Crazy Cat Lady's Murky algae pool

[crazy cat lady]

Sorry Water Mom I have been sick and the packets of shock were easier to handle at the time. I do know better though. I replied to the thread and got bounced off so not sure it posted. Anyway went to Wally World and got the 6 way test. The oto results this morning were back at 5-10 mid deep yellow this am so I added 121 oz of 8,25 , brushed the sides first, back washed and put the pool robot on 2 cycles. Tested a half hour later and I had a bright orange range.

Came home tonight tested again and cl was back at 5-10, Ph was 8.2,Cya was 30 black dot wouldn't go away until I was almost overflowing the tube,alk is 140, hardness is 410. I thought the cya was higher thats why I brought the level way up to orange. I'll order the Taylor test kit so I can get a better reading.

I added another 121 oz of 8.25 and brought it back up to orange. I bought skimmer socks and a de alternative from Leslie Pools, they gave me a free bottle to test my water thank you very much lol. Should I retest the ph diluted or just add the muratic acid? How much? Do I treat the elevated alk?

I'll get in tomorrow and vacuum to waste and put the socks on. I don't think the robot is getting it all its too fine and the robot kicks it all back into the water off the bottom. I've vacuumed real slow and was able to get alot out the other day. The bag for the robot is full with algae but I know it disturbs the water.

The water is clear in the test bottle so probably more stuff in the pool and floating. Let me know what you think of the de alternative I haven't opened the bag yet. I read on here to add some de to help the sand filter out but Leslie said it causes cancer so what do I know. Thanks

[Watermom]

Not knowing anything about the "alternative," I would not use it.

Retest your pH using dilution --- half pool water and half distilled. When your chlorine is above 5ppm with an OTO kit, you can get falsely high pH readings.

Here is a color chart to help you decipher the off the scale OTO readings that may help some:> http://pool9.net/oto-chart/
Aim to keep your chlorine in the dark yellow range and do order a K2006 kit ASAP.

Are those packets dichlor or cal-hypo? Either way, you should just use bleach for now.

Don't worry about the alk. Also, don't retest the CYA any more at this point. There is only enough reagent in that kit for a couple of the CYA tests and as long as you aren't adding any or using any dichlor or trichlor, it isn't going to change.

[crazy cat lady]

Watermom,

The shock I used is HTH Ultra its 56 % cal pro and is a 6 in one product has claryfier, water softener and anti scaling additives. I used 10 lbs . The store ran out of Ultra so I then used HTH Select also 56% cal pro no additives 5 lbs. The label calls for one lb per 10 k and I used 1.5 lbs per treatment so approx 10 treatments over approx 2 weeks as I was adding the shock every two days maybe three as the levels called for.

The ph I think is a false high as it was 7.4- 7.6 before the shock. I'll dilute and if still high I'll add the acid looks like I need 32oz per the link if I read that correctly.

The de alt is a cellulose fiber no chemicals listed you add 2 cups for 200 lbs of sand broadcast over the pool after backwashing until you get 1 lb increase on the gauge.

The water is clearing around the edges a few inches down and at an angle looks clearing in the other areas of the pool just murky green looking straight down. I think stuff is settling on the bottom and reflecting back up and some floating stuff that the filter can't grab too small. I'll vacuum to waste, add more water, put on the socks and either use the de alt if you say ok or replace it with regular de then add the acid and bring up the cl level again after I get out. Thanks

[Watermom]

I wouldn't use the Ultra 6-in one product at all. I also wouldn't use the HTH Select because your CH level is very high and you really don't want it any higher or you risk having issues because of it. I also wouldn't use the cellulose fiber. Stick with only bleach and if needed, Borax or muriatic acid. Nothing else. But, don't add any acid until you confirm your pH reading via dilution.

Keep the chlorine at shock level by using bleach. Glad to hear it is clearing some. Keep at it.

[crazy cat lady]

I haven't used the HTH since I started dosing with the bleach. I'm on day 3 bleach only. The ph was 7.8 with the dilution test so I'll check it again tomorrow if the cl level drops again and dilute again when I test and see what I get to confirm. If its still on the upper range I'll add the acid tomorrow. Vacuumed to waste added more water looking like a cloudy green color maybe with a grayish tinge now so its the fine stuff that has to filter out some more. Hope the level holds better tonight so I know I'm going in the right direction. Thanks

[BigDave]

I have used the cellulose fiber material and if you haven't, DON'T. Sorry for shouting.

It did nothing to help the filtration and it formed big clumps in my filter and doesn't backwash out. Many cellulose fiber clumps are still there years later. I remove the top of the filter when winterizing and remove chunks of that junk every season - it looks like a newspaper left in the driveway in a snowstorm and driven over for a week.

Leslie's told me that DE was illegal and that the cellulose fiber was the only alternative - This is not true.

[CarlD]

I have used the cellulose fiber material and if you haven't, DON'T. Sorry for shouting.

It did nothing to help the filtration and it formed big clumps in my filter and doesn't backwash out. Many cellulose fiber clumps are still there years later. I remove the top of the filter when winterizing and remove chunks of that junk every season - it looks like a newspaper left in the driveway in a snowstorm and driven over for a week.

Leslie's told me that DE was illegal and that the cellulose fiber was the only alternative - This is not true.

Whoa! Which Leslie's store was THAT???? I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. Best pool store I know of in NJ (that doesn't make it the best, just the best I know) is Sun Pools on Route 22 East in Green Brook. Their 5 gallon carboys of "12.5%" LC always test at 14%, and they can usually get any part you need, and probably have it in stock. Their private stock line of chems is a bit pricey but generally is as good a quality as you can get. I don't necessarily trust them, but I trust them more than any other store I've been in. Some of the Leslie's stores are OK, some only so-so (the one just a bit further East of Sun Pools is a so-so one).