Need help fast

[Sumo1]

Thanks for the quick responses. She bought the pool middle of last summer and it looks like PB did a pretty nice job, but other than the cursory "Do this.. Don't do that.. Here's your manual..", he didn't explain things very well. Now she's a Poolforum student
When I got there she had added three 176oz jugs of 6% bleach. The pool is 19000gal with a Zodiac DuoCore cartridge/sand filter system and Polaris 65 cleaner. I tested the water with my Taylor K-2006 kit and found....
FC-14.6
CC-.8
pH-the color was brighter than the scale so definitely over 8.0
TA-120
CYA-0/not measurable

So, SWCG is turned off and system is running 24/7. Her owner's manual says 13.8lb CYA for 80ppm but I said put 5 or 6lb then we'll test again. I'll go by there and test the water by about 11AM. Not ideal test intervals, but I don't live there so it'll do. I put in about a quart of muriatic in hopes I can get a better reading tomorrow. The other jugs she thought were muriatic turned out to be 10% bleach. I added one of them before I left. Not perfect testing procedures but there is a lot of green algae and the added bleach should keep the FC from dropping too much 'til I can get back. I suggested she return the copper stuff. How'd I do? First time I've ever tried to apply what I've learned here with someone else's pool! Thanks everyone--
Hal

[aylad]

How'd I do? First time I've ever tried to apply what I've learned here with someone else's pool!

You did very well--you've obviously been doing your homework!! The only comment I have right now is to make sure you wait at least a week before retesting for CYA....it is VERY slow to dissolve, and if you retest or add too quickly, you could end up with a much higher level than you want.

Oh...also, if she still has green, make sure that she's brushing the pool at least once a day while running the pump 24/7.

Good job!

Janet

[Sumo1]

Well, got by there to test about 11:15 and here's what I found....
FC-8.6
Cc-.6
pH-still 8+ but not as vivid as last night
alk-~100

Not too much visual change in the pool color . I put in about a quart more muriatic and 2 more 1gal jugs of 10% pool store bleach and had to run. Will report back when I have more info. Should I keep trying with the muriatic or just wait until the pool clears? Thanks
Hal

[aylad]

Should I keep trying with the muriatic or just wait until the pool clears?
Hal

.


I would fix one problem at a time...often trying to focus on too many things at once just compounds the situation. She's not going to swim in it until it's clear, so I would focus on clearing the pool first, then worry about the pH.

Janet

[Sumo1]

Well, a week's gone by and I haven't gone to her pool but she said things had cleared up and she put 3lb CYA in a stocking in the skimmer a week ago. Now my friend left to go north for her Mom's birthday so I went by to see and test the pool. I cleaned the filter and pump baskets- the pool looks great. The test was done about 8:45pm. I found
CL-2.5
CC-(forgot this one before I tossed the water sample )
pH-~7.0
Alk-70
CYA-~45

What should I do now? It's a 19K liner pool. Will the low alkalinity hurt anything, do you think? Thanks!
Hal

PS-I added 176oz of 6% bleach before I left.

[aylad]

Will the low alkalinity hurt anything, do you think? Thanks!
Hal

PS-I added 176oz of 6% bleach before I left.

Low alk shouldn't hurt anything, but she's probably going to have a hard time keeping her pH stable. I'd raise it just a tad, to around 100.

Janet

[Watermom]

I would also raise the ph a bit. 7.0 is a little low. Bump it up to 7.4-7.6 or at the very least, 7.2.