Just need to make sure....

[Watermom]

Yes. A little dirty will help filter better, but keep an eye on the pressure. Does it look any better this morning? How is the chlorine holding? Over the weekend, if you are home, you can even test in the afternoon as well as morning and evening if it is convenient.

[CarlD]

Pettinej:

Just to bolster your confidence: You are doing the right thing the right way and it IS working--it just takes time and P.O.P.P. ("....patience AND PERSISTENCE")

Watermom is guiding you perfectly (as always, Lisa ) which is why the rest of us haven't commented.

Be patient--You'll be THRILLED with the end result--and, with Lisa's guidance, it will STAY clear and will be easy to keep that way all summer long.

[pettinej]

Thanks for the confidence. I guess my FC is not holding well because when I tested today (3pm) it was down to 7.5. I brought it back up and I plan to watch it close as I can.

I have been reading on this site for some time now and I love it. It has never failed me. For some reason when I opened it this year it is the worst that my pool ever looked. (black lagoon) I still can not see the drain in the deep end yet I can see the bottom in the shallow end.

My plan for now is to keep a close eye on FC (keep it above 12), pump running 24/7, vac to waste and not let the pressure get above 12. If it does I will clean the filter.

[brent.roberts]

Is there any debris in the deep end, like a dead elephant, or maybe just a lot of leaves ??

A lot of leaves that don't get scooped or vacuumed out will prolong this process because you will have to oxodize them all away with the chlorine.

[b2001]

I also started with a dark green/black lagoon this year. As Brent stated, I knew there was a lot of debis on the bottom.

If there is a lot of debris, it won't help to start vacuuming, the filter, as well as the leaf pot basket and skimmer basket will clog in five minutes or less. I used a Polaris 65 for several days to scoop or sweep the debris from the bottom. I then started vacuuming - that took another few days. I couldn't see the bottom during this entire effort.

Part of my issue was that my ph was also low - I got it up to the proper level at about the same time as I got 99% of the crap out and pretty much overnight my pool cleared up.

Not getting as much as that stuff out as possible will indeed prolong the process and you'll end up with a lot of belach bottles in your backyard.

[pettinej]

I don't think that there is any junk at the bottom of the deep end. I don't have any trees and I covered the pool for the winter. The water is clean but just not clear enough to see the bottom at the deep end. Also when I vacuum I mostly do it to waste so I don't clog my filter. I have had it covered with the solar cover the last two days and keeping my FC above 12 while checking at least 3 times a day. I will report sometime tomorrow on how it looks.

Thanks for all the help.

[pettinej]

Hi and thanks to all.

My pool is finally clear and we have been swimming so I have not had time to post. Here are my latest numbers.

FC = 11
CC = 0
ph = 7.2
alk = 160
cal = 50
cya = ~10
temp = 80

I would like to now get my ph up to 7.4 and lower my alk. I have baking soda for the ph but what is the best way for the alk?

I also have a couple of questions about cya. When I measure should I do it outside in sunlight? Should the dot completely disappear? This is the only measurement I am not to sure about.

Thanks again.

[Watermom]

To raise ph, you use Borax, not baking soda. However, hold off on the Borax for now since you want to lower your alk. See the following link for information about lowering alk.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=191

Re: cya --- yes outside, yes dot should disappear. It is definitely the hardest of all the tests to read. Hope this helps.