New User in Maryland with big problems

[Lil B]

Hello everyone, I'm so glad I found this forum. I am running in to significant chlorinating problems this year. After purchasing and adding 40lbs of Cal-Hypo 53% over the course of this season and seeing no results, I have finally given up on my local pool store and am ready to take control of the situation myself.

First the specifics on my pool. I have a 32' x 16' in ground pool with a vinyl liner that was replaced two seasons ago. I am running a sand filter with a 1hp pump. I have had the pool for 8 seasons and aside from a few trouble spots I have usually been able to clear it up relatively quickly and keep it clear most of the time (some seasons are easier than others). This season has been the hardest ever, I have now gone 6 weeks without being able to get the pool anywhere near a usable level and my six year old daughter is threatening to disown me. At last testing my water was:
FC 0.6
CC 0.6
PH 7.4
TA 140

Now my problem. My pool water has been green and filled with a significant amount of algae since I opened it (which was a late opening due to a broken pump). At the suggestion of my pool company I made the mistake of using a sodium bromide algaeicide and now I am not able to get my FC up to a level high enough to shock the water and kill the algae.

Before I found this forum and realized what havoc sodium bromide can cause to my FC I thought I may have had a chlorine demand problem, so I got a K2006 test kit and performed a bucket test for chlorine demand. I was able to get the FC in my bucket to 12.0 with 4 tsp of bleach and it has held at 12.0 for 24 hours with a CC of 1.5. In fact, it never decreased over the several hours I was adding bleach to the bucket. At this point I'm wondering if my problem has more to do with the sodium bromide than a chlorine demand problem.

I have bleach on hand and am ready to start adding it to the pool in 40ppm doses to reach the requisite 80ppm to overcome a potential chlorine demand but am unsure if that's the right route to take.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

Arg-g-gh. I'd make 'em put flashing warning labels on that stuff, if I could.

OK, you know this isn't going to be quick or easy, but I'll try to make it as quick and easy as possible. Let's start with collecting info:
pool and equipment info here: http://pool9.net/pf-equip-form/
and chem tests here: http://pool9.net/pf-hist-form/

Post back here once you've got those completed, and the system will flag me down.

Good luck!

[Lil B]

Thank you for you reply. I filled out the forms that you linked to.

There have been further developments since my first post that I want to include for your information. First, since doing the bucket test for chlorine demand I mentioned in my first post on Tuesday of this week and getting my FC in the bucket to 12.0ppm I have not done anything with it except test for FC periodically. Three days later my bucket is still at 12.0ppm FC. Also during that time the FC in my pool was hovering at around 0.5 - 1.0 ppm with 1.5 ppm CC. This seemed to be enough to get the water to turn a dull grey-green instead of the bright green it had been previously.

Last night I added 18 Gal of 8.75% bleach to the pool in two doses. First I added 8 Gal at 8:30pm. At 9:30pm my FC was 6.0 and my CC was 1.5. Then at 11:45pm I added 10 Gal 8.75% Bleach. At 12:45am my FC was 35ppm. This morning at 8:30am my FC was at 27ppm and I forgot to record CC. At this point the color of my water was a grey-blue with a hint of green. At 12:00 ppm my FC was at 22 ppm with the water being entirely grey-blue. At last test at 4:00pm my FC is 6.0 ppm and my CC is .5ppm. My water is still a very murky grey-blue.

I'm unsure what to do next. Should I keep trying to keep the FC up around 20ppm? If so, for how long? Or, now that the algae is dead do I wait and see if I am able to keep the FC in a reasonable range? Or, something else entirely? It feels like I may be rounding the corner on this one, but if this season has taught me anything so far it's how quickly the water can go from looking like its getting better to as green as ever.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

[PoolDoc]

Bring the chlorine back up, and THEN brush the pool.

Grey-blue or brownish-grey usually indicate filterable dead algae. But usually there are pockets of live algae remaining so you MUST keep the chlorine up, or the algae will surge back.

Pump on 24/7!

After you've brushed the pool a single dose of clarifier will likely speed removal of the dead algae.