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Thread: My pool is out of control and swampy

  1. #1
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    Default My pool is out of control and swampy

    I had never had a pool before and I bought a house with a pool 8(!) years ago. You would think that I would be better at this by now.

    I have an in ground kidney shaped gunite pool that I estimate is ~23,000 gallons. I converted it to a salt water system about 5 years ago.

    I had a pool guy that I used for the past few years until we finally parted ways last summer because of some reliability issues. So I figured with my salt system running well and a barracuda vacuum "robot" I could handle the pool without paying someone else to do it.

    Last summer went fine and I was very happy with myself. Here is where the moron part comes into play. My pool is surrounded by trees (you can't even see the pool in an aerial photo) so it is susceptible to getting a lot of leaves in the fall and there is a tree that drops these annoying little cottony balls in it in April.

    So I decided to cover my pool, use chlorine tablets in the floating dispenser to save my salt cell some work and keep the pool circulating to avoid any freezing issues. And that is where I royally screwed up. Out of sight, out of mind. I was not diligent enough adding chlorine tablets to the floating dispenser. :facepalm: My pool is an opaque green pond right now. I have dumped about 15 lbs of chlorine in it over the past couple of weeks to try to shock it in addition to having the tablet dispenser floating around. It has not budged.

    I am considering draining the pool, pressure washing the gunite, and completely starting over with my pool chemistry. Is this a horrible idea?

    tl;dr. My pool is a swamp and I am about to drain it and start over.

  2. #2
    Watermom's Avatar
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    We can help you get this cleaned up.

    Do you have a test kit? If not, we suggest the Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy). Not available locally, but you can get it through this link: http://pool9.net/test/

    In the meantime, go to Walmart and see if they have the HTH 6-Way drops-based kit. (Not the 6-Way test strips.) If not, then pick up a cheap OTO/Phenol Red kit (red and yellow drops). Test and post your results. Also, while you are there, get a bunch of jugs of their generic 8.25% bleach and a few boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle).

    Tell us what size pump you have and what type and size filter you have. Also, what are the ingredients of the 15 lbs. of chlorine you have added? Anything else added to the water?

    (Turn your SWCG off for now.)

    Welcome to the Pool Forum!

  3. #3
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    Quote Originally Posted by Watermom View Post
    We can help you get this cleaned up.

    Do you have a test kit? If not, we suggest the Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy). Not available locally, but you can get it through this link: http://pool9.net/test/

    In the meantime, go to Walmart and see if they have the HTH 6-Way drops-based kit. (Not the 6-Way test strips.) If not, then pick up a cheap OTO/Phenol Red kit (red and yellow drops). Test and post your results. Also, while you are there, get a bunch of jugs of their generic 8.25% bleach and a few boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle).

    Tell us what size pump you have and what type and size filter you have. Also, what are the ingredients of the 15 lbs. of chlorine you have added? Anything else added to the water?

    (Turn your SWCG off for now.)

    Welcome to the Pool Forum!
    Thank you, Watermom.

    I do not have a test kit. Last summer I would take my water to Leslie's pool store here locally and they tested my water. So I assume that is not ideal. For some reason, when I click your link for the testing kit, I get an error message saying that I do not have permissions to access the page. Do either of the kits you listed have a way to test for salinity?

    I have my SWCG off since I thought the condition of the water would not really be conducive to good operation.

    I will post the specs of my equipment when I get home tonight. I have a DE filter but I don't recall the exact size.

    Thanks for your help.

  4. #4
    Watermom's Avatar
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    Copy that link and then paste it into a browser window after you have logged out of the forum. (New users, until their registrations are completed, have to log out first to be able to see the rest of the forum.)

    That kit does not have a salt test but there is a separate salt test listed on that same page that I linked to you.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    . . . membership updated.

    Just FYI -- if water costs aren't too high there, draining and refilling may be the option that pleases your family most. Chemical swamp clean-up can be slow. Drain, wash and refill can be faster . . . and less frustrating. It's not an option with vinyl or some fiberglass pools, but unless the ground around your pool is REALLY saturated, it IS an option for concrete pools.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    Quote Originally Posted by PoolDoc View Post
    . . . membership updated.

    Just FYI -- if water costs aren't too high there, draining and refilling may be the option that pleases your family most. Chemical swamp clean-up can be slow. Drain, wash and refill can be faster . . . and less frustrating. It's not an option with vinyl or some fiberglass pools, but unless the ground around your pool is REALLY saturated, it IS an option for concrete pools.
    Thank you, Doc. I am glad I found your site. My failings in maintaining my pool are a bit of an embarrassment for me. With this site's help, I endeavor to do better.

    So when you stress "REALLY saturated" does that mean that I should be OK to drain my pool this weekend even if they are calling for a chance of rain for my area on Sat and Sun? I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area which is generally pretty dry. My pool is also surrounded by a concrete "decking". Would that help alleviate concerns of the pool floating up due to ground water?

    BTW, I noticed your location is Chattanooga. I am originally from West TN and I am a graduate of UTK. I miss TN sometimes.
    23k gal kidney inground concrete w/ SWCG. PF=5

  7. #7
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    Safe answer: dig a 2.5' deep post hole, and cover it. If it doesn't show water at the bottom, you should be good to go.

    Re Chattanooga: my younger son, who used to think of Chattanooga as a bit of a dead-end, has now concluded that it's his preferred location. Florida and other places are nice to visit, but not for living. Flat doesn't make him happy, and a LOT of the land west of the Miss. is pretty flat. And he's decided that big cities are best visited online!

    Ironically, there've been a few articles lately about how Chattanooga is becoming 'hip'. It's been an outdoor mecca, for awhile (local world-class hang-gliding, mountain biking & bouldering; near-by world class white water + lots of TVA water, Forest Service semi-wilderness, etc). But the redevelopment on the north side of the TN + the gigabit Internet (Chattanooga has the fastest available internet in the US) has brought folks here for 'cool'.

    Who'd a thunk that redneck Chattanooga would be a hipster heaven?

  8. #8
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    Well, I think I am going to go for it this weekend and drain my pool and acid wash it to get rid of the trouble algae.

    So, once I refill it from my municipal water supply, what should I add to the water? I have a SWCG, so I know I am going to have to add quite a bit of salt. I am just unsure what else I should add to start. I know I will likely need some chlorine stabilizer.

    I have already ordered the Taylor 2006C kit and the K-1766 salt water kit listed at the link that Watermom gave me. They are on the way and should be here next week. Should I go ahead and get the HTH 6 way kit from Wal Mart? Should I wait to get the salt kit to start adding salt to my pool or can I trust the reading on my Hayward salt system to be close enough?
    23k gal kidney inground concrete w/ SWCG. PF=5

  9. #9
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    Default Re: I am a moron and my pool is out of control

    1. You can add salt anytime you like . . . but don't turn the SWCG on till the pool is up and running with fully adjusted water.

    2. Get dichlor if you can. If you have access to a Sams Club, that's your best deal for undiluted dichlor:
    http://pool9.net/sams-dichlor50/
    http://pool9.net/sams-dichlor24/
    Other sources sell diluted dichlor, but if you can find a dichlor with 56% available CHLORINE, that should be OK. 24# of dichlor will add about 60 ppm of CYA to your pool

    3. Once you have the pool adjusted, salt in, and CYA up . . . THEN turn on the SWCG.
    Last edited by PoolDoc; 05-31-2014 at 03:08 PM.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: My pool is out of control and swampy

    I do not have a Sam's card and don't know anyone who does.

    I looked around a little last night and today. Pardon my ignorance, but is this dichlor?



    BTW, your links to the dichlor pages did not work for me
    23k gal kidney inground concrete w/ SWCG. PF=5

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