WoWoWoW — Post 100!!!
Everyday, we move ONE STEP closer my friend…could easily see the vacuum today…every morning, I wake up to brown dust in the middle of the pool…I’m pretty sure it’s DEAD ALGAE!!! Holding Chlorine to 12 PPM to the best of my ability…
Scrubbing, vacuuming…We’re getting there my friend!!!
Operation SLAM may actually save this pool…
A few stains from the pool ladder I can see clearly and the damn badminton head…not a huge ordeal…the liner only has a couple more years left it in…not going to worry about…
The best I’ll be able to get an ‘accurate’ OCLT would be Friday…7pm before they close and 9am open on Saturday…going to be HOT all week…going to be a little tricky to keep chlorine up during the week, but have Wednesday off due to Juneteenth. Should I aim for 16PPM due to the sun?
Getting in there and moving things around helpful, no effect, or harmful? We’ve added some water due to backwashing, but pH/CYA staying steady…
Words of encouragement, helpful hints to get to the finish line, greatly appreciated. We got this, RICH!!!
Your pal,
Scott
Got another test done before they closed…obviously, went down…put in close to a gallon of 12.5% to get it back up…won’t be able to measure until tomorrow after school…I might put in what I have left of the bottle that I just opened tomorrow morning.
We’re getting there…
take me to the finish line Rich…
My fine filter bag gets up to 75 microns…the algae dust is disappearing, but not sure if it’s getting all in the filter bag or just cloudy up…i do get some crap in the bag…a lot of pollen seeds…not sure if im getting the dust or not…there is dark stuff…what do you recommend???
Is vacuum to waste only way to do it for sure???
i think it’s the same algae dust again and again…scouring the internet…seems like ciphoning the #$@ out is the only way??? Is there a better way!!! What is the trick to get this extra fine dust out of there once and for all…
we’re almost there…put a gallon of 12.5% …going to be scorching hot…guessing we’re at 27ppm right now for free chlorine…combined has 0.0 for a few tests…just need this dust out of there…looked pretty damn clear…any minute, will see the quarter…
advise away…
Any kind of vacuum should work, but dead algae should not cause you any issues other than raising the filter pressure (but backwash it to get rid of it anyway).
I’m glad to hear that it is getting better! Keep up the good work! I still might recommend peeking into the top of the filter to be sure the sand is still in there and at the proper level.
Go ahead and overshoot the CL levels if you need to. You saw how quickly it came down when you had it at 30. And don’t worry about the rust stains on the liner. They may clear up on their own as time goes by.
Need the pool guy to come check it out…hopefully he can make it this week…on the bright side, getting clearer and clearer each day…
Going to try to ciphon the dead algae out this afternoon…
Let’s go!!!
it’s f’n HEADS !!! It’s HEADS, Rich…F’n HEADS!!! LFG!!!
HEADS!!!
Combined chlorine = 0.0
I just boosted chlorine up to like 16/17…
OCLT is NOT an option, I’m just wasting drops on my taylor 2006c kit.
I felt like I just won BIGGEST LOSER, but losing the weigh always tends to be the easiest part…now I have to worry about how to ‘maintain’ the weight off…
1st — When can I toss the girls in to swim (in other words, get chlorine to 1-4)?
2nd — Now, What do I do!!! In lieu of OCLT…what should I do!!!
3rd – How long should I keep doing SLAM
I used a hose and ciphon the water/dead algae…obviously lost some water, filling the pool to deal with the water loss.
We’re there, RICH !!! WE DID IT!!! Less than 3 weeks…Not too bad, considering the #$@# they left us…
I have awful camera, but you can see some of the stains from the ladder and couple coping caps that were found at the bottom of the pool…
Crystal Clear this morning — except dead algea scattered in the middle and on the perimeter…
Bought a pool blaster and some filtration balls…I’ll know in a couple hours how it did…seemed to work a tad better than the kokimodo…
Chlorine held overnight at SLAM level…not sure if passed the OCLT, but can monitor throughout the day as I am off today and tomorrow…
coach me Rich…
That is GREAT to see! Your next task, after everything looks clear, is to maintain your chlorine level and stabilizer (CYA or Cyanuric Acid) up to where it needs to be (between 30-60 is recommended - it looks like you are already there). It is like sunscreen for the chlorine and helps keep it steady on sunny days.
Generally speaking, pools are safe to swim in when the chlorine level is 10ppm or less. I recommend using liquid chlorine only since the pucks and granulated forms of it add things you may not want, like calcium or stabilizer. Too much stabilizer in a pool renders the chlorine ineffective.
| POOLS USING LIQUID CHLORINE |
B |
C |
D |
| CYA Level |
Minimum |
Target Range |
CYA Too Low |
| 20 |
2 |
3-5 |
CYA Too Low |
| 30 |
2 |
4-6 |
CYA Ideal |
| 40 |
3 |
5-7 |
CYA Ideal |
| 50 |
4 |
6-8 |
CYA Ideal |
| 60 |
5 |
7-9 |
CYA Ideal |
| 70 |
5 |
8-10 |
CYA Too High |
| 80 |
6 |
9-11 |
CYA Too High |
| 90 |
7 |
10-12 |
CYA Too High |
| 100 |
8 |
11-13 |
CYA Too High |
Rich — REAL TALK!!!
First and foremost…This would have never been accomplished without your support and knowledge and pushing me on this 3 week journey of hell to paradise.
You ever in the 585…let me know…I got a white hot ready for you…Lifetime pass to the BBQ!
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Pool guy just came and inspected the Sand Filter …just a bunch of pollen on top, but everything is in TIP TOP shape!!!
We’re good to go!!!
Pool blaster with skimmer sock and filtration balls are doing the job on this ALGAE DUST…one more time and we should be good to go, with chlorine level 4 for the girls!!!
Should I get my calcium hardness levels to ideal range now?
That is all great to hear - especially the barbecue part! 
Calcium levels are not terribly important in a vinyl-lined pool, but should be kept in the ideal range to avoid potential damage to some metal parts (light, pool pump, filter) which, for a vinyl-lined pool, is between 50-550 ppm. You are already there. Proper pH and alkalinity levels will keep the pool comfortable for
Now we just maintain…
Bunch of kids come over and swim, that will skew things up right? Heavy rainfall? Just adjust accordingly…do we bring up chlorine to 10-12 once a week (Shock)? What’s a good plan from here on out???
thanks!!!
It’s pretty easy from here on out. Just maintain AT LEAST 5-7 ppm of Chlorine and watch the pH and alkalinity. Monitor the chlorine regularly (daily) until you get the hang of what the pool consumes. You may need to add a cup or 2 per day.
Don’t forget - Chlorine is a gas. For pools it is stabilized with either water (bleach - PREFERRED!!!), calcium (cal/hypo) or CYA which is stabilizer (trichlor/dichlor). Liquid pool chlorine or cheap store-brand bleach with no thickeners or fragrances is the preferred method to sanitize a pool. Granular products or tablets can add additional chemicals to your pool that may be unwanted, such as copper algaecides which stain gunite pools and cause green hair, calcium which can cause scaling on the pool or equipment, and CYA which can create chlorine lock. Liquid chlorine can also be used as an effective shock treatment after a heavy rain or heavy bather load.
Add muriatic acid if the pH gets low. A little bit goes a long way so be careful.
Add baking soda if your alkalinity goes out of whack. Rain and other chemical additions can make that go out of range.
And enjoy your pool! It really isn’t difficult to maintain it. Avoid the temptation to add anything like flocculant (it will plug up your filter) and algaecide. A well-maintained and sanitized pool will not grow algae and some of the potions you see cause more issues than they “cure”.
Lifesaver info here!!! It’s been really hot here…losing water to evaporation…solar cover hopefully will help.
All this is duly noted…since today is really hot and our chlorine was at 3 and change, I added 24 oz (3 cups) of 12.5%. Chlorine been dropping like 1 every couple hours when the sun is hitting it…
Thanks sooo much!!!
Starting to get a little paranoid…
Combined chlorine is creeping up…not sure if its because now we have sweaty people going in the pool after work/school!!! Sun!!! Pool toys?
Ph is rising too…we’ve had a lot of sun here the past few days…do I be proactive and add muriatic acid now or hold up!!!
Not sure I’m going to make it through this inaugural season without losing all my hair…
My Y…the reason I persevered…
