Newbie recovering after algae fun!

[CallMeIshmael]

Hello All!
First things first- Thanks for such an incredible forum- I've learned so much already, but no doubt have a ways to go. I wanted to post my results so far & make sure I'm on the right track.

We inherited our pool (concrete 23,000 gallon) when we bought the house 5 years ago. We trusted it to pool co's since then, with a range of problems (a whole other topic!), but most recently a massive algae invasion. Couldn't see 6 inches. Ewww!

Before discovering this site, I did the following:

• Shocked with 6 pounds (3 at a time- 2 days apart) of one of ShockXtraBlue 6-in-1 (incl's Dichlor & copper).
• A bottle of water clarifier (PoolTime-no mention of it's active ingredients).
• Ran the filter 24/7 with the vacuum cleaner going to remove leaves & debris.

These steps did a fair job of getting the green out, but left us with a completely hazy white/blue pool. Then I found you guys!
Since I started reading here 3 days ago:

• I replaced our undersized cartridge filter with a 24" Hayward sand filter. (BIG improvement!)
• 1-3 Daily backwashes (before gauge says it needs it) pulling from pool bottom.
• Refilled with fresh water, sprayed on surface to aerate a bit.
• Got a drop test kit- only 4-in-1, but better than nothing.
• Added 2 gallons of 6% bleach (above & beyond shock kits).
• Kept filter running 24/7 with vacuum.

My test results so far are:
May 31st after 2nd 3-lb shock:
Green clearing, replaced by total haze-out!
Chlor: 3+ Strong yellow
pH: 8.2+ Deep Magenta Red
Acid Dem: Oops- no test.
TA: Oops again.

Jun 2nd after 1st gallon of 6% bleach.
Hazy below 18" from surface.
Chlorine: 3+ yellow to orange.
pH: 8.0
Acid Dem: 4 drops (2 1/4 quarts Muriatic)
TA: Still learning...

Today: After 2nd gallon of bleach.
Water is clearing of haze- to about 3 ft depth.
Chlor: 3+ yellow to orange
pH: 7.6! What changed?
Acid Demand: 1 1/2 drops
TA: 180

I think I'm being cautious with the bleach, and I know I need more detailed FC, CC & CYA numbers. (trying to get that tested today at shop). The pool guy came last week and did nothing- Their pink slip is in the mail- LOL!
I think I'm at least getting on the right track, and have my bleach, baking soda, etc at the ready for needed adjustments. Next is a better chem kit & some distilled water for an accurate read of chlorine.
Any tips or details I'm overlooking?
Any reason for the drop in pH?

Thanks for your invaluable advice thus far- I was literally glued to this site for 3 hours when I found it- So much to learn!

[aylad]

You can use your oto test to get a ballpark for higher chlorine levels....mix one part (shotglass?) pool water to one part distilled water. Mix thoroughly, test as usual from that sample, read your result, and multiply by 2 to get your chlorine reading. If it's still darker than the highest level on your test block, use 2 parts distilled to one part pool water, and multiply result by 3. Not exact, but close enough. To get your pool clear, assuming zero CYA, you need to add enough bleach to get it to 10 ppm and keep it there until the pool clears.

Oh, and BTW, don't add anything else with copper in it--the copper tends to cause way more problems than it fixes!

Welcome to the forum!

Janet

[CallMeIshmael]

Thanks Janet! Believe me, I won't be adding any more XtraShock in this lifetime. I hadn't even seen the Metal Problems forum yet- lol.

In the meantime, I found great guidence in this recent thread, and imagine others with similar problems will as well.
Lessons learned there:
No need to over-backwash the filter. I'll wait till psi rises 5-6.
I need CYA #'s badly.
Drop in pH is b/c chlorine from shock process falsely inflates it.
I was being a wuss on the chlorine! (just brushed the sides & saw a bit of algae coming back!) Added 2 more gallons & letting it work in while I get better #'s on my tests.

I'm off to get a pool store water-test & some distilled water. Wow, steep learning curve, but very thankful for the insights!

[ytngt]

Whenever helping friends and neighbors with their algae blooms I don't hesitate to throw massive ammounts of bleach (chlorine) at the problem. For your pool size I would not hesitate putting 4-6 gallons of bleach in at a time until the pool turns blue and cloudy (from dead algae and debris). Don't fear the bleach, it takes quite a bit of bleach to kill off a good algae bloom.