chill123 Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hi all, This is my second year owning a (11,000 gallon) pool. After taking the cover off I dumped in two large drums of liquid chlorine to shock. Left with the pump on 24/7 for 48 hours before adding in a bottle of liquid algae killer. This was 2 weeks ago. I expected the pool to clear up after a few days (like last year) but it hasn't. It remained a milky blue colour. Actually i went away for 4 days so didn't backwash too much and the chlorine had burnt off while i was gone. When i got back i checked the pH which was a little high (7.8) so i lowered that to 7.6ish and reshocked this time with granule chlorine. Again i threw in half a bottle of algecide i found left over by the previous owners. All this time I backwashed the sand filter maybe once every 2-3 days. Still no joy shifting the milk so i bough a litre of water clearing stuff and put that in - no effect. I rechecked last night and the chlorine is still high (5ppm), pH is 7.4 (stable) and Cyanuric acid seems about the 50 mark which seems about right. What do you think it could be? Maybe i just haven't been backwashing enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hi all, This is my second year owning a (11,000 gallon) pool. After taking the cover off I dumped in two large drums of liquid chlorine to shock. Left with the pump on 24/7 for 48 hours before adding in a bottle of liquid algae killer. This was 2 weeks ago. I expected the pool to clear up after a few days (like last year) but it hasn't. It remained a milky blue colour. Actually i went away for 4 days so didn't backwash too much and the chlorine had burnt off while i was gone. When i got back i checked the pH which was a little high (7.8) so i lowered that to 7.6ish and reshocked this time with granule chlorine. Again i threw in half a bottle of algecide i found left over by the previous owners. All this time I backwashed the sand filter maybe once every 2-3 days. Still no joy shifting the milk so i bough a litre of water clearing stuff and put that in - no effect. I rechecked last night and the chlorine is still high (5ppm), pH is 7.4 (stable) and Cyanuric acid seems about the 50 mark which seems about right. What do you think it could be? Maybe i just haven't been backwashing enough? Poast a full set of test results that were NOT done with test strips for FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, and CYA. Also tell us the active ingredinets in the algaecide and the granular chlorine that you used. FWIW, when you are killing algae and clearing a pool you need to run the pump 25/7 UNTIL IT CLEARS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill123 Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Poast a full set of test results that were NOT done with test strips for FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, and CYA. Also tell us the active ingredinets in the algaecide and the granular chlorine that you used. FWIW, when you are killing algae and clearing a pool you need to run the pump 25/7 UNTIL IT CLEARS! Only the CYA was tested with strips. The rest were done with a proper kit. TA 120 pH 7.4 CYA 50 FC 5 The granular chlorine was Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate-Dihydrate (here's the exact product) i'm not sure what the ingredient of the algecide is. i'll check tonight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Poast a full set of test results that were NOT done with test strips for FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, and CYA. Also tell us the active ingredinets in the algaecide and the granular chlorine that you used. FWIW, when you are killing algae and clearing a pool you need to run the pump 25/7 UNTIL IT CLEARS! Only the CYA was tested with strips. The rest were done with a proper kit. TA 120 pH 7.4 CYA 50 FC 5 The granular chlorine was Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate-Dihydrate (here's the exact product) i'm not sure what the ingredient of the algecide is. i'll check tonight... If it were a proper kit you would also have a test result for calcium hardness. When a pool is cloudy that is an important test. Also, we need to know both FC and either CC or TC! (OTO ONLY TESTS TC NO MATTER WHAT THE TEST INSTRUCTIONS MIGHT SAY!!!!!!) Is the chlorine test DPD (red comparator), OTO (yellow comparator) or FAS-DPD (titration from pink to colorless)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Does that make my 4 in 1 improper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Does that make my 4 in 1 improper? You tell me...if you can't test CH and you have a cloudy pool is your test kit complete enough to give you all the info you need to rule out cloudiness because of calcium precipitation? How about if you need to determine the SI for the pool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Good morning to you too! Complete? Obviously no. But improper? Test strips, yes, improper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill123 Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Is the chlorine test DPD (red comparator), OTO (yellow comparator) or FAS-DPD (titration from pink to colorless)? Chlorine test was DPD. Sorry, i'm a bit new to all this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Good morning to you too! Complete? Obviously no. But improper? Test strips, yes, improper. I never said improper, I said proper. From the World English Dictionay (first definition): — adj (foll by to )1.( usually prenominal ) appropriate or suited for some purpose IF the pool is cloudy is a test kit that does not test calcium suitable or appropriate? read your pm It should explain my mood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Officially backed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Officially backed off. Do not poke finger in the Mods' cages when they are blocking a spam attack from Canadian pharmacies! They might get bitten! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 And when could i expect my clairvoyantcy to kick in??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Is the chlorine test DPD (red comparator), OTO (yellow comparator) or FAS-DPD (titration from pink to colorless)? Chlorine test was DPD. Sorry, i'm a bit new to all this! No problem, we were all new once...even Pool Clown, whose vast knowledge I deeply respect, and myself. Don't let the banter between us throw you off, we are here to help you! For now keep the filter running 24/7 and backwash as needed and get us the rest of the test results we need even if it means taking a sample to the pool store. I suspect that it's just dead algae in the water (unless you still have CC, combned chlorine, in which case you still have algae to kill or organics in the water to oxidize and need to keep shocking). Sand filters are not the fastest at clearing a pool. Once you tell us what kind of algaecide you used I might have some other suggestions on clearing the pool faster. However, I do want to rule out possible calcium precipitation, which is cleared in a different way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 And when could i expect my clairvoyantcy to kick in??? (sitting in corner of Mod's cage with tail between legs successfully rebuked) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footie Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Have you tried turning off your filteration pump for 24hrs and see if all the cloudy disappears to the bottom of the pool? Might be worth trying and if it does then just vacuum it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill123 Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 yup - tried turning the pump off for 24 hours ish and there was no real change. assuming the pump is running 24/7 how often should i be back washing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 yup - tried turning the pump off for 24 hours ish and there was no real change. assuming the pump is running 24/7 how often should i be back washing? when you filter pressure rises by about 8 psi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footie Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 yup - tried turning the pump off for 24 hours ish and there was no real change. assuming the pump is running 24/7 how often should i be back washing? I backwash roughly every 2-3 weeks. You shouldn't do it more often than that as far as I am aware, otherwise your filter doesn't work properly (according to my pool guys). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill123 Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 i was told to backwash regularly (daily) whilst opening the pool and getting rid of the algae. i've never paid much attention to the pressure (apart from a quick glance to check it is not too high. i'll keep an eye on it over the next few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footie Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 i was told to backwash regularly (daily) whilst opening the pool and getting rid of the algae. i've never paid much attention to the pressure (apart from a quick glance to check it is not too high. i'll keep an eye on it over the next few days. This may well be true for an outdoor pool, I on the other hand have an indoor pool. I assumed this part of the process would have been the same but clear not. That said it does sound to be over doing it to backwash daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Backwashing daily is not that uncommon while trying to defend an algae takeover. Keep in mind, you should also be running the filter constantly, and maintaining shock levels in the pool, till the water clears. (as stated before) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill123 Posted May 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 yes, i was only backwashing daily while trying to clear the dead algae. unfortunately i now have a crack and small hole in the clear plastic on the top of my sand filter. it'll hopefully be repaired today. also the engineer will check the sand inside to see if it needs replacing (which may be a reason why the pool was being so slow to clear). fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill123 Posted May 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 ok, a bit of an update. i managed to get the cracked filter lid fixed. i've been trying to get a proper test done on the pool water but have so far been let down by 2 local pool companies and am unable to find a decent test kit for sale in the UK that i can afford. With the tab test kit i have the levels are: TA - 170ppm Cl - 7ppm ph - 7.5 With some dipsticks I have the following results are obtained: CYA - 50 I know the dipsticks are un reliable but this is all i have for now untill i can get a proper test done. I've continued to keep the chlorine levels up (>5ppm) using stabalised granules. the pump has been running 24/7 for the last 2 weeks. The pH naturally keeps up meaning i am adding about 250g of pH minus granules every 2-3 days to keep it in range. I was back washing almost daily for the last few weeks but after leaving it for the last week the water seems to be very slowly clearing. I can now see the bottom in the deep end though it is far from crystal clear. Any advice on what i can do to speed up the process or what i may be doing wrong? I realise i need a decent test kit. Any suggestions of a reasonably priced one available here in the UK? What do i need it to test as a minimum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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