Opening Numbers

[aylad]

If your pool is a vinyl pool, then your pH needs to at least come up to 7.0 to keep from being too acidic so the liner gets damaged.

Janet

[mbar]

Hi, Do you have any calcium in your pool? Is it a vinyl liner? Just a few more numbers. Sometimes when adding sequestering agent the water gets cloudy, as it causes fallout of calcium, and metals, and sometimes alkalinity. This is when the water gets saturated with too much stuff - I know it isn't scientific, but it is my experience that this happens a lot. I would just let it filter 24/7 for a few more days. I wouldn't add any chlorine, and I would test the alkalinity and calcium again to see if it is lower now. If the water doesn't clear up in a week, then I would take the chlorine up to shock to break down the remaining sediment. If you have a vinyl liner, then it is important to get the ph back up to 7, as aylad says, but don't let it get higher than 7.2 for a while. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, and let us know how things turn out

[BigStein]

The pool is vinyl liner and the total hardness measured at 40 when I had the water tested (no specific number for calcium). I did add a little under a gallon of bleach this morning just to see if it would help and have noticed some clearing of the cloudiness today. There continues to be some sediment (or fallout from the metal) and I vacuumed that twice today. The filter is taking something out as I just had to backwash (DE filter) due to pressure build up (and had to backwash yesterday as well). I tested pH earlier today and then added a cup of Borax and just tested again and it is still low so put in another cup, I will continue to do this two or three times a day until I get it to 7.1 or 7.2 but understand not to go higher. I will re-test alkalinity in the morning.

All in all, it does seem to be just a matter of time. The water certainly seems clean other than the cloudiness. Will post tomorrow morning with any changes that take place overnight.

As always, thanks for the help.

[BigStein]

Monday morning and the pool has cleared more. Looks like patience is the key. Will get my water tested today or tomorrow at the store but I just ran pH and it is still low so still adding Borax a cup at a time. Will do another alkalinity a bit later too.

[aylad]

Hang in there, you're doing it all right and your efforts will pay off. Patience is the key!

Janet

[BigStein]

Thanks for the input Janet. As I say, things are clearing up nicely so not worried at this point. I will just do the Borax thing for now and backwash the filter as necessary. Threw the solar cover on and turned on the heater this morning as the kids are getting anxious to swim, even though the water is only 50 degrees! I have a heat pump so will take a few days to get the water even close to swimming temp. although we are expecting warmer weather through the week so I am guessing the kids will jump in on Thursday or Friday, even though it likely will not be warm enough for me.

[BigStein]

I keep forgetting to mention that the pool store guy, after hearing that I shock with bleach, said that he does not recommend that due to "the carginogens" in bleach. I didn't want to argue with him but it certainly sounds like he is saying that bleach may just give us all cancer

[CarlD]

I keep forgetting to mention that the pool store guy, after hearing that I shock with bleach, said that he does not recommend that due to "the carginogens" in bleach. I didn't want to argue with him but it certainly sounds like he is saying that bleach may just give us all cancer

It's not the bleach, it's the chlorine. Chlorine can cause cancer. But the risk from unsanitary water is hundreds or thousands of times greater than the risk of chlorine-induced cancer.

They usually tell you "It adds to your dissolved solids". Yeah. But bleach is made from salt water (Sodium Chloride, NaCl--from high school chemistry) and the solution it's in is saline--so the dissolved solid is....salt. Funny thing: When you have a salt-water generator (again, chlorine from salt) you have to add LOTS of salt to your pool which drives your dissolved solids 'WAY up...yet that's OK.

See, it's all BS (Barnyard Slush) because pool stores don't make money if you:
1 ) buy bleach, Borax, Baking Soda and Washing Soda instead of tri-chlor, Soda ash and "Total Alkalinity Raiser".
2) You don't buy clarifiers, sequestrants, calcium, copper-based algaecides, or the latest...Phosphate removers.
3) Pool store water testing inevitably leads to recommendations of lots of additives--like 20 lbs of calcium in a vinyl pool.
4) No pool store sells the kind of test kits we recommend. I was amazed to actually find the FAS-DPD test kit as a stand-alone in a Leslies--and it was the only one they ever had.
5) They get their info from the pool chem companies, which are INCREDIBLY mis-leading about what their chems are, and what they do.

[BigStein]

I must say, at least this guy didn't try to push me when I said I already had the chemicals I needed at home.

Got another set of numbers from the store today while I was there to pick up some DE:

Free Chlorine: 5.3
CC: .8
pH: 7.1
Alkalinity: 100
Copper: 1.19
CYA: 25

A little dismayed to see the copper actually higher than my original, but then again the original number was taken from water before I started any of the equipment or stirred stuff up. I have seen less fallout from the copper than there was when I opened the pool and it is lessing daily so I just added some more sequestrant and that should take care of that problem. I will hold off on adding more chlorine while that stuff does it's work, even though I show CC. Good to see my alkalinity is up and pH is almost where I need it, I continue to test for that once or twice a day and have been adding Borax a cup at a time as needed.

The heat pump is doing it's job too so the kids may just be in the water by the end of the week.

[CarlD]

You can leave your T/A and pH where it is. Chlorine is more effective at lower pH levels and you do have some CC and, because of the copper, cannot raise FC much. So leave pH at 7.1 and get the most bang for the buck. Raise it when you actually start swimming.