Re: FAQ: Common Spring Startup Errors

[vanhout]

I believe my pool has the exact condition you're describing in #1. I had 100+ CYA at the close of last year and opened last week to CYA 0.

I've put more than 30 gallons of 6% bleach into the pool in the last 6 days. In the first few days the pool would use up more than 10 ppm Cl per day.

I have run the FC to more than 20 ppm, and never dropped below 10 ppm. I also added about 4 lbs of CYA. Throughout, I've had .5 ppm of CC which I can't get rid of. The pool water is no longer green, but is very cloudy and continues to drop quite a bit of "dirt" on the floor each day.

Right now I'm running:

FC 12
CC .5
PH 7.2
CYA 50
Pool size 36,000 gallons

I note in PoolDoc's post that I should run the pH up to 7.5. I added about a pound of Borax to increase the pH (I'm not sure how much to add - doesn't look like BleachCalc does that one).

I'm not sure why I should raise the pH. I thought that chlorine was more effective at lower pH values. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure where to go with this from here. Should I just keep dumping in more chlorine until it gets clear? Should I maintain FC higher than 10 ppm? Should I go for a super whammy shock treatment - I have a book "The Pool Maintenance Manual" by Terry Tamminen that suggests a 50 ppm dose to shock. Would my vinyl liner be in jeopardy with something like that?

Greatly appreciate any advice or comments that anyone can provide and hopefully I can one day repay the favor.