My wife sent me here!

[bob57]

Hello - Just had my testkit delivered today. The pool is still green, so hopefully you can help me now that I have the numbers. The CYA is at 100. I am holding the chlorine at 10-12. Should I be concerned with any other numbers at this time? And what do I do next? Thanks, Bob

[bob57]

Another quick question - the return line to the pool has a directional adjustment. Is there a preference as to which way it is pointing? I have it pointing mostly upward, because we like the noise it makes. Thanks, Bob

[Watermom]

You're going to have to take the chlorine much higher to kill the algae with a cya reading of 100. For now, aim to keep the chlorine level at 20. Test at least twice, and 3 times a day is better if you can do it and each time, add enough bleach to take the cl back to 20. The key to killing algae is to sustain the high cl reading instead of letting it yo-yo up and down. (If that doesn't clear it, we may suggest taking it to 25. See the chart at the following link.)

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365



Regarding the eyeball - typically, if I need to skim the debris off the surface, I aim it upward. Otherwise, I think it circulates the water better if you aim it downward. For now, aim it downward. Also, run your pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear the water.

What are your other readings?

[bob57]

I will do that. In the meantime, is there a way to start lowering the cya number? I did my pH test with 50% distilled water and it still looks very high. I think I did all of that correctly, but my test kit book says that I may be bleaching out one of the reagents, which makes sense because I was getting a reading of 15 or 16. I don't know how to compensate for that. My total alkalinity is at 140. I hope I don't need to worry about the other numbers right now!? I am beginning to see the bottom of the pool! It's starting to work. Thank you, thank you.

[bob57]

Sorry to bother you again! How long do you want me to cycle in the new bleach before I re-survey the water? Thanks again, Bob

[Watermom]

The only way to lower cya is to do a partial drain. Concern yourself with that after you get the algae problem zapped. You aren't going to be able to get a good ph reading while your chlorine is so high. Your pool will clear in a couple of days hopefully and you can get one then. As far as how often to dose it with bleach ---- if you can, run a chlorine test in the morning, afternoon and evening. Each time, add enough bleach to raise the cl back up to 20. Having said that, let me also say that you can test as often as you want and each time raise it back up to 20. You won't hurt a thing if you do it more than 3 times a day. Sustaining the high cl reading is the key. The more consistenly you can do that, the quicker the algae will die. Keep us posted how things are going.

[CarlD]

I'm going to be even MORE radical and suggest you keep the FC OVER 20--but no more than 25 ppm.

If your pH is high and being masked by the high FC, then even more so should you be at 25.

The WORST that will happen is you will bleach your liner somewhat.

Don't worry about total alk at 140--in a vinyl pool that's just fine (no matter what the shills at the pool store tell you).

You've gotten good advice. You need to kill algae first. You CAN drain and refill your pool partially in the meantime to lower CYA, but you MUST keep your FC levels up or you are wasting time and money.

Getting the good test kit quickly was wise--Poconos gave you great advice on that. Yeah, there are other test kit options, but no better than what you got.