First year pool high stabilizer and algae

[PoolDoc]

1. Empty the chlorinator and give away the tabs -- all forms of auto-chlorinator chlorine contain high levels of stabilizer.

2. Get K2006 -- check! on the way. Read the Best Guess page, linked in my signature.

3. Get a cheap OTO/phenol red kit (yellow/red drops) locally.

4. Order some polyquat -- about $17/qt w/ no tax or shipping @ Amazon. See www.poolsolutions.com/polyquat.html Probably want to get 4 quarts. It will keep, so save what you don't need.

5. Bleach is NOT a problem for liner pools; if it was, 10,000's of BBB method users would have gotten white liners by now. This is a pool dealer myth. But Walmart bleach -- if you get the 8% stuff, it's probably quite a bit cheaper than pool store bleach (aka "liquid chlorine")

6. Look for calcium hypochlorite locally. If you find it, make SURE it's 65% or high CHLORINE, and has calcium hypochlorite listed as the ONLY ingredient. Tell us what price you find -- $'s for pounds.

7. Use bleach to raise your chlorine levels to the OTO *orange* level (15 - 25 ppm -- you DID read the Best Guess page, right?)

8. Swimming at FC=25 ppm when CYA = 100+ ppm is FINE for people, but can be hard on swimsuits. Wear old suits, unless your pool fence is high and not see-through. (Skin is VERY chlorine resistant )

9. Run your filter 24/7. Brush your pool every other day, once the FC => orange.

10. Do NOT add *any* algaecide, except polyquat. Use polyquat ONLY according to label recommendations, and ONLY until all the algae is gone.

11. PH testing will be unreliable at FC > 15 ppm, until you get the K2006. Even then, you need to read the pH within 15 seconds of adding the drops. If you wait, the result will be wrong.

12. Post K2006 results once you have them. When you test CYA, do NOT waste the test. Read, check, re-read, do it right the first time. There is only enough R0013 reagent for about 7 tests. Also, and this is IMPORTANT, for YOUR pool, do NOT test pool water for CYA. Instead, test a mixture of 1/2 pool water and 1/2 tap water. Multiple the results x2.

[ksherman]

Since my 2006 kit is not here yet, here are the results from a HTH pool computer test that my local hardware does.
FC: 0.8ppm
TC: 0.8ppm
CC: 0
pH: 7.2
Hardness: 568ppm
Alkalinity (w/stabilizer correction): 113 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: OVR 175
Copper: 0.1ppm
Iron: 2.2ppm

I have 8% walmart brand bleach but how much do I start with? I know to dose, then let circulate, and test again before adding more or other things, but do I start with 1 gallon or 4? no idea.

I'm working on all other recommendations: kit & polyquat is on the way. Will run filter & brush once we get the FC up.

[ksherman]

Just found the bleach calculator on another thread in this forum....recommends 8 Liters or about 2 gallons. So I will start with one gallon tonight and check tomorrow.

[ksherman]

Update from Yesterday's posts: Pool is beginning to clear up -- clear in the shallow end & can see the white circle of the bottom drain now in the deep end. Chlorine is up to the medium/dark yellow (3-6) so we will add some more bleach tonight to get up to your recommendation.

[ksherman]

Got my K2006 kit in the mail, here are the results:
FC: 2.8 (I just added 2 more gallons of bleach after testing this)
CC: 0.4
pH: 7.2
TA: 200
Calcium: 450
CYN: 200 (probably a bit more, it was just a little under the 100 mark)

Polyquat should be here tomorrow. Not sure how I decide if I still need it. Water is clear. We haven't backwashed since vacuuming what had settled out yesterday but pressure is fine. We plan to start brushing tomorrow.

[PoolDoc]

You may not need the polyquat; if not, just save it. It will keep indefinitely, if you make sure the bottles are not exposed to sunlight. You can use it when you go on vacation or some other time.

You need to be running chlorine levels near 20 ppm, if your CYA > 100 ppm; otherwise, algae will recur. Read the Best Guess page, linked in my signature block.

With chlorine levels > 10 ppm, you'll tend to use up the chlorine test reagent quickly. Avoid this by purchasing a gallon of distilled water at Walmart, and testing a mix of 1/2 pool water and 1/2 distilled, and multiplying by 2.

Otherwise, sounds like you're on your way!

[ksherman]

Just wanted to let you all know with your recommendations we are doing great! The pool is clear and we are feeling more confident.
Our CYN levels are on their way down, just from splashout or backwashing & refilling. 160 down from 200. So we are still keeping our chlorine higher based on the best guess chart.
We got rid of our algae with polyquat and plan to keep it that way!

Our Ph is starting to creep up to about 7.5 but it looks like that is still in your recommended range.

Is there anything I need to be concerned with on the Ph front with a vinyl liner? I didn't exactly understand your page about running high Ph is ok, sometimes, but not always. I guess I'll just keep us between 7.2-7.6 because of our vinyl liner.
Thanks again! I hope others can learn from this post & gain confidence in trying the BBB method no matter what others are telling them. So glad I found the forum & website!