Years of pucks got me here...Help! New results!

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Ground Loop

0
Apr 27, 2011
16
Please help me face the music:

FC 4.8
Ph 7.8
TA 210
CH 210
CYA 100+ is MUCH higher. Lost the black dot in 1/4" of solution.


Have struggled with low ph for years. Now I know why. Adding chems...adding pucks. Have stripped my liner of color on the floor of pool.

Finally took control this year. Added SWG mainly because everyone told me it caused Ph to trend up.

Still added over 100lbs. of washing soda/borax to get ph to 7.6 to 7.8.

Wrong move I see now.

Pool calculator says I need to replace 53% of my pool water.

What do ya'll think?

BTW K-2006 arrived 10 mins. ago.

In case it doesn't show on sig. 33K vinyl, Large Hayward sand filter, 1 1/2 hp Super pump. Pentair ic-40 SWG
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

Yes, unfortunately its do a partial drain/refill before you begin to rebalance. Be sure to test again after allowing the new water to thoroughly mix. you may need to repeat.
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

Just don't drain it MORE than 1/2 at a time. The increments are up to you. 1/2 water swap is a good place to start. No telling what your TRUE CYA level is. Then retest.
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

As long as you leave at least 1-2 feet of water in the shallow end it should be fine, it really depends on your local water table (and restrictions with regard to draining). Its safe for almost all pools to drain down 1/3.
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

While I have the water low, might as well take advantage.

My white fiberglass steps are stained...well kind of orange pink.

Any ideas as to what caused it and how to clean?

Thank you.
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

Just draining it on the ground won't hurt anything. I drain pool water on the grass all the time. and there is a poster here that uses the pool to feed a sprinkler system.

Try a Magic Eraser on the steps. And if that doesn't work try a spot using half diluted bleach. Both of those things are ok to be in the pool.

Once you have it drained and refilled, circulate it all for about an hour then test the CYA again before you adjust anything else. That'll tell you whether you need to drain/refill again. No use wasting chems if you have to do it again. You only want to get the CYA down to about 80 since you have an swcg and are in full sun.
 

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Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

Thanks everyone. My pool has a large L shaped shallow end, so I don't think I can change 1/2 the water at a time.
I took the water down to 1 1/2 feet in the shallow and am re-filling now. Will probably take a couple days to complete.

I will post my new numbers ASAP.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Great forum!

-Mark
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

After 2 water changes, one 40% and then another 50%:

FC 1.8
CC .2
PH 7.8
TA 100
CH 80
CYA 100 maybe a smidge over

So there is little doubt that my CYA was over 200. To be honest, I am less than thrilled with doing another 20% water change. I think I will ride this for a bit.

What challenges can I expect while managing a high TA and CYA?

I am going to construct a return vent aerator as shown in the forum to lower the TA slowly. If I read correctly, I will need to lower ph significantly to do so. Correct?

I have replaced the salt and will turn the SWG up tomorrow.

How did I do?
 
When you have one number off the charts, such as you do with CYA, dilute your test sample with a known ratio of distilled water. Get a reading and multiply by your ratio. That way you know what to do ahead of time instead of draining random amounts of water and refilling.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Your TA won't be a problem. 100 is only a little high. Just lower the PH to 7.2 any time it gets up to 7.8 and the TA will come down over time.

The CYA level is going to be more of a challenge. Even with a SWG you need to keep FC at 5 or higher all the time. That probably means targeting 6 or 7 to be sure it never goes below 5. If you get algae, things will be very challenging until you lower CYA further.
 
Re: Years of pucks got me here...Help!

Ground Loop said:
... I think I will ride this for a bit.

What challenges can I expect while managing a high TA and CYA?
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll have any problem IF you keep your FC up high where it belongs with a high CYA level.

Last year was my first full year with the TF-100 test kit. Because I had the TF-100, I knew from the start that my CYA was about 90. I opened late and didn't have time to do a partial drain & refill. I had to get my FC up wicked high to shock the pool & kill the opening algae. Because I had the TF-100, I could get an accurate TC/FC measurement and could measure "wicked high" numbers, like 45 or 50 ppm. My PH was high, too, at 7.8-8.0.

A high CYA really buffers the chlorine and it took a while for my FC to drift down to the low teens, even with lots of direct sun & high heat. Then, I maintained the FC in the 10-15 range. After reading about maintaining pools at high PH levels, I also left the PH in the 7.8-8.0 range. I had clear, sparkly water for the rest of the season.

Frankly, it seemed that I had fewer Cl excursions, especially to the low side, than in previous years. But, I'm no Chem Geek, so I don't have any rational explanation for that.

So, YMMV, but I found that I was able to manage a high CYA level. Not the optimum situation, but you could give it a go.

Good luck!
 
Thanks everyone.

I am going to change the water later in the year. I need to give my water bill a break.

Maybe change it during the hottest part of summer and give the pool a refreshing chill.

Thanks again for everyone's input. Make a big splash!

Mark
 
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