# Pool Guys



## jaycf7

HELP!!!! Never had a pool but the house i am in now does and i want to get it ready for summer! all i know is it is a doughboy above ground.....thats about it!

HELP LOL


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## Castaway2

*oh man*

drain, scrub, scrub more, add water research your filter and pumps. add chemicals and go swim. but that does look like a lot of work. glad mine started off clean.


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## Profish00

Bulldozer and buy a tree.


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## jaycf7

Profish00 said:


> Bulldozer and buy a tree.


HAH i wish....but the kids are going to enjoy it this summer.

I was hoping to not have to drain it, anyone offer anything as far as shocking the heck out of it and letting the filter do the work while scrubbing....i realize it will take a week or so but im willing to do it myself.


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## Castaway2

in all seriousness i would just call out a pool guy, and ask him to get you back up and running. tell him you want ot use the existing filter and pumps ( as not to be told you have to have new ones unless completely broken) drain it yourself to save a little time for when they come. hopefully the liner is not shot. they should be able to give you an estimate on it at least. best of luck they come in handy durning summer


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> HAH i wish....but the kids are going to enjoy it this summer.
> 
> I was hoping to not have to drain it, anyone offer anything as far as shocking the heck out of it and letting the filter do the work while scrubbing....i realize it will take a week or so but im willing to do it myself.


drain it i dont think shock willget you there at this point. start fresh with fresh water.


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## jaycf7

Castaway2 said:


> drain it i dont think shock willget you there at this point. start fresh with fresh water.


i saw pictures from this summer and it was PERFECT so the liner is fine i believe....my question is if i decide to drain will sun beating down on the liner hurt it while i am draning/filling it?


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## snapperlicious

Looks to far gone to shock. Drain it and start over.


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## ankle-deep

Drain, scrub, refill, balance chemicals, enjoy! Getting mine up to snuff as we speak. Usually I stay on top of it and dont let it get bad in the winter, but it got away form me this year.


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> i saw pictures from this summer and it was PERFECT so the liner is fine i believe....my question is if i decide to drain will sun beating down on the liner hurt it while i am draning/filling it?


I wouldn't leave it empty for too long if you can get it done in a weekend i would believe you would be alright. Use the right brush. . It will say for above ground pools or pools with liners. Her is a picture for motovation lol.... might also look into how much it is for just a replacement you already have the expensive equipment filter and pump. ..good luck either way you will enjoy it.


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## jaycf7

Ok decided to drain and scrub
When I scrub what do I scrup with chemicle wise
Like I said I'm a newbey


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## andre3k

Take a look at troublefreepool.com and the BBB method.


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## troutkiller69

I would use Clorox bleach and scrub the heck out of it. Or you could get the granulated stuff bleach you use in the pool and mix it with water to make a stronger concentration. during the holidays our in ground pool got pretty green and algae all on the wall with us going out of town so I double the normal amount of chlorine and scrubbed a lot within a week of doing so it was back to normal. also be sure to clean your filter or just get new ones. Also be careful with the granulated stuff to strong of a whiff of that stuff will put you on your butt.


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## jaycf7

troutkiller69 said:


> I would use Clorox bleach and scrub the heck out of it. Or you could get the granulated stuff bleach you use in the pool and mix it with water to make a stronger concentration. during the holidays our in ground pool got pretty green and algae all on the wall with us going out of town so I double the normal amount of chlorine and scrubbed a lot within a week of doing so it was back to normal. also be sure to clean your filter or just get new ones. Also be careful with the granulated stuff to strong of a whiff of that stuff will put you on your butt.


Are you saying drain then scrub and then refill?


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## Troutman123

*Have had my In ground*

Since 1983 grrrrrrrrrrr 
Just Sayin



Profish00 said:


> Bulldozer and buy a tree.


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## troutkiller69

Yes sir drain it and use the stuff I told you scrub the heck out of it and it should clean up well


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## misbhavn

You don't have to drain it. Get all of the leaves and other debris out of the pool as best you can. Get it up to shock level and hold it there until the water clears up. You will need a test kit that can measure chlorine up to 50ppm. Brush it every day and in a few days you will notice the water begin to clear up and you can work on getting whatever debris you missed before. You will need to run the pump 24/7 until you get the water cleared up. After that, backwash your pump and get your water balanced.


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## troutkiller69

You are right he don't have to drain it but to give it a very good clean I would recommend draining it


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## gigem87

andre3k said:


> Take a look at troublefreepool.com and the BBB method.


This!


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## reeltimer

Good advice from jtupper..

That being said.I think I read your renting?get owners to replace sand filter and at least sand.that thing looks long neglected by trails of tears..my first sign of chemical imbalance.as stated by some you can bring water back but problem is you have no idea how many months or years of fillers have been dumped in pond.fillers win you lose.btw I work,treat and cuss pools and hot tubs for a living.if needed pm me for more advice or trouble shooting.let me know when the bass are biting

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2


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## Flyingvranch

If you do drain be aware that the liner may shrink and then split when you try to refill it. I've seen that happen several times.


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## stammster - temporary

Drain it, scrub the inside with a soft bristle brush, and get out all the old soapy / dirty water. An old bilge pump will work or a shop vac to get all the old stuff out. Add new water.

This will be cheaper than trying to treat the old water.

Then follow the BBB method, and get your Cyanic acid level to 30 and keep your Chlorine level 3-5 ppm and ph 7.5. Invest in a good pool test kit. 

Stay out of the pool shop, and away from the solid chlorine tablets. They will eventually drive your Cyanic acid levels too high, rendering the Chlorine useless.

A working pump and filter is a must. Run 2 hrs/day until the water gets above 80 and then 4 hrs per day.


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## jaycf7

I have decided to try to treat the water in the pool and not drain it for fear of the liner tearing. I bought a test kit yesterday and will test it this afternoon then i should know where to start with what chemicals ect to add.

thanks so much for all the help guys!


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## misbhavn

jaycf7 said:


> I have decided to try to treat the water in the pool and not drain it for fear of the liner tearing. I bought a test kit yesterday and will test it this afternoon then i should know where to start with what chemicals ect to add.
> 
> thanks so much for all the help guys!


Don't worry about adding a bunch of chemicals until you get the water cleared up, just worry about chlorine right now. Like I said before, get it up to shock level and keep it there until the water clears up. You will need to add chlorine to the pool and brush it every day for at least a week, maybe more depending on how many gallons the pool is. Once the water is cleared up and you have all of the organic matter out of the pool, you can balance everything else out. You will just chase your tail trying to balance the water in its current condition.


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## jaycf7

Ok so here is another question, how to i physically ADD the chlorine? Dump it in? use one of the floating thingies?.......


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## misbhavn

The floating dispensers will never get it up to shock level. You will need to add it in using granular or liquid chlorine. Liquid chlorine you buy at the pool store is 12% sodium hypochlorite. Clorox Bleach is 8.25% sodium hypochlorite and is much cheaper than the liquid chlorine at the pool store. Just pour it in with the pump running.

Personally, I would use bleach, at least to get it cleared up initially. Just make sure you use plain ol' regular bleach. Don't use the scented stuff or splashless gel variety. Also be wary of the bargain bleach (i.e. Cloralex). These may be cheaper than the Clorox, but they are also diluted, usually only 3% vs. 8.25%. Great Value bleach at Walmart is what I use.

I use the 3" tabs during the summer months when the demand for chlorine is high. They do add CYA (cyanuric acid), which is needed for stabilizer. As someone mentioned before, too much CYA increases your demand for chlorine, too little causes all of your chlorine to be consumed by the sun. I use bleach to shock with. During the late fall, winter, and early spring when the demand for chlorine is very low, I use bleach only.


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## jaycf7

jtupper said:


> The floating dispensers will never get it up to shock level. You will need to add it in using granular or liquid chlorine. Liquid chlorine you buy at the pool store is 12% sodium hypochlorite. Clorox Bleach is 8.25% sodium hypochlorite and is much cheaper than the liquid chlorine at the pool store. Just pour it in with the pump running.
> 
> Personally, I would use bleach, at least to get it cleared up initially. Just make sure you use plain ol' regular bleach. Don't use the scented stuff or splashless gel variety. Also be wary of the bargain bleach (i.e. Cloralex). These may be cheaper than the Clorox, but they are also diluted, usually only 3% vs. 8.25%. Great Value bleach at Walmart is what I use.
> 
> I use the 3" tabs during the summer months when the demand for chlorine is high. They do add CYA (cyanuric acid), which is needed for stabilizer. As someone mentioned before, too much CYA increases your demand for chlorine, too little causes all of your chlorine to be consumed by the sun. I use bleach to shock with. During the late fall, winter, and early spring when the demand for chlorine is very low, I use bleach only.


Thanks! I will send this to momma to go buy some at the store when she gets off. But i need to figure out my filter situation first. DANG THIS COLD WEATHER! LOL


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## reeltimer

Tablets work fine if they are put in skimmer basket.don't buy the 25 gallon bucket yet.I've seen what the Houston area humidity does for my [email protected] chemical sales..good luck

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2


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## jaycf7

I bought a bunch of the gallons of liquid chlorine at walmart last night like suggested.....NOW....how to i measure and figure out what "get it up to shock level really is"
I also have read about keeping my CYA level correct what the heck is that.


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## Castaway2

if you werent going to drain it.... i would have just bought shock at the local Lowes. they come in 10k, 15k, 20k gallon pool packs. how many gallons is your pool? i would have doubled that and waited a day or 2 to see if any improvement if none put a couple more packs. using the liquid cholrine you have to add alot of bottles and store it somewhere. ( takes up to much room in my opinion) since you want to go this route buy the shock packets for a 20k gallon pool ( yours looks to be no more than 10-15k) put 2 of the 20 k packets in and let pump run for at least 24hrs and see if there is a difference, repeat if need be.


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## stammster - temporary

I would shock at 25-30 ppm. You need to estimate your pool size first. Since it is above ground and based off you pictures it is likely less than 8000-10000 gal. This is not an exact science. Try 3 gal of 8.25%. (Right at 25ppm for 10000 gal). The key is to get it above 25 ppm for enough time to kill off all the biologicals. If you have a lot of debris, get rid of it. If you cannot see the bottom after 1 day, add another 2 gal to boost it back up above 25 ppm. Since you will not be swimming until it is warmer, there is no concern of overshooting it.

You can google pool calculator or perform the hand calculations based dimensions.


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## stammster - temporary

Don't worry about your CYA until you get the pool clear first. At this time of year you sunlight burn off is not much anyway.

Think of CYA as sunscreen for your chlorine. 30-40 ppm is ideal to maintain you chlorine ideal disinfecting power at 3-5 ppm. Less CYA and the chlorine burns off. More and it disables your Chlorine and you will need to keep the chlorine ppms high, and shock requirement will be outrageous. Don't mess up the CYA level on the high side, as once it is in the water there is no removing it other than through dilution.

Be aware the hockey puck chlorine tablets and some powdered shock contain CYA (Cyanuric acid).

http://www.swimming-pool-care.com/cyanuric-acid.html


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## stammster - temporary

Once you get the pool clean, adjust pH to 7.4-7.6 with acid or baking soda (down or up), get you CYA to 30 ppm, and keep your Chlorine 3-5 ppm with bleach, you will be a happy camper. Brush once a week in summer and filter 2-6 hrs per day.

Taylor makes a good test kit. Once I had my pool dialed in, I found simple pH and Chlorine test strips convenient but not exact.


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## reeltimer

stammster said:


> Once you get the pool clean, adjust pH to 7.4-7.6 with acid or baking soda (down or up), get you CYA to 30 ppm, and keep your Chlorine 3-5 ppm with bleach, you will be a happy camper. Brush once a week in summer and filter 2-6 hrs per day.
> 
> Taylor makes a good test kit. Once I had my pool dialed in, I found simple pH and Chlorine test strips convenient but not exact.


Great advice as far as saving you money.Folks who have in ground pools have more to worry about with cya level than above ground pools.you will at some time have to replace the liner.It's just a fact of life.lot cheaper than getting a replaster job.Organic matter introduced into water effects the ph so at some point a investment on a pool cover not a bad idea.a surge protector can be put on at your breaker to further protect your investment in your equipment.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2


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## jaycf7

Finally went outside last night and snapped some pictures of the filter pump. Is this a good one, can you guys give me some insight to what each setting on the top is for? You can see the pictures but in person (BAD PICTURE) you can read what each one means. One question or operation of the filter i don't understand is the backwash part.....do i just hook up the plumbing and then run it on the backwash cycle to backwash it? is there something else that i need to know about doing?

Thanks as always in advance guys!


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## jaycf7

Stam i used the pool calculator and entered for FC 25 - 30 and it said to add 130 oz of bleach.....did i calculate that right? I learned my pool is 12500 gallons.

If i did calculate that right do i keep those levels up until the pool clears up?


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## misbhavn

Easy way to find out. Add the bleach, wait about an hour for it to mix in real well and test your chlorine. If it's low, add more. Yes, maintain that level until the water clears. You may have to add chlorine in the morning and at night at first.


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## jaycf7

jtupper said:


> Easy way to find out. Add the bleach, wait about an hour for it to mix in real well and test your chlorine. If it's low, add more. Yes, maintain that level until the water clears. You may have to add chlorine in the morning and at night at first.


Thanks! After this last class of the day im headed home to hook it up and run it. Im tired of messing around and not doing anything LOL......cant hurt by just adding chlorine right?>?>?


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## stammster - temporary

For 12500 gal, to go from 0 to 25 ppm, you need 3.67 gal of 8.25 % bleach. I am not sure what pool calculator you used, but this is a good one...
http://poolcalculator.com/

There are not many kits that can test above 5 ppm.


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## stammster - temporary

Make sure the pump and filter is working before adding bleach. Else you will not filter out what the bleach kills. It will just end up on the bottom. It is like some will end up there anyway and you may need to vacuum brush. Also the bleach will not disperse as well.

When adding the bleach, add all the way around the perimeter. Again this is not an exact science. You really can't screw it up at this point. If you overdose, you lose a few bucks in unnecessary bleach. The chlorine will burn off is a week or 2 anyway. Plenty of time before it is warm enough to swim.

Now you can see why I recommended to drain in the first place. Treating and cleaning will work, but it will take some time.


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> Thanks! After this last class of the day im headed home to hook it up and run it. Im tired of messing around and not doing anything LOL......cant hurt by just adding chlorine right?>?>?


Well how's it look?


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## jaycf7

Its getting there. I have been adding two bottles of the liquid chlorine a day.....the first day i HAMMERED IT and added 10 LOL.

But i have been busy with work. I am off ALL next week so now that it is not TOTALLY GREEN but rather a bluish green that dose not look that bad i feel like i have done some good. 

I cleaned the filter after the first two days and that was TERRIBLE LOL

Now it stays pretty clean in the filter but i still cannot see the bottom of the thing yet. I will try to snap a pic tonight and post up tomorrow!


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> Its getting there. I have been adding two bottles of the liquid chlorine a day.....the first day i HAMMERED IT and added 10 LOL.
> 
> But i have been busy with work. I am off ALL next week so now that it is not TOTALLY GREEN but rather a bluish green that dose not look that bad i feel like i have done some good.
> 
> I cleaned the filter after the first two days and that was TERRIBLE LOL
> 
> Now it stays pretty clean in the filter but i still cannot see the bottom of the thing yet. I will try to snap a pic tonight and post up tomorrow!


Good deal. . Glad your seeing progress. .it'll be worth it for the young ones when it is ready and you see the smiles


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## snapperlicious

Are you able to sweep it? The bottom is probably really dirty from not moving any water for a while.


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## jaycf7

Yes as soon as this dang rain goes away i plan on sweeping it for sure and hoping that helps.

went last night and loaded up on more bleech!


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## Flyingvranch

Bleach does work alright, but for all those trips to the store to get more bleach you could have cleared it up in about 30 hrs with about 5lbs of cal-hypo shock. I do it all the time almost weekly for customers when they call me for starting services. Just not a huge deal actually. Getting the debris and dead algae off of the bottom and out of the water stream helps speed it up too. I would get rid of those rotten flex hoses and hard plumb with PVC as they usually always bust when you are not at home and your pumps ends up running dry.


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## jaycf7

Well I've been off all week for spring break and shocked vacuumed and brushed the heccccccck out of it and it's still holding a bluish green color
Poor pump is getting wore out
I do clean the skimmer a few times a day


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## misbhavn

Are you brushing every day? The water is getting warm enough for algae blooms. If you are not holding the chlorine at shock level, the algae will spread. You may not be filtering the dead micros. If you've got it cleared up some, I would go ahead and backwash the filter, recharge it and shock the chit out of it.


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## jaycf7

jtupper said:


> Are you brushing every day? The water is getting warm enough for algae blooms. If you are not holding the chlorine at shock level, the algae will spread. You may not be filtering the dead micros. If you've got it cleared up some, I would go ahead and backwash the filter, recharge it and shock the chit out of it.


Yep brush it every day I will admit I have probably not held at shock level, but I have learned to backwash and vacume which was a plus for me
Thanks for the suggestions as I said to start with I am totally new at this


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## misbhavn

If you've got it a bluish green color, you're getting close. What is your FC level?
When my pump went out, my pool was a cloudy green color and I can get it back to sparkling in a day.


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## jaycf7

update - looks a heck of a lot better than when i started!


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> update - looks a heck of a lot better than when i started!


Just go get some shock.. lot easier than bleach get 2 packets below or one in let filter run. .. clean filter.. second packet put in...do this within in a couple days ... It will be clear... the bottle does wonders on pollen. When you poor it in the pollen runs away like oil and water.. them just Start s breaking it down. In 36 hours all pollen gone


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## jaycf7

Yep i have bought the shock and started putting in like 1.5 bags a day and running the filter and vacuuming it once a day....hopefully by the end of the week! Im scared to see my electric bill now.


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> Yep i have bought the shock and started putting in like 1.5 bags a day and running the filter and vacuuming it once a day....hopefully by the end of the week! Im scared to see my electric bill now.


From where you started.. have you cleaned out the filter since? I'd not do so.. will go quicker.. congrats on your progress almost there!


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## jaycf7

yea i have cleaned that thing numerous times, or BACKWASH as ive learned....also clean the skimmer and filter before the pump too.


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## jaycf7

Coming together just in time!!!! I had to jump in yesterday bc i dropped my phone in it!
Thank goodness for a lifeproof case!!


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## snapperlicious

If your using the shock make sure you don't get your cya too high or you'll end up having to drain it after all this work.


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## misbhavn

snapperlicious said:


> If your using the shock make sure you don't get your cya too high or you'll end up having to drain it after all this work.


This is why I use bleach to shock with instead of the granulated chlorine. Most people don't even pay attention to the cyanuric acid levels, and most don't realize that the 3" chlorine tabs also add CYA. The higher the CYA level, the more chlorine required to keep the pool balanced.

Pool looks great, BTW! :cheers:


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## Castaway2

Looks good bud! Completely different


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## jaycf7

Thanks guys....im going to check the CYA levels this week as i have not had the chance to do so yet.....Next project is Re-staining the deck!

that will have to be a new thread LOL


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## misbhavn

jaycf7 said:


> Thanks guys....im going to check the CYA levels this week as i have not had the chance to do so yet.....Next project is Re-staining the deck!
> 
> that will have to be a new thread LOL


Considering where you started, your CYA level was almost certainly zero. Unless you dumped a bunch of the granulated chlorine "shock" in there your CYA level should be fine...maybe even a tad low. If it's a tad low and you are using the 3" pucks, I'd leave it alone and let the pucks bring it up over time.


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## jaycf7

Over the period of about a month i put in about 25 gallons of chlorine, and two boxes of shock....15 bags of 1lb shock.....


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## misbhavn

Depending on the size of your pool, 15 bags probably has your CYA levels a bit high (target is 40ppm). Assuming you used trichlor and 12500 gallons, 1 bag will raise CYA by about 5ppm. The only way to know is to test it, or have it tested. The only way to get CYA levels down is through dilution. You have to drain water and add more.


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## jaycf7

Wanted to say thanks again guys! The kids enjoyed it last weekeend!
No kids this weekend so it will be adult swim all weekend! :brew2:


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## Castaway2

jaycf7 said:


> Wanted to say thanks again guys! The kids enjoyed it last weekeend!
> No kids this weekend so it will be adult swim all weekend! :brew2:


Glad to hear!!!! Fyi the dog will through your balance off so check it after he has been in it. Good job on getting it done for for kids your a superstar in thier eyes now!!!


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## jaycf7

Thanks castaway. And to all you guys.....when i started i knew NOTHING, ...and still have a lot to learn. I could not tell them no last weekend when they asked to swim and then to the dog LOL. They had a blast and it was good to see them enjoy it. Between my wife and I we have 4 total and ages 2-4-6-8 three boys and one girl. My two boys live in Houston in The heights and have already called asking when they get to come to daddy's house to swim again LOL

but like i said its adult swim this weekend only so if anyone is in the Beaumont area COMON....beer will be cold. 

Happy early Easter guys!


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## Dhouse

I've been there drain about halfway scrub drain and flush with clean water the least amount of shuffling around on the bottom will keep the wrinkles minimum


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