Newbie with ?'s (mustard algae) (Deb)

[debs_pool]

Madty,

Thanks for your response. Can anyone tell me is it okay to swim while I'm working on this? I have people asking if they can come swim.

Thanks for everyone's help.

And, yes, it will be GREAT when I get a REAL test kit!

[CarlD]

No, I cannot recommend it. The algae will consume your chlorine leaving you with none to protect against the important stuff--water-borne diseases from viruses and bactera.

[Simmons99]

I wouldn't swim with the chlorine at shock levels

[debs_pool]

Thanks again in advance. I have more ?'s.

I brushed the walls on my pool last night and put in bleach. I'm not sure if I've put in too much now or not.
(I run my pump 24/7)

Also, I vacuumed to waste and had to add a bunch of water. Do I need to vacuum to waster EVERY time until this clears up? It looks like it's better - just a few places on the walls ...

Here are my Guess Strips and then my Wal-Mart test kit readings from this AM and this afternoon:

AM: (before church)
Test (Guess) Strips:

Br - (is this cl?) 10
FC - 10 (no higher number on container)
Tot Alk - between 125 - 150
pH: 7.4
CYA (not available on test strip)

Wal Mart Kit - AM

TC 10 + (the water was orange and didn't match anything) What does that mean?
FC - (can't test with Wal-Mart kit)
Tot Alk - 190 ppm
pH: 7.2
CYA 80 ppm

Here are my afternoon readings (about 2pm CST)

Guess Strip:
Br(cl?) 5-10 (closer to 10)
FC: 10
pH: 7.4
Tot Alk: 125

Wal-Mart Kit

Cl: 10+ (still orange color - didn't match anything)
FC: (no test on kit)
Tot Alk: 160 ppm
pH: 7.3
CYA: 60 ppm

Do I need to take another reading today after the sun's off my pool?

I'm wondering HOW MUCH BLEACH do I need to put in the pool tonight? (After I brush the walls of course!)

The shallow end is pretty clear. I can see the main drain on the deep end, but the water is not as clear as the shallow end.

Will I need to vacuum to waste again in the morning?

Please forgive me for asking so many questions, (I have more but they probably belong in other threads) but I really want to learn. Maybe Ben's kit will arrive this week!

And I hope nobody comes and gets in my pool when I am not at home! That has happened to me before!

I know I need to have some patience too. Thanks for being patient with me!

[Madty]

I only vacuumed to waste once. I have kept my chlorine around 20, CYA 30. I do brush daily. I barely had any today. I used to come back a couple of hours after I swept. Use bleach calc to determine shock amount. Keep at it- mine took about a week. We did swim at 20 pm. Some irritated eyes but that's about it. I'm waiting till it gets down to 5 from now on!

[dawndenise]

debs_pool: I am also a newbie but can answer a few of your questions. Hopefully, more knowledgeable advice will continue to follow from others.

I used the hTh 6-way Wal-Mart test kit prior to receiving Ben's. When I was trying to kill the "stuff" in the pool, I called the 800# on the package to see what color my chlorine test would be if I had MORE than 5ppm. They said it would be an orange color.

How are you measuring chlorine at 10+ with the hTh Wal-Mart kit? Are you using the shot glass method?

To know how much bleach to put into your pool, follow madty's advice and use the Bleach Calculator, referenced in various threads. Based on your pool size and how much you want to increase your chlorine reading, it will calculate how much 5.25% bleach or 6% bleach you will need. It will even calculate how much bleach if you use a bargain brand with a much lower concentration. There are lots of other very helpful calculations available with that tool, as well.

Follow CarlD's advice...that's it in a nutshell! Good luck!

Sandy

[debs_pool]

Looks like it's getting better - just a few spots on the top step and a few on the floor -- don't see much on the walls now. I'm going to vacuum and backwash -- I think it might rain later today! Geesh!


I'd love some FEEDBACK from on the following:

My Numbers (Wal-Mart) (AM)

TC 5+? (orange color)

pH 7.3

Total Alk 160

CYA (didn't have any reagent to test)

NUMBERS FOR TODAY - FROM POOL STORE READ OUT

Total Chlorine: 10

Free Chlorine: 8.6

pH: 7.7

Total Alk: 130

CYA: 30

(The print out recommends I add 2.3 pt(s) of Muriatic Acid (because printout says my pH needs adjustment) -- but the pool store person told me I didn't need to add any acid.) We didn't discuss anything else the "test" suggtested. Also told me my pool was swimmable.

My printout printed out the following shopping list for me:

3 - 1 qt bottles scale inhibitor
1 - 1 qt bottle strip kwik
1- 1 qt bottle Kleen It
1 - 1 gal bottle Muriatic Acid
1 - Chem Out

I left with MY PRINTOUT!

[debs_pool]

debs_pool: I am also a newbie but can answer a few of your questions. Hopefully, more knowledgeable advice will continue to follow from others.

Thanks Dawn.

I used the hTh 6-way Wal-Mart test kit prior to receiving Ben's.

Yes, I'll be glad when I get Ben's kit! Carl probably will be too -- then I'll quit bugging him (maybe) so much! LOL

When I was trying to kill the "stuff" in the pool,
I would like the "stuff" in the pool to be ME -- swimming. I'm tired of the other "stuff!"

I called the 800# on the package to see what color my chlorine test would be if I had MORE than 5ppm. They said it would be an orange color.

Thanks for that tip.

How are you measuring chlorine at 10+ with the hTh Wal-Mart kit? Are you using the shot glass method?

I think I must have accidentally read the Bromine line. What's the shot glass method? If I drank, I might use that method --test -- drink a shot -- test drink a shot -- Heck, this may drive me to drink!

To know how much bleach to put into your pool, follow madty's advice and use the Bleach Calculator, referenced in various threads. Based on your pool size and how much you want to increase your chlorine reading, it will calculate how much 5.25% bleach or 6% bleach you will need. It will even calculate how much bleach if you use a bargain brand with a much lower concentration. There are lots of other very helpful calculations available with that tool, as well.

I'm working on figuring out the bleach calculator. Yes, it has lots of helpful calculations available -- and when I know what I'm doing they'll be very helpful! LOL

Follow CarlD's advice...that's it in a nutshell! Good luck!

I will certainly follow CarlD's advice -- he has been very kind to respond and I certainly appreciate his help very much -- and anyone else who has helped me -- thanks to you too!

Sandy

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to some feedback on my numbers from the pool store!

[brent.roberts]

Here's where to get the bleachcal program that we've been talking about.

Note that this program is designed to give you the amounts of chemicals to add to achieve the desire CHANGE. Not the end level.

So if you want to increase the chlorine from 10 to 15ppm you put in 5. That's the increase you want.

http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emwsmith...achCalc262.exe

This great little program was created by a forum member. Micheal Smith.

Also when you get your chlorine levels above 5 everything reads the same .. as you've discovered. ORANGE.

To get a better indication until Ben's kit arrives, get some distilled water.

Make a 50/50 mix of distilled water and pool water, put that in the test vial and run the test as instructed. Then if you get a color in the test range, multiply the result by 2.

If you still get an orange Over Max reading then change the dillution to 3 parts distilled to 1 part pool water. Multiply the result by 3. This should get you close. At least it will tell you if you're closer to 20PPM than 6PPM

Good luck.

PS The brushing is real important with this kind of algae. It will form a layer of dead stuff that sheilds some live stuff underneath. You need to brush that dead layer off real well and frequently to expose everything you need to kill.