Pool a disaster after vacation

[Watermom]

DE blowing through may mean your filter is damaged, not just that you need to change your sand. If it does blow through, let it settle on the pool floor and then vacuum to waste to get it out of the pool.

[cbuchin]

Finally got my test kit - the Taylor K-2006 purchased at Amazon through your link.

Results:
TA: 200
PH: 7.3
CH: 260
FC: 7.4
CC: .6

Water is still cloudy. I'm going to check the sand this weekend when I have help to remove the filter cover.
Any suggestions?

[Watermom]

Your TA is too high. Directions for lowering it: Lowering Alkalinity Step-by-Step

Also, please read: Using Muriatic Acid Safely

I wouldn't use any cal-hypo in your pool as your source of chlorine. Stick with bleach.

You didn't post a CYA reading above. Did you run that test?

[cbuchin]

Sorry - I forgot to list the CYA. It is high - about 100 - we've been using the 3" tabs from Costco all season (Aqua-chem brand).

We replaced the sand yesterday (it was 11 yr old). I used three 1.42 jugs of bleach (Great Value) to shock it last night...FC this morning was 10.5 and CC between .5 & 1.

I don't have a way to aerate....am I better off getting alk decreaser from pool store or using the posted method without aerating?

[PoolDoc]

As long as your pool is uncovered, it's aerating . . . slowly.

With CYA=100, you definitely need to follow the Best Guess table (link in my blue signature bar) and you pretty much have to have the K2006 testkit, to do it right. Kit links below.

Ben

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+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE, but is an ESSENTIAL tool for pools with problems. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

One caution for the 2012 season: Amazon does not stock the kits directly. So when buying at Amazon, Amato is our current preferred seller. However, they often don't list enough stock to last the whole day, so try order mid-morning. You should expect a delivered cost under $60 for the K2006A and under $95 for the K2006C. If you can't find that, wait a day.

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend (you can check local availability on the HTH kit, using the Walmart link):

HTH 6-Way Test Kit @ Walmart
Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) @ Amazon
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) @ Amazon

[cbuchin]

I did get the K2006 through your Amazon link.

So, to reduce the alkalinty I should use the method on your site with 'slow' aeration from uncovered pool?

The new sand does seem to be slowly clearing things...hopefully if I get the Alkalinity down things will improve. I'm hoping not to have to use the floc again since I seem to be a very bad vacuumer - stirred everything back up.

Using the best guess chart I see I should keep the chlorine about 10. That's where it was this morning after adding 4.5 gallons of bleach last night. I doubt I got it up to the 25 shock level yet. That's a lot of bleach One gallon raises about 2ppm in 30,000 gallon pool? I know I saw the number somewhere, but can't remember now.

Thanks for your help.
Chantel

[PoolDoc]

So, to reduce the alkalinity I should use the method on your site with 'slow' aeration from uncovered pool?

Yes, just be careful to not let your pH go below 6.8 -- you MUST keep it a bit higher than the lowest point on your pH scale (6.8 on the K1000 or HTH 6-way; 7.0 on the K2006). Otherwise you risk going into the 'below' zone, as in "6.8 or below". Having your pool at 6.0 or an extended period might damage your liner; having it at 5.0 is very likely to do so.

The new sand does seem to be slowly clearing things

Good. You'll mostly have to filter the precipitated calcium carbonate out.

I'm hoping not to have to use the floc again since I seem to be a very bad vacuum-er - stirred everything back up.

It's a learned skill . . . and one I'm beginning to realize not everyone has learned.

One gallon raises about 2ppm in 30,000 gallon pool?

Your pools PF is 4.4 (see the signature data). This means 1 lb of 100% stabilizer will add 4.4 ppm CYA to your pool (if it dissolved fully!). It also means that 1 lb of dichlor -- 55% available chlorine -- will add about 2.4 ppm FC to your pool => 4.4 x 0.55.

One gallon of 6% bleach has about 1/2 lb of chlorine gas equivalent in it, so => 4.4 x 0.5 = 2.2 ppm FC