New to this Forum from SoCal

[DirtRider67]

Hi, thanks for all the great advice. I believe my last cya was at 20 and can't remember if i put more stabilizer in or not. I will recheck today.

I did find that post on how to test without a good kit and will try it today.

I went to wal-mart this morning and got 15 gallons of bleach at 1.27 ea. Do you think that's a better price than the chlorine at 3.50 a gal? I know i would need less but will it all work the same?

thanks again

[aylad]

My last post was based on your original reporting of a CYA of 50. It would be a good idea to go ahead and run a new set of tests, just to make sure we know the correct numbers to start with.

The $1.27 bottles of bleach at WalMart are 3 quarts, not a gallon. So that makes it roughly 42 cents/quart for 6% bleach. The 10% chlorine at $3.50/gallon works out to 88 cents/quart, which would be roughly 44 cents/quart for 5%. So...the difference is literally pennies...but you don't have to haul as many jugs with the higher percentage. Just personal preference on your part. Either way, chlorine is chlorine is chlorine, once it's all in the water.

If your total hardness is really 1000, as you reported in your first post, the white particles in your water are probably calcium precipitating out. High calcium, combined with high TA and high pH (although your pH isn't high--but then again we're relying on test strips) will create milky water. The only thing I know to do to lower it is to try to lower your alk, following the steps outlined here http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/lowe...p-by-step.html, and to keep filtering as much of it out as you can. I definitely wouldn't use any more cal-hypo for chlorination. If that doesn't work, if your fill water is lower in calcium, then you're probably going to have to drain/refill some water to get that hardness level down.

[DirtRider67]

Sorry bout that. i did post a cya50. i took to pool store today and it is actually at 30 with a fc of 8.4. so, this morning, i swept the sides and put 9 quarts of bleach at 6%. So that should have brought the fc between 12-15. Heading back now to check on it.

I made a boo-boo on the th. it's actually at 350. But thanks for catching that.

[DirtRider67]

So this afternoon, i checked the fc and it was at 6 so i added 3.1 jugs of chlorine. i went back this evening and i could almost see the bottom of the shallow end. the water was a deep blue. a big change from the milky blue. the fc was at 8 so i added 2 jugs and cleaned the filters and brushed the sides again. not much residue on the sides and reef step. Hopefully the good test kit comes tomorrow so i can get a more accurate reading.

Question: should i start using the creeper and start cleaning the bottom or should i wait on this?

[Watermom]

Give the creeper a try. Also, be sure you are cleaning your filter as needed.

[DirtRider67]

Ok. so i went over to the house this morning and checked the FC and had to add 2 jugs. I went ahead and turned the creeper on and oh boy what a big mistake. It sucked some debris up and clogged the creeper. Word of advice: don't turn the creeper on until you can see what's on the bottom. I'm not quite there yet. but, i can almost see the bottom of the shallow end. getting excited now!

i went back this afternoon and added 3 more jugs then made a run to wal-mart to pickup another 15 jugs of chlorine. i also tested for ph and ta and they were spot on. I think that i am starting to understand this pool stuff thanks to this forum and the BBB method. I look forward to getting back into my house so that i can use the pool and take pride in ownership. Once i get back into the house and get the pool dialed in, i need to work on fixing the jacuzzi. It has had a leak for about 5 years so it has sat empty and has been bypassed. The builder went out of business so the warranty meant doggie doo. It will most likely require tearing up some concrete to get to the leak. But hey, i would rather swim than boil.

Thanks again for all the help from this forum.

[Watermom]

But hey, i would rather swim than boil.

Me, too!!!