So lost!

[Sunny32504]

i MOVED IN MY HOUSE IN THE WINTER TWO YEARS AGO AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE DIDN'T EVEN CLOSE THE POOL UP AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT THE POOL WAS A DARK GREEN AN VERY SCARY . WE WOULD TEASE ABOUT ALLIGATORS BEING IN THERE. ANYWAYS MY POOL IS ABOUT 24' ROUND ABOVE GROUND WITH A CARTRIDGE FILTER AND A 3/4 HP PUMP. fIRST THING FIRST WHAT SIZE POOL DO YOU HAVE ? IS IT ABOVE GROUND? VINYL LINER? i STARTED OFF WITH ABOUT 6 - 1 LB BAGS OF SHOCK . LET THAT SILTER FOR ABOUT 24 HOURS . GO GET A TEST KIT AT WALMART THAT USES DROPS NOT STRIPS AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF CHECKING THE CHEMICALS LIKE PH AND CHLORINE , ALKANITY. PH SHOULD BE BETWEEN 7.2 AND 7.4 TO GET THE CHLORINE TO WORK PROPERLY. IF THE PH IS BALANCED THAN FOR NOW MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE POOL ATLEAST 15PPM OF CHLORINE UNTIL YOU SEE A COLOR CHANGE . FILTER , FILTER AND FILTER THAT WATER . LET ME KNOW WHAT MORE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE

[ratgirl]

We have a 16ft round above ground. 5000gallons I believe? Vinyl liner, and I'm pretty sure the filter is sand. We took a sample of the water in tonight to a pool store and they told us to use 1lb of shock chlorine, and to use 9!lbs of alkilinity plus. We did that, and a whoooole lot of leaves came up from the bottom, which plugged up the skimmer basket, and kinda broke it? The sides are torn from the top in places. Anyway tomorrow I intend to turn the pump on, and let it filter, get all the leaves up from the bottom as they come up, and I'll skim them out until I don't see anymore. Then hopefully it'll be okay to run non-stop. Right now we have it turned off so it doesn't...blow up or something.

[CarlD]

Oh, No!

I believe you got "Pool-Stored". 9 lbs of Alk Up in your little tiny pool????? How much did they ream you for it? Did they bother to tell that it's EXACTLY the same chemical as ordinary baking soda (Arm&Hammer) you buy at Shop-Rite?

Please post the numbers they gave you--the important ones are:
FC (free chlorine, the good stuff--probably 0)
CC (Combined Chloramines--used up chlorine, could be anything)
TC (Total Chlorine--should be FC + CC)
pH (how acidic or alkaline your water is)
Total Alkalinity or Alkalinity (this is a buffer for the pH).
CYA: (Stabilizer or Cyanuric Acid--slows chorine breakdown--You need some, but not too much)
CH: (Calcium Hardness, or Calcium or Hardness--do NOT let them talk you into buying calcium--you do not need it NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY!)

They like other numbers, like Total Dissolved Solids--generally useless, Acid Demand, Base Demand (both useless as well).

You should get a "leaf rake" and get out those leaves with it to save your filter. It goes in a standard skimmer handle and look like a butterfly net with a squeegee at the end.

Then we can advise you. You'll be happy to know you can use bleach instead of "shock" and it will work just as well. Actually--better than "shock". Actually, there's no such thing as "shock"--"shock" is a verb, not a noun, but they use it to describe all sorts of chemicals. Double strength bleach is sold by pool stores as "Liquid Shock". One gallon of that is exactly the same as 2 gallons of Ultra Bleach.

[ratgirl]

The fellow didn't actually sell us anything, nor did he give us any numbers. He used one of those strips with the little squares on them, and them recomended what we buy. So 3-4 gallons of bleach a day? Even now that the size of the pool is known?
Deffinately will pick up one of those leaf rakes, and a pool testing kit so I can get "numbers" for you all.
Thanks so much, you've all been so much help.

[PatL34]

Yes 3-4 gallons until you start to see the water clearing up. The leaves and debris are also using up bleach big time, and until they all come out, the bleach is being "sidetracked" so to speak. Don't forget to check the skimmer and the pool pump strainer basket frequently.

Once you get your testing kit, read the instructions carefully, as you may get a different effect for the chlorine value than what you expect. That is because you may have more chlorine than the indicator can handle. Someone with more experience will be able to help you here.

Post your numbers so we can help you further.

Pat

[CarlD]

The fellow didn't actually sell us anything, nor did he give us any numbers. He used one of those strips with the little squares on them, and them recomended what we buy. So 3-4 gallons of bleach a day? Even now that the size of the pool is known?
Deffinately will pick up one of those leaf rakes, and a pool testing kit so I can get "numbers" for you all.
Thanks so much, you've all been so much help.

1 gallon of regular bleach (5.25%) adds exactly 5.25ppm of chlorine to 10,000 gallons.

1 gallon of Ultra bleach (6%) adds exactly 6ppm of chlorine to 10,000 gallons.

The size of your pool, and the level of CYA (stabilizer) determines how much chlorine you should use in general, and how much you should use to shock it when you have algae growing. It's called the "Best Guess CYA chart" and it's in the Using Chlorine...forum.

There's also a beginner's chemistry guide in the Testing...forum that I wrote and Watermom stuck there. These should help you understand that basics.

If you have a pool store test your water, ALWAYS ask for the results, even if you have to write them down. It's classic for them to take a reading and inevitably recommend that you add lots of chemicals, usually all at once! The object should be to help get your pool healthy, not sell a lot of chemicals. I don't blame the clerks in the stores--they usually get their instructions from the owners, who are fed a line of buffalo chips by the chem companies...whose object is to sell lots of chemicals whether you need them or not.

[ratgirl]

1 gallon of regular bleach (5.25%) adds exactly 5.25ppm of chlorine to 10,000 gallons.

1 gallon of Ultra bleach (6%) adds exactly 6ppm of chlorine to 10,000 gallons.

The size of your pool, and the level of CYA (stabilizer) determines how much chlorine you should use in general, and how much you should use to shock it when you have algae growing. It's called the "Best Guess CYA chart" and it's in the Using Chlorine...forum.

There's also a beginner's chemistry guide in the Testing...forum that I wrote and Watermom stuck there. These should help you understand that basics.

If you have a pool store test your water, ALWAYS ask for the results, even if you have to write them down. It's classic for them to take a reading and inevitably recommend that you add lots of chemicals, usually all at once! The object should be to help get your pool healthy, not sell a lot of chemicals. I don't blame the clerks in the stores--they usually get their instructions from the owners, who are fed a line of buffalo chips by the chem companies...whose object is to sell lots of chemicals whether you need them or not.

Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

^^^That thing? I don't get it. I imagine what I want is shock FC, but what ppm would I want? That's confusing! So being that I have 5000 gallons rather than 10, I would be getting 12ppm from 1 gallon of ultra bleach? Would I want something that high?

[Sherra]

The easiest way to take the "math" out of it is to download the BleachCalc and let it do the calculations for you.

http://www.hal-pc.org/~mwsmith2/BleachCalc262.exe

It was written by one of our forum members. It's a real time-saver. And yes, until your pool clears up, you will want to maintain "shock" level for your chlorine.

[CarlD]

Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

^^^That thing? I don't get it. I imagine what I want is shock FC, but what ppm would I want? That's confusing! So being that I have 5000 gallons rather than 10, I would be getting 12ppm from 1 gallon of ultra bleach? Would I want something that high?

Yup, you got it, all of it! You want the Shock FC level that matches your CYA/stabilizer level. And, yes, you would want a MINIMUM FC level of 12 ppm to clear your water--more if you have more CYA.

You can use the bleach calculator if the math is a struggle.