Noob needing guidance

[sherimots]

Bought a house with a pool in November, and have been trying to educate myself! The previous owners left a tub of tri-chlor pucks (with an autofeeder), which I was using until I stumbled upon this site. I had Leslie's test my water in December (CYA 60), and again in February (CYA 80). I turned off the autofeeder last week when I realized how much my CYA was climbing every few months, and then promptly bought the TF-100 kit, which arrived on Friday. Here are my test results:

6/29:
FC: 13.5
CC: 0
pH: 8.2
T/A: 160

I have added Muriatic acid and bleach to treat those numbers. I decided I needed to shock, since I did see a beige haze when I was brushing down the pool last week.

Two days ago (6/27), I did a full set of tests:
FC: 8
CC: 0
pH: 7.8
T/A: 150
CH: 420
CYA: 100

My main question is, should I do a partial drain/refill to correct my CH and CYA, or wait out the summer evaporation/top-off? Or, are the numbers so critically high, that I shouldn't wait? From what I've been reading on this site, while lurking and waiting for my test kit (I think I probably already know the answer), the pool will be easier to take care of, and keep balanced if I just go ahead and drain/refill.

Thanks for your help and answers! I've learned a lot reading posts, and the tutorials.

Sheri

 

[Bama Rambler]

CYA or CH won't lower due to evaporation. Splash out and drain/refill are your options. I think splashout is going to be too low to help enough. I suggest you bite the bullet and drain and refill to lower your CYA and CH. What is the CH of your fill water?

 

[duraleigh]

Just posting to reinforce what bama said......I'd go ahead now and get it in good shape and enjoy the rest of the summer. You'll get plenty of good advice here on the forum whichever path you choose.

 

[dmanb2b]

Drain and refill...are you right at 100 on CYA or is it actually higher? Have you tried diluting your pool water by 50% with bottled water to see if your CYA will then measure at 50? If so, that would be the effect of a 50% drain and refill. Also, you may want to test your fill water, if it is also high in CH it may not help things much on the CH side, but 400-500 CH is manageable, just make sure your PH never climbs above 7.8. With your TA on the high side (150), you can target a PH of 7.2 and it will likley rise to 7.6 in a few days.

oh..almost forgot...Welcome to TFP

 

[sherimots]

Thanks for the answers ... guess I'll have to figure out how to drain the pool now! I'm getting ready to start my week off work, so, I guess now is as good a time as any!!

Bama:
Tested the fill water tonight:
FC: 0
CC: 0
TC: 0
pH: 7.5
T/A: 200
CH: 60
CYA: 0

duraleigh: Thanks for your encouragement. You are right, there is a wealth of information here ... very glad someone was mentioning this site on another email list I was on!! Wish I found it in November!!

dmanb2b: The CYA was between 90 and 100, closer to 100, around 98 or 99. I tried your suggestion of half pool water/half bottled water and got 50 (just slightly above, maybe 52).

Sheri

 

[Isaac-1]

If you have a high cost of water there you may want to do a 30% drain and refill, that should put you around the upper acceptable range based on your readings across the board. The let splash out, and proper chemical management lower it more over time.

Ike