Green Water

[Doiron's Pool]

Hi Folks,

Pool Info: Above Ground, 24 feet round 52 inches high.

I am just getting ready to attack my green water for this season. However, this year instead of buying $300 worth of chemicals I am going to try the BBB system (Bleach, Baking Soda, and Borax). I just replaced the sand in the filter as well.

I read most of the articles posted on this forum -- they were great!

So I was still a bit confused about the starting point. Do I adjust the ph level first then add the bleach? As well I am un clear of how much to add in the beginning. I found the pool calculator a little confusing in the beginning.

Thanks, Paul

[PaulR]

I'd start with pH, figure out how much CYA (cyanuric acid, stabilizer/conditioner) to add because the solid stuff takes a while to dissolve, then proceed to the bleach.

The pool calculator assumes you have a high-end test kit and have already run a complete set of tests. You enter your gallons near the top, then the left column ("Now") is your most recent test results, and the right column ("Target") is where you want to end up. Then it will tell you how much of what stuff you need. (This works best if you're fiddling just one thing at a time, because some chemicals affect more than one parameter; CYA is slightly acidic, for example, so it will lower pH somewhat as well as increase your CYA.)

For shocking the pool, you really want the FAS-DPD chlorine test because no other chlorine test works well for FC at 10 or higher. There are not many kits that have it.

--paulr

[Doiron's Pool]

I'd start with pH, figure out how much CYA (cyanuric acid, stabilizer/conditioner) to add because the solid stuff takes a while to dissolve, then proceed to the bleach.

The pool calculator assumes you have a high-end test kit and have already run a complete set of tests. You enter your gallons near the top, then the left column ("Now") is your most recent test results, and the right column ("Target") is where you want to end up. Then it will tell you how much of what stuff you need. (This works best if you're fiddling just one thing at a time, because some chemicals affect more than one parameter; CYA is slightly acidic, for example, so it will lower pH somewhat as well as increase your CYA.)

For shocking the pool, you really want the FAS-DPD chlorine test because no other chlorine test works well for FC at 10 or higher. There are not many kits that have it.

--paulr

Thanks for the feedback! Do I need to circulate the water before looking after the ph level?

[PaulR]

In general you should figure an hour with the pump on after adding anything, before testing. Some things take longer (borax and CYA come to mind).

--paulr