TF-100 just arrived... Unfortunately may need a 50% drain! Correct me if I'm wrong.

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WickedAL

WickedAL

0
Jul 2, 2016
22
Glendora, Ca
Hello everybody I hope I have set up my signature and all correctly! First a little history. Had this home and pool for 6 yrs, always been the pool boy and never really ran into anything more than mustard algae. This year my 15yr old was taking over but can't seem to keep it clean and holdin chlorine. Started online and found this wonderful forum and here I am. Prior to this I only used basic kit for chlorine and ph and occasional alkaline. Here are my numbers with the new TF-100.

fc=.5
cc=.5
ph=7.6
ta=200
ch=550
cya=80

pool math is telling me to lower ch a 53% water replacement and to lower cya a 50% water replacement is needed. My pool is clear and sparkly with a touch of mustard coming through on walls.

All i I need to know is if you all recommend the water change and if so what about chlorine level being so low whilst I drain because I am gonna need to go to harbor freight and buy a pump because my filtration has no backwash or drain.

thanks in advance everyone.
 
Welcome to TFP!

Chlorine level is set based on CYA level and the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. So, the higher the CYA the higher the FC needs to be. You can manage CYA at 80, just need to keep FC at the right level. Lots of folks with SWGs, like me, have CYA at 80. Or you can drain it to get down to 50-60 which is where you will probably want to keep it.

To kill the algae you will need to SLAM the pool following this process, SLAM Process

After the SLAM you can take care of the mustard algae as shown here, Pool School - Mustard Algae
 
Danny has you well covered with what you need to read and do. I just want to say HI!!! Now teach the kid how to brush the pool and do the tests. You get to set back and enjoy his hard work! LOL

You know what? I am going to give you the "new pool owner" set up I put together. You are a new TFP owner so.....

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Kim:cat:
 
That's great advice ^^^

If you can see the bottom now, your SLAM might go somewhat quickly, like maybe even only 4 or 5 days. You can use the pool during the SLAM, but you may choose not to. After you get it done, we can walk you through how to keep it clean for the rest of the year and probably forever, and for less money than you're used to.

It's great that you have the kid involved; it's a good science lesson and he's doing fine. The algae needs to get killed off entirely by the SLAM process. One time shocks are temporary fixes. After a SLAM, it will be less work to maintain, and will cost you less.

The CH is manageable but both it and the TA are high. If it was me, while I was learning and deciding, I'd take the pH down to 7.2 to reduce the risk of scale. It will need to be lowered for the SLAM anyway.

When you decide to SLAM, consider getting some extra testing reagents (order the XL option) for the TF100 and it should arrive in time.

From your post, it looks like you've already done some learning here, and that's very much appreciated!
 
Thanks for all the great advice and welcomes from everyone. Yes needsajet I have been practicing up whilst I waited for my TF-100. I can honestly say I feel pretty comfortable with what needs to done and how to do it with all the charts and information here. I just may need somebody to hold my hand along the way to keep me comfortable.

What brought me to this sight was I knew enough to to keep my pool fairly clear all season for the last 6 yrs with simple CF, PH maintenance and the occasional 1 time shock. But this season I was having a hard time keeping the chlorine. Googled "rapid chlorine loss"... poof straight to TFPC and you all know the rest! What kept me here and made me jump on the TF-100 kit was that you all agreed with my longtime thoughts that Lesly's and most other PS's are a sham with all them phosphates and magic potions!

So now I am off the lowe's to buy some MA to get my PH down to about 7.2 to start my SLAM maybe tomorrow. Maybe even help get my TA down a bit too... Wow! Look at me with all them acronyms!

Thanks again everybody.
 
Check out prices for chlorinating liquid. Everyone likes 8.25% bleach and I think it's usually cheapest, but 12.5% chlorinating liquid is a third less weight to lug around and might be similar value. Sometimes the bleach "gallons" are only 121 oz. Be sure to buy plain unscented (not splashless).

People will be here to help you along. Do us a favor and fill out your signature with pool details. The instructions are in "read before posting" linked in my signature. [edit - sometimes it's there, sometimes not, maybe a setting on phone or computer]

By the way - good decisions!!

It can all be done at CYA 80, will just take more chlorine. If you want to do a partial exchange, and if you have a spot lower than the pool where you can drain water, you can use your vacuum hose to siphon. Sometimes there's a spigot at the equipment pad that can be used for draining.
 
Thanks needsajet, I will be shopping for best bleach or chlorine price soon since I'm down to my last 2 gallons and the local Walmart upped theirs from $2.50 to $3.68. I was reading a thread on the subject a few night back and it seems I got away with that price longer than most (changed 2 weeks ago) but all good things must come to an end.

As for my signature i have all my info there it just didn't show in the last post, maybe because I was on my phone and just did a quick reply. But the info is in my sig in the OP.
 
Some Walmarts also have Pool Shock chlorinating liquid somewhere else in the store, I think. Much better chlorine buyers around here than me. If we had a lottery on how many gallons you're going to need, my guess would be 20 gallons of 12.5% or 30 121 oz jugs of 8.25%. People here also talk about Hasa but I don't know what that is. Pool stores might even have a sale or something I suppose, and you can pop in and explain water chemistry to them!!

Buy the freshest you can get. There should be a manufacture date number like 16150 or 16180. 16 means 2016 and 150 means 150th day of the year (late May), 180 means 180th day of the year (late June).
 

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Thank you to everyone posting with help. Just to update I have got my PH down to 7.2 and been keeping my FC up high in the 20's until I decide to drain 50% or not. Pool still looks bright and clear but I'm leaving on Holiday next week so I can't really start a SLAM or anything really until I get back. I will just keep levels where they are and pump FC up high right before I Hit the road! Thanks again everyone.
 
Well I finally made up my mind and went with the 50% drain to get CYA and CH down. At 50% decided to go 100% drain because needs a new drain cover in deep end. All worked well.
Color wheel in light stopped working about 2 years ago, saw water in the Pentair Sam light while water was draining so took on that problem too, might as well right? Worked my magic (as my wife always says about my projects) with a new plug fashioned from RC car parts. The old plug just turned to crumbs once I touched it. Kinda sucked doing all that soldering and magic on the floor by the pool but hey I'm just glad there was enough wire to get it that far out. When all was said and done I got an original Pentair light gasket from local PS and it looked different from the one I took off so I'm hoping the leak was from the aftermarket gasket. Only time will tell. Been a week thus far no leaky leaky yet knock on laminate wood and pool makes purdy colors again!




 
Oh yes got side tracked and didn't even list new numbers! I also did a slam after the refill because I had a mild case of mustard before the drain. I used the leftover dichlor I had to bring up the CYA from zero and also complete the Algae Slam killing 2 birds with one stone. Now I just need to bring down the TA a bit and bring up the CH a bit and I will be golden! Pool is sparkly and clear as I like it! Thanks to everyone for the help and comments.

PH- 7.5
FC- 7
CC- 0
TA- 130
CH- 150
CYA- 35ish

Slammed 3 days
Passed ONCH with < 1
Clear water
 
Last edited:
I see it! In the blue pic![/QUOTE said:
Yes it's there. Sad thing is it took me so long to fix it! Bought the house going in 7 years ago and first time I vacuumed the pool the drain cover came off and stuck to the vacuum. After getting it out of pool turns out somebody had epoxied a couple heavy rocks to the bottom of it to hold it in place. The old cover was the flush kind that had been cracked and collapsed in but still screwed on tight. I figured I would never be able to get enough leverage to undo them screws under water even with scooba gear so I just politely slid it back into place whenever company was coming over and I was taking the vacuum out of the pool. Was a heck of a time getting them two screws out even in the only 12" water.

Thanks for the compliments!
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