100,000 gal pool

[PoolDoc]

+ 15% chlorine is hard to buy at the consumer level, outside of south Florida. It deteriorates rapidly at summer time temperatures, so IF you get it, you need to make sure it's fresh. I think there may be some places in NJ and California where it's available . . . so you may be able to find it, but that's a local question we often can't help to solve.

Keep in mind, 15% chlorine is a bit different. For example, it will start a fire if you spill it on a pile of cotton rags!

+ You definitely need a K2006 kit. Especially with a 100K gal pool, you don't want to add unnecessary chemicals. See http://pool9.net/testkits/

+ If the pool does not have really high stabilizer, the best place to start would probably be to get 1 or 2 50lb buckets of dichlor at Sams Club. They are one of the few retailers selling un-diluted dichlor, and at a really good price, too. Dichlor dissolves quickly, so it's easy to add, and it builds up your stabilizer level rapidly. Of course, if your CYA is already too high, that is not a good thing.

PoolBrand granular dichlor 50lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.20/lb (May 2014 in Chattanooga)
PoolBrand dichlor bagged shock 24lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.50/lb (May 2014 in Chattanooga)

Kem-Tek dichlor 22 lbs @ Amazon => ~$3.50/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 12 lbs @ Amazon => ~$4.10/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 5 lbs @ Amazon => ~$5.00/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 2 lbs @ Amazon => ~$9.00/lb (May 2014)

Keep in mind that Amazon products normally ship free; and that in many parts of the country, you will not have to pay sales tax. Shipping + tax can increase the cost from other suppliers by 15 - 40%, so compare delivered cost, not nominal price.

[4dks1]

Thank you Ben & Carl!

I ordered the K2006C test kit. It should arrive in 1 week. In the meantime it is very hot here. I have 11 gal 8.25% bleach. No tabs in floaters. Would you recommend having water tested at pool stores or add bleach & tabs until tester arrives?

From one of the other threads could you clarify running the pump & green water? Did it say don't run the pump if the water is green?

[PoolDoc]

If you can run the pump, but bypass the filter, do so. Live algae stops up DE filters almost instantly. You have to kill the algae before using the filter.

Can you get to a Sams Club and get 100# of dichlor?

There's really no point in adding bleach, till you have enough chlorine on hand to actually deal with the problem: 11 gallons of 8% bleach isn't going to touch what you need to clean up a 100,000 gallon pool. When I had to open neglected 'Olympic size' (75' long, actually, "Short course" pools) that were 120,000 to 200,000 gallons, I normally would add 110 gallons (2 drums) of FRESH 15% bleach.

If you add chlorine, without adding enough to do the job, you just end up wasting it.

[4dks1]

The local Sam's Club has dichlor. I'll pick it up later today. Do I just put it all at the deep end?

[PoolDoc]

Unpainted concrete -- yes. Any other surface -- scatter it. Even with concrete, don't just dump it all in one spot.

[4dks1]

The tool kit came early, so here's the readings before the dichlor was put in.
PH 8.0
TA 160ppm
CH 440
CYA 40ppm
FC 2
CC 2

Thank you!

[CarlD]

I'm a little leery to comment on such a big pool, but generally what these numbers mean is:

pH of 8.0 is too high and you should add Muriatic Acid to bring it down. I'd suggest to 7.0 or 7.1 because of the high TA level.

TA is 160 which for a concrete pool with a high pH and high CH level is too high. Therefore I'd suggest our ratcheting down method of lowering TA. Lower pH with acid which lowers TA as well, aerate to raise pH without re-raising TA. Repeat until TA is between 80 and 120.

CH is a bit too high -- 400 is generally the recommended upper limit for concrete pools. But with a few backwashes it will come down. Do NOT use Cal-Hypo anymore or add calcium since CH is 440.

CYA is generally fine at 40. FC should be maintained at 3-6ppm, shock at 15ppm

FC: too low
CC: too high.

Ben will give you better and more detailed recommendations and make any corrections he deems appropriate.

[PoolDoc]

The fact that you have CC=2.0 is not good.

You need add muriatic acid till the pH comes down. Read http://pool9.net/ma so you can handle it correctly and then add acid, a gallon at a time. Make sure the pump is on while you add the acid, and for at least 2 hours after. Continue to dose with gallon doses till the pH is 7.8 or below.

For a 100K gallon pool, with CC=2, dose with the dichlor at the rate of 1/2 gallon (about 5 pounds) at a time.

?'s:

1. What does the water look like? (clear/cloudy/opaque; blue/gray/greenish/dark green; odorless/chlorine smell/swamp smell
2. Are you running your pump 24/7?
3. Have you opened and cleaned the filter this season?
4. Can you purchase 100# drums of calcium hypochlorite?

Please explain these dimension:

Size 260"x260"x272" pool 96" spa

260" = 21' 8"
272" = 22' 8"

5. Are you saying your pool is a 22' cubic hole in the ground?