Newbie needs advice....so confused

[AndieP]

Boy, I'm not sure I'd know how to convert from P/B It apparently uses copper ions...but your copper levels are low.

At a copper level of 0.2 will that do anything toward sanitizing? I am worried if I don't get either more Pristine Blue in or start with the bleach that I will not have proper sanitization.

Can I add bleach with 0 CYA? I don't have any and our Walmart doesn't have it either. I can't get to a pool store until tomorrow or Wednsday. I do have access to the chlorine pucks...if i put the pucks in the skimmer will that raise the CYA? How many?

[mbar]

I would put in a metal sequester, then use bleach to shock your pool. Get rid of the pb - make sure you put in enough of the sequestering agent according to the size of your pool - that will bind with the copper that is in the water, so that it doesn't fall out when you shock. You will need to get some cya in the water, you can add it in the skimmer but you can't backwash the pool for a week, or you can put it in a sock and let it dissolve. With a cya of 0 you can take your chlorine up to 10 for a shock. Keep it there until the chlorine holds overnight, and be consistant - everytime it goes lower than 10, add enough to bring it back to 10. Test as often as you can and leave your pump running 24/7. They didn't test your calcium? You will need between 200 - 400 in a gunite pool, your ph and alkalinity are fine.

[AndieP]

I don't have a metal sequester and won't be able to get one until tomorrow or possibly Wed. So what should I do in the interim? Go ahead and put bleach in to achieve 10ppm? How long do I leave it at 10ppm? The water is currently clear but i can still see some of the brownish film along the bottom 1/2 of the deep end walls and on the floor of the pool. (I shocked last night using a bioguard shock) The film has been slowly going away since i put in the PhosFree.

So to get some CYA in the water should I use the pucks until I can get to a supplier to buy it?

Sorry for all the questions but thanks so much for your input!

She has tested calcium several times before and has said it was fine....can't remember the exact number. I just found my Taylor kit so I'll test it myself in a bit.

[Watermom]

I am definitely not the metal expert on the forum, but I do know that you don't want to shock if you have metal in your water as it can fall out and stain your pool. (Reread Marie's post above - #4.)

[AndieP]

My supplier has been having me shock with chlorine shock all along

So it sounds as if until I get a metal out that I should just add a small amount of bleach to at least have something in the water to sanitize or maybe just do nothing and hope the 0.2 copper is enough to keep the algae at bay. Am I even remotely on the right track?

[mbar]

I think you would be fine to get your chlorine up t without any problems, I would do this right away. If you keep your ph low, no higher than it is now,( 7.2 would be better) use bleach and take the chlorine up slowly. One gal of 6% should take you up about 2ppms at a time. I don't think with copper at .2 would cause staining now, especially if you are fighting algae. It is more important to get rid of the algae now, even if you get a few stains they can be taken care of. You can swim in your pool with stains, you can't swim with algae! Since you have no cya I would put a puck in the skimmer - this will also help to have the water hit the chlorine puck on it's way to the filter so that if metal does fall out of the water it will land on the filter first. Don't put a puck in the skimmer if you have a cartridge filter. Let me know if you have any questions.

[AndieP]

Thank you Marie for your input. Just to make sure I am clear on your instructions...

So with 0.2 copper level you think it is OK to go ahead with the conversion process w/o a metal sequester? When you say I would be OK to go ahead and raise chlorine level are you saying all the way to 10ppm since at this point I don't have any CYA? And you mentioned to raise it slowly...so how long should I wait between adding each gallon to raise it in 2ppm increments? I don't think we have algae right now but last night the water was clear and I could see the bottom. This morning it is still a clear color but cloudy...I can't see the bottom in the deep end.

I will add a puck to the skimmer (sand filter) to increase CYA. Should I just use the pucks to increase the CYA or try to go buy a product to increase it?

Lastly, once I get to 10ppm I should keep it there until it holds from pm to am? At that point I would be through the conversion process and could let it drop to whatever ppm indicated by the CYA level?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just tired of relying on the pool supplier for what has been questionable advice to this point and really want to be able to understand and do this on my own.

Thanks again!
Andrea