New Pool Owner, Need Advice

[lowerk3]

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi guys, just bought a house with a pool. Never owned one before and have a few questions. I opened my pool 2 weeks ago. Gave it a good vaccuuming and it looked pretty clear. Went to my local Pool store to get my water tested and here were the initial results:

FAC: .23
TC: .48
CC: .25
pH: 6
TA: 0???
CH: 245
CYA: 159

I was instructed to add 5 lbs of PH+, and 10 lbs of baking soda, wait 30 min and add 2 lbs of shock granulated chlorine. I did, and everything looked ok. Still crystal clear.

Went in yesterday to have my water tested again. The results were:

FAC: .27
TC: .27
CC: 0
pH: 7
TA: 65 (adjusted: 23) not sure why this was included this time.
CH: 191
CYA: 125

This time I was instructed to add 10 lbs of baking soda and 4 lbs of pH+. I did and everything looked good. I was told this time to wait 2 hours before I added 2 lbs of shock granulated chlorine. I was also told to dilute it in warm water before I added it to the pool. I followed the directions to a T, and as soon as I added the shock the pool turned cloudy. It's been about 3 hours now and it doesn't look like it's clearing up. Is this normal? The pump has been running the entire time.

I'm gonig to try and attach pics of the pool and pump. Let me know if there's any more info you need. Tried to cover all the basics. Thanks again for any help!!!! I'm clueless.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

You can see in your results that your pool store isn't great at testing. They got a different reading for CYA and CH when they could only have gone up between tests based on what you added.

As to the cloudiness, was the shock they sold you calcium hypochlorite? It can cause cloudiness.

Now for the bad news. Your CYA is way to high and it will always cause you problems until you get it lower. Sadly, draining and replacing water is the only reasonable way to reduce it.

How do you normally chlorinate the pool? Is there a tablet chlorinator or a Salt Water Chlorine Generator? If you don't know, take a picture from further back to show your pump, filter and plumbing around them.

 

[lowerk3]

Hey John,

Yes, the shock was calcium hypochlorine 78%.

Would I need to drain the entire thing?

Again, pretty clueless and the previous owners didn't leave me with much. I've been adding the chlorine tablets directly to the skimmer. Whenever I see the they're gone I just throw a few more into the skimmer. I have no idea if this is right. Here are the pics.

 

[jblizzle]

I too am afraid that all the money you have spent "adjusting" your water has kind of been wasted as you likely need to replace at least 50% of the water to get the CYA under control.

Also have to agree that the best investment for your pool would be one of the test kits (recommendations in my signature) that include the FAS-DPD chlorine test ... so you know what your pool NEEDS and not what the pool store wants to sell you.

 

[jblizzle]

You should not put the pucks in the skimmer UNLESS you leave the pump on 24/7 ... but in general we recommend not using them at all and using liquid chlorine.

Start reading Pool School (link at upper right of every page) ... this is a good starting place:
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[lowerk3]

Thanks for the advice about the pool school link.

From the sounds of it, the first thing I should invest in is a test kit. It looks like I'm also going to have to drain 50-75% of my pool and fill back up. As I'm refilling, I'll be adding dichlor to adjust the chlorine level and CYA level? or do I just need to add bleach? Then I need to test the pH levels and other levels after my CYA and FC are at acceptable levels?

Does this sound like a game plan?

 

[RobbieH]

Just add bleach. Dichlor is going to add more CYA, which is already too high. Yes, that sounds like a good plan.

Do you know how to maintain the filter? Can you post a picture of the gauge taken while the pump is running?

 

[lowerk3]

Robbie H,

I think I do. I had someone come by and told me about how and when to backwash. The waste function is when I need to drain my pool. Still a little unsure about the recirc, rinse functions. Here is a pic of the gauge when the pump is running. It usually runs at about 14-15psi. Let me know if there's anything else I should know. I appreciate the help.

 

[jblizzle]

You should backwash at 18-19psi then ... that may differ from what you were told. We recommend backwashing when the pressure goes up 20-25% of the clean pressure.

Recirculate bypass the filter and sends the water back to the pool.
Rinse sends the water through the filter the normal way, but out to waste instead of back to pool.
Waste just pumps the water out to waste
Backwash runs the water backwards through the sand and out to waste.

 

[RobbieH]

Filter according to Pool School. I've copied it here:
Sand filters will have either a push/pull main valve or a multiple position valve (multiport) for cleaning the debris trapped by the sand. Whenever changing the position on the main valve, you MUST have the pump off or you will break something. First make sure that any valve on the discharge/waste line is open and any discharge hose is attached and rolled out to where you want the dirty water to go. After turning off the pump, move the lever to the "BACKWASH" position and restart the pump. Most multis have a view glass so that you can see the debris coming out of the filter, other filters will have a section of transparent pipe on the backwash line. The water will run clear for a moment, then get dirty, and finally run clear again. When the water in the glass is ~ clear, turn off the pump FOR 30 SECONDS. If you have a multiport valve with a "RINSE" setting, switch the multiport to "RINSE", otherwise switch to "FILTER", and run the pump for about 15 seconds. Repeat the backwash cycle. Finally, reposition the valve back to the normal "FILTER" position, and you're all set until the unit needs to be cleaned again. Please note that this process removes water from the pool, so be sure to keep an eye on the water level and don't start the cleaning process if the water is already low!

I added the portion stating to wait 30 seconds before you go to rinse or filter mode. Your sand needs to settle down before you power it back up.

Now, turn the dial you see so that the arrow for Start is pointing to your needle location. Then you'll know exactly when to filter.

That's a good filter you have, if they made them in the size my pool requires, I'd have tried one when I replaced mine.

 

[lowerk3]

Jason,

When would I need to recirculate?

 

[jblizzle]

Well, if your filter developed a problem or leak.
Or if you had a horrible swamp that required backwashing every few hours and you actually wanted to get some sleep overnight while still mixing your water

Not very often.

 

[lowerk3]

RobbieH,

Thanks for the info. Backwashed once since I opened it based on what a buddy told me and reassuring to know that I did it correctly.

So after I backwash, I need to turn the filter back on and after the needle rests at a location, then I move the "Start" to that position? Is that correct?

 

[jblizzle]

Yup. that will help you remember the clean pressure ... but pay no attention to when the gauge says you should backwash as your should do it way earlier than a 10psi increase.

 

[lowerk3]

Awesome, thanks.

My main concern right now is that I have people coming over this weekend and they're all expecting the pool to be ready. Just want to make sure I get a plan together so I can get the pool ready to go in a few days. Is this possible given my situation?