong questions, but I sure hope to learn.

Thanks again!

[PoolDoc]

High chlorine loss overnight indicates some sort of 'goo' in the water that chlorine will burn up. What sort of filter do you have? Some times the 'goo' is in the filter. If you have a cartridge or DE filter, it might be a good time to break it down and clean it completely.

BUT . . . .keep adding 5 gallons of plain bleach each evening, and then test in the morning before the sun really is on the pool.

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Hmmm...now I'm more confused. We just had our filters cleaned about 2 mths (or less) ago, so I'd be surprised if they were already bad. It's cartridge, not DE. I don't have any idea how to take apart the filter thing; I'd have to call someone for that. Do you think it's imperative, given we just had them done?

Is it an option to shock it up to 25ppm via regular shock powder...get it stable...and then start the BBB method? I'm pretty petite and if it's likely I'll need 20 gal of bleach over the next few days, then I'm wondering if it'd be easier (for now) to just get the shock and later start BBB.

Thoughts?

Again, thanks for your help.

[PoolDoc]

1. Regarding the filter, post the EXACT filter make / model + pictures if at all possible, sent to poolforum@gmail.com . . . and answer a question: has the pool been green and slimy since the cartridges were cleaned?

2. Regarding shock . . . nope, that's not an option till you can tell us EXACTLY what your "shock powder" is -- EXACT manufacturer and product name -- AND can give us test readings. (Some stuff sold as 'shock' is a MESS, and regardless, we can't tell how the side effects of different materials will affect your pool, till we have test readings.)

Have you ordered that kit?

Ben

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Thanks Ben. I've ordered the kit, but it looks like it will be a couple days. To answer your post:

1. I just now sent the pics you requested, so hopefully they are there. And nope, pool hasn't been green and slimy at all since the cartridges were clean. That said, I think there may have been one time that it got slightly more dirty than usual, but it cleared up...can't recall if that was right before the cartridge change, or after.

2. I don't have any shock powder on hand...so if you had one you wanted to recommend (that I could possibly pick up locally), let me know and I'll get it. When you say 'until we have test readings', do you mean like the ones I've been posting the last couple days? Or, do you mean a reading once I have a better kit?

[Pool Dorkus Maximus]

Feel like a bit of a pest...but after more reading, I'm wondering why (in my case) no one is suggesting that I partially drain the pool? I'm sure there is a reason, but I don't know why.

I'm wondering if it'd help to partially drain - ie, wouldn't this both lower the cya, which then would lower my chlorine burn...so then I could deal w/ the short term imbalance (using less chlorine) while also ideally prepping my pool for longer term BBB method? In other words, don't I have to get rid of a high cya (now at about 180) at some point anyway, so why not now? What am I missing?

My water is totally clear, no algae...tho I understand the high cya may indicate a near-future bloom.

[PoolDoc]

For 75% people posting here, draining is risky. Inground vinyl pools can almost never be drained safely; AG pools can collapse; in wet ground both fiberglass and concrete pools can literally float up out of the dirt!. Beyond that, on the west coast, there often water restrictions EITHER on draining OR refilling.

So, we've kinda conditioned ourselves against recommending that. We are suggesting often, in the case of small Intex type pools, which can be drained safely, and which have filters that take forever to clear cloudy water.

In your case, there's almost no risk of 'floating' the pool . . . but I don't know about your local water restrictions. Do you want to drain?