Quote Originally Posted by poolgal
ok just been in the pool box and found some test strips (I know they prob aren't the best but its all I have right now)

just took this:

hardness = 1000
FC = 0
PH = 7.2
Alk = 180
CYA = 0

Di
I HOPE those numbers are wrong...in fact, I believe they are impossible and either you read the strip incorrectly, or the strip is tainted.

Hardness(CH) should be 200-400ppm. Scaling can occur above 500ppm and partial draining and diluting is the only cure.

But Alk is 180 and with CH at 1000, you should be getting clouds and clouds of calcium percipitating out.

Alk also is too high for your pool--it should be 80-125. Again, scaling can occur.

FC = 0 means you have NO chlorine and NO protection against algae and other contaminants.

CYA=0 means your chlorine has no protection against UV breaking it down, often in as little as 15 minutes.

I would IMMEDIATELY pour in 3 gallons of regular bleach, and get some CYA ASAP and add it--just enough to bring you to 30-50ppm, no more.

If you have tri-chlor pucks, now is a good time to use them because they will constantly add chlorine AND CYA. But they will lower your pH, which, at 7.2 is a bit low. Still, start with the 3 gallons of bleach.

For your situation, high Alk, low pH, no FC or CYA, I would either use pucks, or add bleach and CYA.

But I would also aerate my water and keep aerating it. With pucks, that's all I'd do, just keep pH between 7.0 and 7.2 and Alk should come down.

If you do NOT use pucks but use bleach, I'd still recommend aeration, but everytime pH rises above 7.2, add Muriatic Acid to bring it back to the 7.0-7.2 range.

But mostly, I'd get a better test kit (you clearly already know this) and maybe have a pool store test the water in the mean time.

If CH IS that high, I don't see any alternative to draining off 2/3 of your water and refilling.

The 3 gallons of bleach should help right now and, with your pool, can't hurt anything.