Thoughts as I move on from pool guy

[sigep739]

So here is my situation... I'd love your general thoughts.

My my pool was built last year. Our pool builder maintained the pool for the first year and I never had problems. He used pucks with CYA.

My pool builder got out of the maintenance business so he off loaded his business to an established business in the area. Almost immediately, I noticed some algae forming. So I called the company and asked what was going on...about 4 days after they left, pool was turning. and, worst of all, the pool ph was always high-8.0 minimum. Basically the problem was he was only using liquid chlorine and he would put the FC at about 3 then leave. Problem is my CYA level is 80! I"slam"Ed my
pool with success, BTW.

I have been been reading these forums for about a year and decided to get into this myself. And all has been pretty good but maybe you have some suggestions. First of all, I live in CA and draining the pool is the least desire able option- will probably just wait for rainy season to drop CYA.

my current stats are as follows:

TA 90
CH 240
CYA 80
20k Gallon pool
solar heating

I keep my FC at between 6-11.

two questions... My pool gets direct sunlight for the entire day. My chlorine usage when not using my pool at all is about 3ppm. That seems a bit high from what I've read on here... But does anyone have any thoughts?

second, I have noticed some white buildup on some tile. I'm thinking this is from when the ph was high. But do you have any thoughts?

my calcium hardness is a tad on the low side, but according to Taylor and pool calculator, my pool is balanced. You think I should add some anyway? I'm thinking of just raising it to about 260. But since I'm good on the calculators, maybe it isn't necessary?

thanks so much for your help!

 

[mgmoore7]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

With a cya of 80 over Syria cya range is 6 - 9 see the link below for the table providing these ranges.
content/128-chlorine-cya-chart

 

[Swampwoman]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Welcome, Sigep. Congrats on taking over your pool.

Losing 3 ppm is not bad considering that your FC range is higher due to your higher cya. Its relative! With that said, performing the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test will let you know if you ave organics that need to be addressed. Hope not, as Slam is more difficult at a high cya.

What kind of surface is it? Can you please add details to your signature in your profile panel?
The advice on ch is surface-dependant

What at you testing with ? - Hopefully a tft100 or Taylor k2006, which have the cya tests, etc.

Lastly, I am just throwing this out for consideration - have you considered switching to a salt water generator? Your cya would be perfect as is were you to switch. Just a thought

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

My chlorine usage when not using my pool at all is about 3ppm. That seems a bit high from what I've read on here... But does anyone have any thoughts?

As long as you don't exceed about 4 ppm per day I think you are in a good range.

I have noticed some white buildup on some tile. I'm thinking this is from when the ph was high. But do you have any thoughts?

This would be indicative of scale build-up. You can try spraying some muriatic acid on that area and gently scrubbing to see if it removes the scale.

my calcium hardness is a tad on the low side, but according to Taylor and pool calculator, my pool is balanced. You think I should add some anyway? I'm thinking of just raising it to about 260. But since I'm good on the calculators, maybe it isn't necessary?

I wouldn't add anything to raise calcium at the moment. Your elevated pH and TA help to balance-out your CSI numbers on the calculator. In fact, having numbers of 7.6, 90, and 240 make your CSI about "0.01" - almost perfect. Now if you see scale build-up in your pool (not just the water tile) because of the previous poor chemical management from that other company, then you can actually consider lowering pH and TA to lower CSI into the negative a bit which might help (over time) pull any scale away from the walls. It a slow process but might be an option (if even needed).

SW makes a good point about SWG consideration should you ever chose to go that route.

Otherwise, I think you're in good shape. When you get a chance, please include your pool info in your signature to include which test kit you are using. Thanks!

 

[sigep739]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Thanks so much for responding, everyone. I have really enjoyed this site and learned so much from this website. Just to address a couple of the items in the responses (which I sincerely appreciate).

This would be indicative of scale build-up. You can try spraying some muriatic acid on that area and gently scrubbing to see if it removes the scale.

What do you think would cause this build up, though? The high PH (as I mentioned, it was routinely at 8) or something else? My chemicals seem to be in pretty solid balance (despite having high CYA).

With a cya of 80 over Syria cya range is 6 - 9 see the link below for the table providing these ranges.

I've been using pool calculator which says 6-11. I have been putting it at 11 simply because I am losing 3ppm per day... so after 2 days, I am around 5/5.5 and then I bump it back up. Would you advise just going to 9? I can do that - which would likely require about 60oz of 12.5% liquid chlorine per day (approx half-bottle). I don't mind doing that. Since it has been so darn hot during the day (literally 108 today), I have been running my filter from 10a-2p to heat it up and then again from 8p-12a which has been working for adding chemicals in the pool at night.

What at you testing with ? - Hopefully a tft100 or Taylor k2006, which have the cya tests, etc.

I am using the Taylor k2006, of course Which is interesting - my pool guy has never measured for CH... only TH. I know there are better pool guys out there - but I figure you don't know them until you experiment with them because very few references will talk about the chemistry and only "my pool looked so clear."

With that said, performing the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test will let you know if you ave organics that need to be addressed. Hope not, as Slam is more difficult at a high cya.

I did indeed try that and I was under 1ppm.

Lastly, I am just throwing this out for consideration - have you considered switching to a salt water generator? Your cya would be perfect as is were you to switch. Just a thought

I personally love this suggestion and I will likely do it next year. I was thinking of doing the "chlorinator" - but I figure if I am going to install something, I might as well do a SWG. But I am on schedule for next year after I can convince my wife it is needed (she is getting the point after she sees me every other day outside pouring chlorine). It will also give me some time to learn a bit about how the SWG chemistry works... especially with the "controversy" about whether it corrodes equipment/pool - I want to be sure I get it right. Took me some time to get the guts to do the current chemicals myself!

Thanks again everyone, I sincerely appreciate it.

Joe

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Scale has the potential to happen when your CSI level is over.6. The combination of pH, TA and CH levels all play a part in that CSI level as noted on the Poolmath calculator. Me personally, if my CYA was 80 for a non-SWG pool, I would not want my FC to drop below 7 even though the minimum is listed as 6. It's just so hot out there right now, and you don't want to have to do a SLAM if you can help it which would require a high FC level, so I would be extra vigilant and keep my FC between 7- 10. Of course you have to ensure the FC is under 10 when testing your pH to be accurate.

TH & CH were probably intended to mean the same thing - hardness.

 

[sigep739]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

It's just so hot out there right now, and you don't want to have to do a SLAM if you can help it which would require a high FC level, so I would be extra vigilant and keep my FC between 7- 10.

I have a question about that... I think you bring up a good point.. If I go to 11 and each day it drops 3ppm without any significant usage, it gets to 5ppm by the time I refill it in the evening. Is that a big no-no? I could just start dumping half-bottle every day.. instead of a full bottle every other day.

Thanks again.. likely won't be my last question! So glad I got this pool and looking forward to not paying a pool guy $85 a month to not balance properly.

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

The key about FC loss is that we typically like to keep FC loss under 4 ppm. When you lose more than that, it's a red flag that indicates you may have an algae issue. Every pool is different, so you find that sweet spot that works for you. Based on your elevated CYA, your pool might be good with dosing (for example) up to 10 at night, then over then next day it slowly falls to about 7 (3 ppm). If it drops to 6 you're still good (4ppm) and you didn't fall below the minimum. So it's a bit of live & learn there to see what works best for you. Me for example, with a CYA of about 60-70, I bump my FC up to about 9 each evening, then usually it's about 7-7.5 24 hours later.

Of course if you have lots of swimming then the FC could drop more/faster because of extra bacteria being battled, so keep that in mind too.

 

[VikingPoolMan]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

So here is my situation... I'd love your general thoughts.

For me personally, I don't like servicing my own pool. I live in Tampa Florida and the summers are brutal. If you can afford it, get a good salt system, a D.E. filter/pump and a navigator (or some other good cleaner)... That's what I have on my pool and it practically takes care of itself. We use it all the time and I haven't serviced it in months and the water/flow/chemicals/clarity are all practically perfect (ph will rise a bit but that's no big deal). Now don't get me wrong, I don't recommend to anyone going so long between servicing your pool (I happen to be lazy with my own pool) -- but it's nice to know that your pool won't turn into a swamp if you forget to service it.

 

[sigep739]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

So... Today unfortunately my chlorine dropped between 4.5 and 5.5ppm. But a part of that could be miscalculation because I was using 50 day old chlorine from Walmart. Doubt it but who knows how it was stored. And it was 108 today. Hard to gauge. I'll keep an eye on it.

But it the white scaling around the tile is getting on my nerves. My pool is "balanced"... I keep retesting. Today my pool was at pH 7.8 so it's not like it's crazy high.

CH is 240.

I wonder what what is causing it. I wonder if it has to do with some construction my neighbor did. They built a patio cover an like a million small styrofoam (really small) flew into my pool. I scooped them up as well as I could. But couldn't get them all because some of them were even smaller than the netting. I know styrofoam breaks down in the sun. So maybe this is causing a combination problem of chlorine but, worse, pool scaling.

Thoughts? I don't see anymore balls. Doesn't mean the compounds still aren't present.

thanks again.

 

[pooldv]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Scale doesn't appear or disappear suddenly it is a process and takes time to build up and it is a process and takes time for it to go away. Keep your CSI negative, between -0.3 and 0. Use Poolmath, link ^^^ up there. Enter ALL your test result and it will calculate the CSI. Keep that negative and it will go away and not come back.

More here, Pool School - Calcium Scaling

Are you using the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] to determine your FC level? Make sure it always is above minimum. I generally like to keep it at or above target to be on the safe side.

 

[sigep739]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Scale doesn't appear or disappear suddenly it is a process and takes time to build up and it is a process and takes time for it to go away. Keep your CSI negative, between -0.3 and 0. Use Poolmath, link ^^^ up there. Enter ALL your test result and it will calculate the CSI. Keep that negative and it will go away and not come back.

More here, Pool School - Calcium Scaling

Are you using the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] to determine your FC level? Make sure it always is above minimum. I generally like to keep it at or above target to be on the safe side.

Thanks so much for the advice. I'll read more on the pool school regarding scaling.. despite being new here, CSI is like the bible to me on pool calculator! I am currently at .1 - but as soon as I lower my pH tomorrow to 7.5, I'll be at -.06. I might lower it to 7.4 just because of the expectation it'll raise through the week.

And, yes, I've been using the FC/CYA chart. Unfortunately, I am at 80 CYA so have been keeping by chlorine at between 6-11. This evening I added 120 ounces of 12.5 chlorine which should bring it to 11. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Last week I was dropping only 1.5ppm per day but the weather was about 15 degrees cooler. This weak we're at 108 two days in a row and blazing sun on my backyard from sun rise to sun down. Here is to hoping that stabilizes this week a bit - I did do a TON of swimming on Sunday with 6 people for several hours.

 

[pooldv]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Good, glad you're on it, CSI is important, especially with hard water and drought.

That 80 CYA is a good thing with all that heat. It'll cut down on your daily FC loss. I've got mine at 90 at the moment.

 

[sigep739]

Re: .rhoughts as I move on from pool guy

Good news is I added 110 ounces of 12.5% of chlorine last night which should have raised my chlorine to right around 11.5. This morning, I measured my chlorine levels and I was at 11. So I am not having excessive loss.

Here is to hoping that the direct sun my pool gets doesn't result in the insane chlorine drop I've been having the last few days.