1st Post Ever -Do I really need to drain my pool 40%

[TonysDad]

History:
A cleaning pool company has been adding chemicals to our pool for the last 11 years. I never tried because I heard horror stories from friends who had poured $300 to $400 worth of chemicals into their pool and still didn't get it right at the beginning of the swimming season.

Every year in the heat of the summer we're fighting algae problems. We fight both black agae & yellow agae. Our chemical pool company comes once a week.
From reading The Pool School articles on this website I believe all our problems are because once a week addition of chlorine is way out of whack.

I'm tired of paying $70 a month to a pool company that can not keep my pool water clean for the full seven days.

I'm glad I found this website because you guys have given me the courage to learn how to keep my pool clean.

After reading thru The Pool School a couple of times I've bought my first TF-100 Test Kit.

I performed my first tests last night about 8:30 pm in the shade.

These results were taken 2 and a half days after the pool company added chemicals:

FC 5
CC 0.5
TC 5.5
pH 8.2
T/A 220
CH 270
CYA 95

We have visible signs of black algae that we brush consistently. The water is visibly clear for 4 days after chemical addition. Starts to get cloudy after that.

Looks like my first priority is to get the CYA down. According to The Pool School articles on CYA & pool calculator I need to drain the pool water about 40%. Refill and retest. Also, looks like I need to add muritic acid to bring the pH down.

Help-Do I really need to drain? Please list the steps I should take.

Thanks

I look forward to taking control back from the pool cleaning companies.

 

[ElkPool]

If you don't want to drain and refill, you might be okay with 95 CYA if you use bleach (nothing with more stablizer!) and keep it at the recommended level for that high CYA. And you could drain/refill a bit on your own, here and there, to take the CYA level down over time.

However, the cleanest solution is probably to drain/refill all at once.

 

[JasonLion]

I would definitely do some water replacement to get the CYA level down. It is a very good investment. You might get by for a while with CYA around 95, but if anything goes at all wrong it is going to be a real pain to have CYA that high. Right now your FC level is significantly too low given that CYA is around 95.

Also, you should never let the PH get that high. PH should always be below 8.0.

In order, I would replace 30% to 40% of your water and then lower PH to around 7.2.

As long as TA is 100 or higher, any time the PH gets up to 7.8, lower it down to 7.2 again.

 

[TonysDad]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I will follow your advice.
I will drain the pool/refill & retest.

Can I drain the pool water into my Palm trees?

 

[pepsiholic]

Shouldn't hurt. I drain and backwash straight out into my yard and nothing has died yet..lol

 

[iflyjetzzz]

Can I drain the pool water into my Palm trees?

I've been using my pool water to water the entire yard for the last month or so, based on a recommendation by Richard320. It's slowly lowering my CYA. But I'm not draining everything at once; I shut off the autofill and water the plants a couple of times a week. Once I'm done watering, I turn the autofill back on. After the pool is full again, I shut off the autofill and let some evaporation take place, followed by watering the lawn, then autofill back on to refill the pool. Rinse, repeat.