The Algae Wars Continue - - -

[tenndoc]

Am I not using enough bleach? The most I've been able to raise the FC is to 11. It drops to 8 so I know I'm still killing algae. I add 5.84 with a goal of 19 FC starting at 11 and I still have cloudy water!

No one has used the pool in 3 to 4 wks. so I'm considering raising the CH (it's 110 now) closing the pool and opening it up early next year.

Thoughts or suggestions are appreciated -

Thanks -

doc

[aylad]

tenndoc, what is your current CYA level? A FC of 11 is not high enough for algae killing--it will need to go higher, but earlier in this thread I saw that you had added some CYA and your current level will tell you how much chlorine you need. Also keep in mind that the algae, live and dead, in the water is what makes it cloudy. You need to have your filter running 24/7 and backwash it when the pressure rises 6-8 psi over the "clean" pressure. Do you notice a rise in your pressure gauge?

[tenndoc]

Thanks aylad,

I'm at work now so it'll be tomorrow before I can post those numbers.

My frustration comes from adding almost 6 gal of bleach and not getting a FC level near 20. I've got some dichlor (sp) from Wal-Mart but its got .63% copper so I haven't used it.

According to poolcalclator.com 6 gal of bleach should have given me a FC level of 19 on a 36,000 gal pool. How much is too much bleach to add at once? I would like to get this resolved so I can get it covered before it gets full of leaves.

Thanks for your help, I'm just getting frustrated with these results. I'm probably not hitting it hard enough to do the job . Early this summer the pool place tried to tell us we had some kind of chlorine eating algae. We've battled this problem all summer and.I'm willing to use this method I really need to see some results though.

Sorry, nothing like a rambling post to really confuse things.

[aylad]

LOL, all algae eats chlorine I suspect you're just not getting the chlorine levels high enough and not sustaining them. Post up your CYA level when you get a chance and we'll see.

[tenndoc]

At Last - - - (with respects to Etta James of course!)

FC 18.5!
CC .5
pH 7.8
TA 110
CH 120
CYA 20

To get FC to this level I added another 8.04 gals of bleach last night around mid-night. Finally something like I would expect!

And I have to go along with you aylad, I haven't had the FC levels high enough to really do the job.

Thoughts and/or ideas on my next plan of attack?

I'm really looking forward to getting the cover on it this year I'm sad to say.

Thanks -

doc

[tenndoc]

And so it Goes - - -

Today at 1:00 p this was my results -

FC 13.5
CC 1
pH 7.4
TA 100
CH 110

Tonight after work (about mid-night) I'll add another 5+ gal of bleach. http://www.poolcalculator.com/ advises to add a box and 1/2 of borax to take the pH back to 7.8.

The pool looks a lot better! It's still cloudy but at least it's not green! There is still algae laying on the bottom I'm working to get out.

And so it goes -

Thanks -

doc

[tenndoc]

Second Verse Same As the First (Almost) -

Today @ 10:40 a -

pH 7.4
FC 16
CC 0
TA 90
CH 120

Cloudiness is getting better! Tonight I'll add another 4.26 gal of bleach and 3 boxes of borax. That should keep the FC in the `shock range` and bring the pH back up to 7.8 or there abouts.

I'd appreciate it is someone would holler back if those are not the correct steps to take -

Thanks -

doc