Pool owner for 5 days - help

[adadofthree]

Last weekend moved into a house with a crystal clear pool. 30k gallons (imperial), and a sand filter. Pump operates on a timer for 10 hours each night. Pool has a solar cover.

With all attention on the move, we didn’t have the cover off, or backwash/rinse until Tuesday. When we did uncover the pool it was cloudy, with algae starting to form on the sides and bottom

Shocked pool last night, unfortunately I wasn’t aware that I had to leave cover off! Consequently pool was as cloudy as ever this morning. Soonest that I can remove cover is when I get in from work tonight.

Any advice on whether I should add more shock this evening, prior to leaving uncovered? I should add that the shock that I put in last night was 1.5kg (roughly 3.3lb).

We are hosting a pool party on Saturday, hence time is fast running out to get this sorted. Unfortunately the family that previously lived here are out of contact for a fortnight.

Thanks in advance for any advice received.

[kenlenard]

I'm not an expert, but get the cover off and set the filter to run continuously instead of just 10 hours. I know how you feel... I'm have a 50-60 person party on 7/5 and my pool was cloudy last week. I have a "superchlorinate" setting on my filter which did the trick. Also, look into a "floccing" product that will get the particles in your water to bond & drop out. The shock you added should go pretty far in getting the pool clear. That's usually all it takes and 1-2 days is often plenty. Good luck.

[adadofthree]

Many thanks for the response.

Wife got the cover off yesterday afternoon, and I gave it an extra dose of shock last night. Pool now running continuously, but still green!

Tested the water this morning, and got:

Hardness 250
Total chlorine 5
Total bromine 10
Free chlorine 10 (bit high, I guess due to the shock still being present)
pH 7.8 (am told by a friend that this is maybe a bit high, and I should add some reducer to get it down to 7.2 to 7.4)
Total alkalinity 180
Cyanuric acid 0 (maybe I need to read up on increasing this)

Any additional thoughts would be gratefully received.


Thanks in advance.

[kenlenard]

I mentioned in another thread that my pool is saltwater and pretty much runs itself. I add shock in the spring & fall and stabilizer to keep everything running smoothly. The "superchlorinate" setting on my filter works as an on-demand shock. I know a number of people who have giant supplies of pool-store products and I have never had to get into much of that. The heavy rains we've had this spring & summer caused cloudy pool water for me and that's been my only hurdle since opening my pool in 2007. When I see how many products are out there for pool owners, I go numb. I take my readings and make sure everything is lined up... as long as my water is clear & the water feels good, I'm pretty happy. Good luck & keep us posted.

[adadofthree]

Hi,

Just a brief update to advise that there is no update. Pool is as green as ever. Have thrown untold quantities of shock at the pool, ph reducer, floculant etc, and kept the pump running non-stop for a week, but nothing seems to make the slightest bit of difference.

I have noticed though that the pressure guage on the filter does not have a reading, and wonder if this might be the problem (it could of course indicate that the guage is broken!).

Am also not too sure how high I should top up the pool after a backwash. I tend to have it an inch above the bottom edge of the skimmer, so perhaps I need it higher in order to increase the flow and thus pressure?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

[adadofthree]

Following last night's post, I have spent a considerable amount of time watching the pressure guage on the sand filter, and can provide a bit more info.

The guage does show a reading.

When the pump is first switched on, the guage will move fractionally, showing a reading of around 2psi. It will remain there for two to three minutes.

In the fourth minute, the needle on the guage will creep up to around 6 psi, and then shake, before dropping back down to zero.

After a further minute, the guage returns to around 2psi, and the cycle starts again.

Does this shed any further light on what the problem might be?


Thanks in advance.

[Denali]

Following last night's post, I have spent a considerable amount of time watching the pressure guage on the sand filter, and can provide a bit more info.

The guage does show a reading.

When the pump is first switched on, the guage will move fractionally, showing a reading of around 2psi. It will remain there for two to three minutes.

In the fourth minute, the needle on the guage will creep up to around 6 psi, and then shake, before dropping back down to zero.

After a further minute, the guage returns to around 2psi, and the cycle starts again.

Does this shed any further light on what the problem might be?


Thanks in advance.

Hi,

What is the suction like at the skimmer? How about the flow at the return lines?

If flow is normal then it could just be a broken gauge. If the flow is slow or stops when the gauge drops to zero then first thing to check is water level in the pool. Is the skimmer drawing in air?

Next check for any obvious leaks around the pump. You can often hear air being pulled in at a leak. The pump lid o-ring should be checked to make sure all is well there.

Another thing to check is the impeller. Shut off pump, open pump lid and remove the basket. Reach into the back of the pump (there is an opening there). You should be able to feel the impeller. See if it turns easily. Debris gets in there and wraps around the impeller and not allowing full prime of the pump.

Hope this helps.

edit: Just reread your post. Raise the water level and see if the pressure goes up to normal.

[adadofthree]

Raise the water level and see if the pressure goes up to normal

Many thanks for this advice.

Topped the water up when I got home last night, to half way up the skimmer. Pressure has been on 8psi ever since. Not sure if this is adequate, but it is certainly far better than before.

I guess it will be several days before we start to notice a difference in clarity of the water, I will keep you posted on how we get on.

Thanks again.

[adadofthree]

A week on, and still no improvement.

Took a sample of water to a pool store a couple of days ago, they said that the pH was far too high, and that I needed to lose around quarter of my water. Then need to top up, and add around a mugfull of pH reducer, before testing again. Then, once pH at a reasonable level, I need to add around a mugfull of chlorine granules every couple of hours, until water clears.

Does this sound reasonable? Sounds simple, but I would appreciate advice of any pitfalls that I might encounter.

Emptying 7000 gallons of water does not seem easy to start with. Backwashed to waste down to the skimmers, and now have hoses attached to slowly drain the water. Pool is at the top of a hill, so am relying on gravity to feed the water through the hoses. Slow progress though, only lost a couple of inches in six hours overnight.

Any advice would be appreciated.


Thanks in advance.