Ridiculous readings!

[vegas561]

Some advice would be great!

These are current levels:

FC=14
CC=0
TC=14
CH=1050
CYA=125
TA=130
PH=7.5 or higher

We live in a desert conservation environment so frequently draining and refilling the water is not really an option - are there alternative ways to get these levels in line?

The levels have never been on target but were much closer last summer. However the CC is almost always 0 or .5, CH is usually 500 or higher, but seems way too high now and CYA is really high too.

Our local water is extremely hard and very poor quality. The pool is surrounded by large pine trees, eucalyptus and palm trees (neighbors) that dump a tremendous amount of leaves, pine needles, etc. so we are constantly pulling buckets of organic material out. Last week we had bark from the pine trees covering the bottom of the pool (this is our 3rd summer here - but first time we had bark.)

We often get light brown spots from the leaves on the bottom of the pool but they come right off, however tonight we noticed 3-4 large spots that will not scrub off. They definitely look different than what we usually see. We do not have a heater and since the weather is still cool the water is currently only 65 degrees.

With so many of these levels way out of range I'm not sure what to do first. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

Being from Vegas myself, I fully understand the water situation as I think I literally grew-up drinking all my water from our water hose in Northtown. It is some hard stuff, but you're not alone here at TFP as many in the southwest struggle with hard water. But when CH and CYA get too high either from constant refills that effect CH, or excessive pool store products that increase CYA, the most common option is indeed water exchange. I will say this ...... there are others who still have been able to carefully manage a pool with a CH level over 1,000 by counter-balancing it with a lower pH/TA level to keep the "CSI" in an acceptable range on the Poolmath Calculator. One example ... if you lower your TA to 60, and keep your pH at about 7.6, you lower your CSI from almost 0.6 to -0.8. That problem is solved for now.

CYA though ... depending on how you test (how do you test your water by the way?) could actually be higher than what you listed (125). Some of my recommendations:
- Confirm which test kit you are using for us and add it to your signature
- Immediately take action to lower TA (target 60 ppm) following the Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity page.
- Keep pH at the 7.5-7.6 range; never let it go over 7.8
- Consider some partial refills to reduce CYA. With your FC over 10, you can never get an accurate pH reading, and you need to know pH. Smaller refills are not as efficient as larger ones, but do what you can over time. At least you're maintaining a higher FC to avoid algae, so that's good.
- Of course use ONLY regular liquid bleach as your sanitizer; NEVER any pool store bags of shock or tablets
- If you don't already have one, get a skimmer sock in your poolside skimmer to catch as much debris as you can.

I hope some of this helps you out.

 

[pooldv]

Agree with all of the above except that you want to target your CSI between 0 and -0.3.

Reverse osmosis is another option but people almost never use it. Capturing rainwater and using it to replace evaporation in the pool is an option to avoid adding so much CH.

More info here on Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[vegas561]

Thanks for the replies! I revised my signature

I am using the TF-100 kit to test. I will work on implementing some of your suggestions - interesting timing on the use of rainwater...we have very poor draining back there and when it rains we get large puddles that pool near the house. The recent purchase of a submersible pump will make this an easy option, as we can simply move the hose from over the fence to feed into the pool!

Thanks again - I think it will be a little process to stop the habit of purchasing anything from our local pool supply store but will work on this too.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

How did your CYA get that high? Are you putting some product in that contains it?? How are you sanitizing your pool?

 

[PAGirl]

Thanks for the replies! I revised my signature

I am using the TF-100 kit to test. I will work on implementing some of your suggestions - interesting timing on the use of rainwater...we have very poor draining back there and when it rains we get large puddles that pool near the house. The recent purchase of a submersible pump will make this an easy option, as we can simply move the hose from over the fence to feed into the pool!

Thanks again - I think it will be a little process to stop the habit of purchasing anything from our local pool supply store but will work on this too.

Are you planning on pumping it off the ground? If there's a way to divert it off the house into a barrel, the water maybe cleaner. I would worry about silt and mud if you're planning on pumping it from a puddle. (Maybe that's not what you meant....)