first test with my Taylor K2006 and results

[NSBFAN]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and this is my 2nd post since posting in the introductions. I did my first full test with the kit and here are my results:

FC - 5.8
CC - 0
pH - 7.6
TA - 90
CYA - over 100 (in the 130 range according to HACH 7 strips)
hardness - 260

It looks like things are in spec except for CYA which I'm not going to drain to lower at this time. I'm going to stop using trichlor and go to liquid to not raise CYA more.

Any advice at this time?

Thanks.

 

[Cinic]

I'd give the dilution trick a try to narrow down the CYA level. Equal parts tap water and pool water, then double the test result. It's tough to know what FC levels to run w/o knowing the CYA.

When we took ownership of our current pool it had a CYA of 80 and it's been slowly dropping with every over done backwash.

 

[Donldson]

A belated welcome to TFP!

Follow Cinic's advice to get a better grasp on your CYA level, you need that to know your FC level. Knowing that your CYA is over 100 I do know that your FC is much too low. If Your CYA really is 130 then you will need to keep your FC above 10 at all times so you will want to target around 16 or so. At that FC level your pH readings will be slightly skewed so it will be difficult to get an accurate reading.

Given all that may I ask why you are not going to lower your CYA levels to a more manageable level?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

+1 to all the advice so far.

Once you get a better handle on your CYA, you can formulate a strategy to deal with it. One can certainly chlorinate a swimming pool with high CYA but it usually requires a lot of liquid chlorine use. If you have a cheap source of liquid chlorine or if you can get it in bulk, refillable containers, then it may not break the bank.

Where are you exactly in FL? If you get higher annual rainfall then you can let rainwater dilution bring your CYA down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[duraleigh]

I would not try to manage a pool with CYA over 100. It presents too many issues an d it is so easy (and seldom expensive) to get it down to a good level.

 

[NSBFAN]

Thanks everybody for the good advice. I'm in central FL near the atlantic side. I will re-do CYA test per your suggestion and see what it says. As for lowering the CYA, I guess the reason I felt I'd not address it is with rain and adding water for evaporation I'd eventually get it lower. But I guess that may take a while.

I'm honestly a bit nervous and intimidated about draining half the pool (or more) as I imagine I'll have to do a lot of work to get all the other numbers in line afterward. But then again, it would be a good opportunity to learn now. I have all the chemicals. Especially since we are not swimming in it for the winter.

I'm sure it is on the forum, but where can I go to learn the steps for getting the pool right after a drain and fill?

Thanks!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Well, you mentioned a 75% drain. Considering where you live, you need to make sure the water table in your area is low enough so that you don't float pool out of the ground by draining it too much. It uses more water to do it this way, but you could always do three 25% drain and refills and see where that gets you. You just need to let the freshly added water mix for a day or so between drains.

As for chemical balance, it's really not that hard. Your big three concerns up front are - CYA, FC and pH. If it were a totally fresh fill (which it is not), then you would first get enough CYA in a sock to get your water to your minimum CYA recommended level. Then, while that is still dissolving, you'd add enough bleach to get your water up to the top of the recommended range. Finally you'd adjust your pH. Once your pool water is holding FC, then you can check TA and CH to see where you are at with those.

For you, since you're doing drains and refills, just do the drains in stages and remeasure your CYA each time to see where you are. Add bleach as needed to keep the FC up during the process and then, once CYA and FC are correct, you can fix the pH. If the pH is a little high (above 7.8), you can correct it up front with some muriatic acid. If the pH is anywhere between 7.2 and 7.8, you can just focus on FC/CYA and deal with the pH at the end.

Just remember that, if your FC goes above 10ppm, your pH test will not be accurate.

 

[NSBFAN]

Awesome. Thanks Matt. REAL good to know about water table. I think the table is not very low so that could have been possible. I'll do it in stages as you mentioned.

 

[NSBFAN]

I just went out and re-did CYA and I was off. It is at 180. FC is 6.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Oh yeah, you need to drain that puppy. No way you can manage a pool at 180ppm CYA and still have money left to eat with....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[NSBFAN]

Thanks. Draining has started. Given the fact it is so high, I'm really surprised the water looks so fantastic. I'm glad of that.