My turn to ask questions

[Watermom]

Test it as many times a day as you can - 3x a day is good, and each time add enough bleach to take it back up to 15. The key to clearing up problems is to sustain the high cl reading and not let it yo-yo up and down. Also, I am skeptical about your cya readings. Testing for it the day after it is added doesn't give you a reliable reading. After it has been a week after it was added, retest for it, (but not sooner since it takes that long to dissolve completely and you'll just be wasting reagent) and then post that reading. It could be that your cya is now much higher than you think and that may be why the pool isn't clearing. (Higher cya levels require higher cl readings to clear things up.) Run your pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear it.

[duraleigh]

about sunset put in a small bottle of 6% (2.84 gal).

2.84 gallons = 2 large bottles

[KLHink]

(becoming clearer where the deficiency really is now). I guess I got a small break then since at 9:30 AM I tried the test and since it was light out I am fairly sure a 3 part dilution was 15 and a 4 part dilution was 12, so I added a Large size bottle which would be just shy of what was needed if it measured a hard 12ppm. Am I getting warmer? If we have trouble like this next year I am popping for a better test kit or inventing an electronic one. I will be going back out in 4 hours to vacuum if it's not pouring. I will retest then. I don't blame you for any negative thoughts, I should have asked a few more questions earlier on and I would be more on the ball. I changed the settings in bleachcalc so I understand them better, or so I thought but I think metric is less confusing since it's Imperial and not US it hurts my brain a little. I really appreciate your patience so far.
Karen

[KLHink]

Three days over 12 ppm, three nights over 15; and we can make out the pattern on the bottom of the deep end and the main drain is now visible. My Dad can see it with his good eye and is beginning to believe in the system, in spite of what it "cost". Thanks very much Dave S. for your help thus far. I am hoping to get the ph out of minimum range next.

[KLHink]

So... the pool is clear and at 4:30 the readings were:
Cl 10-12 let's say 11 using 3:1 and 4:1 after a full day of sun,
(will bring it back to 15 later tonight with 9qts, right?)
pH 6.8 (a whole box,ok?
TA 50 (9lbs baking soda? and see what I get tomorrow?)
CYA 30 (just glad I can measure it!, should I adjust?)

The only thing greater than your patience has been your advice (or the other way round? Let me know if I'm on the right track...
Karen Lee

[aylad]

Hang in there, and keep shocking--the good news is that once you get it cleared up, it's MUCH simpler and a lot less work to keep it up! Go ahead and add a box of Borax to your skimmer--you don't have to wait until tonight. I would start with about 4 boxes of baking soda and then retest tomorrow before adding the rest. Leave the CYA alone, it's fine for now.

Janet

[duraleigh]

Hi, Karen,

Nothing to add to Janet's post other than to chime in my encouragement. I think you're doing well. Keep us posted

[4KidsSwim]

Just a quick note of encouragement for you:-)

Clearing up water problems is all consuming and expensive - I know! I spent two summers as an undereducated pool owner, trying to clear up algae and then the calcium precipitate that resulted from the way I used the pool store chemicals. (It wasn't the pool store's fault; I misunderstood how long to go between doses and messed it up myself).

But keeping the water clear using the information from this website is really cheap and takes 5 minutes a day, plus standard maintenance of vacuuming about once a week and brushing 2-3 times a week. Ocassionally, you may fall behind or miss a few days of checking, and then you may have a small water problem to clear up. But its not a big deal to get it back again.

Eventually, the pool will be a wonderful family blessing, the place where everyone wants to be, great exercise, and just plain fun. Don't give up!