My Water Is Black With Floaties

[IHateMyPool]

Hello,

Well, just returned from 8 days of vacation to find our 30,000 gal in-ground pool totally black with floating yuck over the entire pool. Can honestly say, never seen our pool in such shape. Before leaving, shocked the pool and filled chlorinator with tablets, chemistry was fine. Our area did experience several intense rain showers from the tropical storm, but how could our pool go from clear to a pond in 8 days? In fact, I have seen much cleaner ponds..

Here are readings now:

Free Chlorine = 0

PH = 8.4

Total Alkalinity = 80

Total Hardness = 100

Cyanuric Acid = 0

Just backwashed, added 8lbs of shock and re-filled the chlorinator. Will bring a sample to Warehouse pools tomorrow and expect to spend lots on chemicals.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank You.

[waterbear]

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Hello,

Well, just returned from 8 days of vacation to find our 30,000 gal in-ground pool totally black with floating yuck over the entire pool. Can honestly say, never seen our pool in such shape. Before leaving, shocked the pool and filled chlorinator with tablets, chemistry was fine. Our area did experience several intense rain showers from the tropical storm, but how could our pool go from clear to a pond in 8 days? In fact, I have seen much cleaner ponds..

Here are readings now:

Free Chlorine = 0

PH = 8.4

Total Alkalinity = 80

Total Hardness = 100

Cyanuric Acid = 0

Just backwashed, added 8lbs of shock and re-filled the chlorinator. Will bring a sample to Warehouse pools tomorrow and expect to spend lots on chemicals.

Why? what they sell you won't work and you know it. Get yourself a good test kit (Taylor K-2006), get rid of the strips you are currently using (total hardness was a dead giveaway, useless measurement for a pool), and learn to take control of your water with generic chemicals.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank You.

with no CYA the chlorine you put in the pool would be gone in one days' sunlight. Then again strips are not the most accurate way to test CYA so that reading is suspect.

[IHateMyPool]

Thank you Waterbear, I will get the test kit you mentioned. Generic chemicals?

[waterbear]

Thank you Waterbear, I will get the test kit you mentioned. Generic chemicals?

Little known facts that pool stores don't want you to know. Liquid chlorine is exactly the same chemical as unscented chlorine bleach--sodium hypochlorite!

Pool chlorine is sold in 12.5%, 10%, and 6% strength. Laundry bleach comes in 6%, 5.25%, and 3%. You want to use the 6 or 5.25 in your pool.

TA increaser is sodium hydrogen carbonate AKA sodium bicarbonate AKA baking soda! Yep, the stuff from Arm and Hammer in the Grocery store is not only cheaper, it's purer than the bicarb sold in pool stores.

pH increaser is sodium carbonate AKA soda ash AKA washing soda. It can be found in the laundry aisle of the grocery and places like walmart and target as Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

http://www.armandham...nt-booster.aspx

HOWEVER, soda ash is not the best thing to use to raise pH because it also raises TA, often by too much so instead use 20 mule team borax (sodium tetraborate) to raise pH, also found n the laundry aisle

http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/

IN case you are wondering if it is OK to put borax in your pool consider these pool products: Bioguard Optimizer, Omni Maximizer, Pool Life Endure, Proteam Supreme, Bioguard Mineral Springs, Natural Chemistry Salt Water Magic.

These products are either just Sodium Tetraborate (borax)

http://www.proteampo...sds/SUPREME.pdf

or a mixture of borax and boric acid (which forms when borax is added to pool water)

http://www.poolspach...SUPREMEPLUS.pdf

or a mixture of borax, dry acid, CYA, and salt (or a metal seqeustrant) for use with salt water chlorine generators.

http://www.thepoolte...0Beginnings.pdf

http://naturalchemis...get_object/1000

Borates (what you get when you dissolve borax in water) are added to pool water to improve it's 'feel', because they keep algae from growing, and because they help buffer pH better than just the bicarbonate buffer we call TA.

There are still chemicals you will need from the pool store like muriatic acid (or dry acid) and CYA (chlorine stabilizer), and perhaps a metal sequestrant BUT you do not need to waste your money on clarifier, floc, algaecide, defoamer, etc. nor do you need to pay exorbitant prices for ordinary baking soda or washing soda!