My Green Pool Saga - Help!

[Pamsel]

Ok, just added another 2.8 gal of chlorox and another 12 oz of muriatic acid. Am going to go mow the lawn and check levels again in an hour or two.

[Sherra]

What about the fact that I'm putting the chlorox in during the middle of the day? Doesn't the sun leach it right out of the water?

Yes, the sun will eat it up pretty quickly. Adding it in the evening is best...especially since it appears you have no CYA to help hold the chlorine in during the daylight hours. But it's still best to try to keep the levels up consistently when you're fighting in algae outbreak.

With a pH of 8.4 it may take several doses to bring it down to normal range. Your Alk is really high too...keep testing it. The acid will bring the Alk down, you need to get it down closer to 100. If the pH dips below 7.2 during your Alk/pH reduction process you'll need to bring it back up to the low 7's again. There is a thread dedicated to lowering your Alk.

[Pamsel]

Hi Sherra,

Well, I just checked my levels again. Chlorine now reading a strong 5 ppm (which, btw, is the highest my test kit goes and I had a heck of a time finding any kit that tested all the levels. Do I need to get another kit that will test chlorine to higher levels? Alk & PH do not appear to have dropped down at all yet. Do I just keep repeating the applications every couple of hours, after I test?

BTW, I appreciate all your help more than you can know ~ also Marie and Janet! This pool has been a nightmare every spring for 5 years! I truly don't know what I'm doing, so just follow the directions of the pool supply store, where each person gives me a different answer and nothing works until I've fought it for weeks and weeks and spent hundreds of dollars! I believe I have finally found people who truly know what to do and who can help me learn how to take control of my pool myself.

[mbar]

We all understand! It takes a while for all the chemistry to make sense - especially when you listen to pool stores. Look through the swimming pool tips on the pool solutions web site:
http://www.poolsolutions.com/tips/10things.html
It will help explain pool chemistry better for you. Getting the test kit from this site also makes taking care of your own pool easier. You will find that once you get your water balanced, it will be very quick to check your levels and keep a clean pool. When you get the chemistry straight in your mind, you will understand how to balance your pool. Feel free to ask any questions - all you really need to keep in stock is bleach, borax, baking soda, muriatic acid, and stabilizer (for the beginning of the year) and a sequestering agent if you have any metals in your water.

[Pamsel]

Marie, I was told by the pool people that I have to use the oxygen based shock product because I have a vinyl liner. A friend of ours who has had a pool for years told me he only uses muriatic acid and liquid chlorine and never buys from a pool store, but he does not have a liner. Can I safely use muriatic acid and liquid chlorine all summer long to maintain a clear pool?
Do I not need to use the "oxygen shock", algaecide and the pucks at all?

[aylad]

The pool people are in this to make money....we're not. You don't need the oxygen shock at all. If you maintain proper chlroine levels, you won't need the algaecide, either, but some of the forum members dose with it (ONLY if it's 60% Polyquat--no other kind) when closing their pols. And no, you don't have to use the pucks at all, either. In fact, when your stabilizer levels get to the point where you're holding chlorine in the pool, the pucks are actually detrimental. With a vinyl-lined pool, you can safely and efficiently maintain a crystal clear pool using bleach, muriatic acid, Borax, and baking soda. My pool is vinyl in-ground, open year-round, and that's the recipe I use, with a little boost from the trichlor pucks.

Janet

[Pamsel]

Thank you Janet. I have learned more here in two days than I've learned the past 4 years from pool "experts". I have a new container of both the pucks and the oxidizer. I'll be happy to return them and recover some of my money. Many thanks again.

HELP again!!

I tested the water first thing this morning. My chlorine level is high now - 10ppm, showing almost brownish-yellow and I smell chlorine when I walk up to the pool. I will maintain this level now until the algae is killed? So far, the water has not changed appearance at all. Also, my PH has not come down at all and my TA has gone from 310 to 380. I've put in 48ozs of muriatic acid in four doses so far, but am getting no results. Could someone please tell me if perhaps I read the PH Calcs chart wrong? I put in 14,500 gal for pool size and click calculate. The muriatic acid line reads 11.6, which I took to mean I should put in 11.6 ozs.
I've been putting in 12 ozs at a time. Am I doing something wrong?

I discovered that I have a container of PH Reducer (Sodium Bisulfate) in the garage, left from the previous owners. This means it is 5 years old. Would it do any good to use that, since the muratic acid doesn't seem to be doing the trick? Or would that be going in reverse?

Thanks again!