1st time pool owner

[AnnaK]

Keep doing what you're doing. Your last post was fun to read. We love the beginnings of visible success!

[CarlD]

Now if you are having troubles getting it clear now that it's very blue, just cloudy, here are a couple of things you can tryl--it's spring so you may have pollen, too.

1) "Skimmer Socks". There are several brands of products similar to the one called this, but it doesn't matter. You put this thing in your skimmer basket with the elastic around the edge and you won't BELIEVE how much junk it pulls out! I rinse 'em out and one usually lasts me about a month, but they are pretty cheap--4- 6 in a pack and less than $10

2) DE powder in your sand filter. Sounds crazy but many members and Poconos and I do it all the time. I think Watermom does too. aylad doesn't because she uses Zeosand. Buy the smallest box of DE you can--10lbs or less. Just after you backwash, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup through your skimmer (take out the skimmer sock first!). Wait 10-20 minutes and see if your pump pressure increases--you want it to rise around 1 lb. Much more and your flow will decrease. If you put in too much, just back wash. The DE will significantly improve a sand filter's filtering and it's really cheap! My last box cost $8 and I've been using it since last season. The box before lasted about 3 seasons, too.

3) Add some Polyquat algaecide--the ONLY one we recommend. It's better for prevention than curing algae. You'll recognize it no matter what the pool store calls it because it will be the ONLY ingredient and say "Poly....<something-something> 60%. Sometimes it's called Black Algaecide, sometimes Mustard Algaecide, I never know! I go by the ingredient. What's great about Polyquat is it doubles as ANOTHER chemical (so you don't have to buy that, too) called a "flocculent". Floc helps cloudy suspensions clump so you can vacuum them and so the filter catches them. I avoid 30% and never pay more than $20/quart.

These are easy and simple and they usually work!

[Watermom]

Good call, Carl, on suggesting he try some DE. I forgot about suggesting that and yes, you're right. I use it in my sand filter, too!

[hamiltonmike]

well the water is not blue yet but i can see the bottom so it is somewhat clear. im not sure if the water itself still has a green tinge to it or if it is just that the sidewalls of the liner are stained and dirty.


i have noticed that since i added some borax to the skimmer that the psi now runs at roughly 12 opposed to 10 like before. im not sure if this has anything to do with it though.

what exactly does DE stand for?(Diatomaceous Earth ?) and where can it be purchased?

i had a few of these "socks" in my hand last time i was at the pool store but wasnt sure if it was a gimmick or not so did not purchase them. but i will pick them up in the next few days. they were 4 for 7.99 so they are rather cheap.



another ?

is there a safe product for cleaning the liner??

it is rather bleached and doesnt hide any dirt at all so i would like to give it a wash if possible. maybe a power washer?


thanks
mike

[CarlD]

DE is Diatomaceous Earth and every pool store and many discount houses sell it because one of the two most popular filter types, the DE filters, use it. But the stores sell it in various amounts and the smallest (10lbs) should last you several seasons. It's also good for getting rid of things like ants.

No, the skimmer socks work AMAZINGLY well, particularly in the spring because the pollen gets caught in them and you don't need to backwash so often.

[Watermom]

Glad it seems to be improving. A raise to 12 psi is fine. You are probably just catching stuff in the filter which is good!

As far as a cleaner --- you want to be very careful about putting any type of cleaners in your pool. It can mess up your chemistry and also give you a giant bubble bath if you aren't careful! I sometimes will use a little baking soda on a rag when I need to clean the vinyl. As long as you don't you use boxes worth to clean with, the baking soda isn't going to mess up the chemistry any.

[hamiltonmike]

well liner is really dirty and i will definately have to figure a way to clean it(if it is not permanantly stained now)at some point soon

i decided to take a sample to pioneer pools which has a computerized system and this is what i got

free chlorine 8.5ppm
total chlorine 8.8ppm
combined chlorine 0.3ppm
ph 7.6
hardness 200ppm
alkalinity 60ppm
cyanuric acid 25ppm

i was told to use 6kg alkajuster(2kgs added to water, then dispersed around the pool, 3 times, 30 mins apart)

is there a household rememdy to bring up the alkalinity?

she also tried selling me some liquid flocculant(sp?) like clear blue/crystal clear but i declined.


i asked about the DE and like usual they look at me like i have 3 heads when i tell them its to add to my sand filter. they only sold 20kg bags, so i will try and check out the pool shop.

i bought and added a skimmer sock


and the best news of all!!!!!!!! the pool is getting clearer and clearer by the day

still a bit cloudy but definately a HUGE improvement!

if i didnt know how high the chlorine level was i would of probably jumped in quickly last night

oh and the pump is now running consistantly at 12 no matter what. if i backwash it goes back to 12.

thanks
mike

[Watermom]

is there a household remedy to bring up the alkalinity?
Yes. You can use baking soda to raise alk. Add a little at a time slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running. After a few hours, retest and redose until you get it where you want it; somewhere between 80-120 is ok. Sneak up on the number instead of dumping in too much at once and overshooting your target. You're already at 60, so go slow with additions.

and the best news of all!!!!!!!! the pool is getting clearer and clearer by the day
See? We told you this would work!

Good job, Mike. Keep up the diligence and you're soon gonna be swimming in that clear pool!

[CarlD]

Yup. "Alkalinity Adjuster" is nothing but a fancy expensive package for BAKING SODA! That's right, Sodium Bicarbonate. I've seen it as high as $4/lb from %!0&@rd--and $3.50/12 lbs at Costco.

That's why we call it the B-B-B method--buy your chemicals at the grocery store---Bleach, Borax and Baking Soda. And if you want pHUp!, you buy Arm&Hammer Washing Soda--usually next to the Borax!

Ben even has an article on it on the sister site, PoolSolutions.com!

[hamiltonmike]

well i knew it wouldn't hurt to buy all three while i was at the grocery store. considering they told me to put 6kg in, does that mean i am to put 6kg of baking soda in?? i added 1 kg right after making my post today, then brushed and vacuumed the entire pool again. i just retested and the alk seems to of risen to 100 from 60 , does this sound about right? after testing i then added about 2 litres of bleach to boost it up again.am i ever glad i bought those skimmer socks! almost instantly the thing turnes black with particulate dirt


i looked for WASHING soda at walmart and sobeys and couldn't find it but i have quite a bit of store bought PH^ left from last season but i thought the borax was used to bring the ph^ while not affecting the alkalinity :|



hmmm better go and reat the thread a few more times