Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are off

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Sunnyizzie

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Oct 4, 2012
12
Just bought a house with a pool built in 3/1998 and is plaster 8100 gallons. We would like to maintain ourselves so just bought the K-2005 Taylor kit. Previous owners said they used to just use the floater with chlorine pucks inside and add ph up or muriatic acid as needed. They also said they changed the sand in the sand filter 2yrs ago when they drained the pool. Now we have the pool and I don't think the water has been balanced lately.

Levels are PH 7.4
Total Alk 310
FC = 0
TC = 1
CC = 1
Bromine = 0
CYA = much higher than 100
CH = 190

I believe I used the test kit correctly even though it was the first time. Obviously I need to get the TA down and the Chlorine up and the CYA down. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as we are novices.
Thank you
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Welcome to TFP!

You came to the right place. Would start by visiting Pool School. Absorb as much knowledge as you can.

The biggest issue you are facing is the CYA. You said the previous owner used pucks....most likely dichlor or trichlor which is why your CYA is through roof. You can use the steps here under step 9 of the CYA test. It will allow you to get an accurate number at higher levels.

Unfortunately you will need to drain a significant amount of water to lower it. Once you have a number, you can use the Pool Calculator to give you the amount to drain.

You can tackle the TA after that. No more pucks though. Don't worry about the Bromine...only an issue for spas.
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Chlorine is probably your FIRST priority but that depends on the city and state you live in and what your intentions are for the pool for the rest of the season.
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

The kit you have will need to be augmented with a FAS-DPD chlorine test. The K2005 lacks this test and cannot reliably test FC higher than 5 which is a problem if/when you need to maintain higher levels ( for example when getting rid of algae ).

Draining a lot of water is needed as you mentioned. Do you know the water table there? If it is high you can float the pool if you drain too much at once. Floating occurs when the pool acts like a ship on a lake, and this destroys plumbing and decking.


- Sent using Tapatalk
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

UN1017 said:
Welcome to TFP!

You came to the right place. Would start by visiting Pool School. Absorb as much knowledge as you can.

The biggest issue you are facing is the CYA. You said the previous owner used pucks....most likely dichlor or trichlor which is why your CYA is through roof. You can use the steps here under step 9 of the CYA test. It will allow you to get an accurate number at higher levels.

Unfortunately you will need to drain a significant amount of water to lower it. Once you have a number, you can use the Pool Calculator to give you the amount to drain.

You can tackle the TA after that. No more pucks though. Don't worry about the Bromine...only an issue for spas.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

The K-2005 test kit only shows CYA level at 100 for the highest and no readings after that just space. I redid the test as UN1017 recommended following step 9 for a more accurate CYA reading and all I know is it is at the 1.8 mark of the comparator. I feel so stupid and frustrated right now. I know I have to drain the pool just don't know how much to get things back on track??
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Chlorine is probably your FIRST priority but that depends on the city and state you live in and what your intentions are for the pool for the rest of the season.
Click to expand...
Respond to that question so we can understand if you are trying to close or set up for swimming. In other words, do you live in Miami, Anchorage or somewhere in between?
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

I have it listed under my signature with pool info that I live in Tucson, AZ. We don't have shut down and start ups here with our plaster pool. We don't cover are pool so just keep it maintained all year round. Because my CYA level is very high I am guessing I need to drain most of the pool?
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Sorry I missed that info in your sig, Sunny. Yes, you may have to drain a lot of your pool but do it in stages. Start by draining about 50% and then refill and test for CYA. If it's still above 100 do it again. keep doing that until your CYA gets to around 50ppm.

Meanwhile, you need to keep chlorine in the pool so add emough chlorine to keep you around 2-4ppm during this process. Once your CYA gets to 50, things will become more manageable and we'll help with your other parameters.
 

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Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Just wanted to say hello to a fellow Tucsonan ... You have gotten good advice already.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Sunnyizzie said:
The K-2005 test kit only shows CYA level at 100 for the highest and no readings after that just space. I redid the test as UN1017 recommended following step 9 for a more accurate CYA reading and all I know is it is at the 1.8 mark of the comparator. I feel so stupid and frustrated right now. I know I have to drain the pool just don't know how much to get things back on track??
Click to expand...

Don't feel stupid. Eventually you will get more comfortable with your testing and knowledge and will look back and laugh at this moment. I have a TF-100 test kit so I don't know how the gradations are on the back of the K-2005 comparator. If you are getting 1.8 then you are probably reading the level on the front (chlorine). Am I correct? For CYA you need to use the level on the back and multiply by two. That should be your CYA. Once you get that number down you don't have to dilute the sample anymore (which means no multiplying by two).

We just want to make sure that the tests are right and you really need to drain the pool. We wouldn't want you to do that unnecessarily.

If it is truly high, as Dave said, you need chlorinate (using liquid) and get to draining.

One other note, if you have any questions about the tests, Taylor has videos here for each one. They can be helpful.
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

In Tucson you also have the option of RO treatment which will remove the excess CYA. The cost is about the same as a drain and refill.
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Based on some anecdotal info members have provided, a drain and refill (just the cost of water) should be somewhere around $5.00/one thousand gallons.

In the VERY limited areas that offer R/O, that cost of water should be carefully compared........I think drain/refill will come out quite a bit cheaper.
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Thanks everyone for all of your feedback. We started draining the pool last night and I will begin filling back up shortly. I was reading the CYA level correctly on the small cylinder side that goes up to 9. My amount stopped at the 1.8fill line and then there is a 4.5fill line and top is 9. The problem is the cylinder only reads a level to 100 so all I know is mine was very high, repeated it twice but just didn't have a number reading next to it. I was reading from the back, not the front so was not looking at the chlorine level. I wonder why the cylinder only reads to 100?? Probably because any number past that is bad so it doesn't matter I'm guessing. Anyway, will soon have some fresh water to work with and won't be playing the frustrating up and down game for long hopefully when it comes to ph, chlorine and CYA levels.

As stated, our pool is 8100 gallons. I have a few gallons of liquid chlorine at the house now .. any ideas of how much to put in once I start filling the pool back up? And my last question to all of you helpful responders is what is your thought on backwashing?? I have heard backwash weekly and others have said only backwash when your pressure goes up.

Thanks for everyones input. When I go to the pool store I get 5 different answers if I speak to 5 different people and I know they just want you to buy more of their products to dump in your pool. Looking forward to all of the good things I have heard from the BBB method. :-D
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Sunnyizzie said:
Thanks everyone for all of your feedback. We started draining the pool last night and I will begin filling back up shortly. I was reading the CYA level correctly on the small cylinder side that goes up to 9. My amount stopped at the 1.8fill line and then there is a 4.5fill line and top is 9. The problem is the cylinder only reads a level to 100 so all I know is mine was very high, repeated it twice but just didn't have a number reading next to it. I was reading from the back, not the front so was not looking at the chlorine level. I wonder why the cylinder only reads to 100?? Probably because any number past that is bad so it doesn't matter I'm guessing. Anyway, will soon have some fresh water to work with and won't be playing the frustrating up and down game for long hopefully when it comes to ph, chlorine and CYA levels.
Click to expand...
Because this test has a limit to precision it has to cut it off somewhere. The way to measure higher numbers is to mix the sample water with tap water. Tap water doesn't contain CYA. Mix 50/50 and retest next time - you can even do this AFTER you find out you are > 100 CYA by mixing equal amounts of the solution you have already made with tap water. You can do 1 part pool water to 2 parts tap water etc. Each mixture gives a result that is X times more than the number shown with X being the number of total parts - so a 50/50 (1:1 part) mix is read on the test and the number is multiplied by 2 to get the actual number; a 1:2 mix is 3x the number shown etc.

Sunnyizzie said:
As stated, our pool is 8100 gallons. I have a few gallons of liquid chlorine at the house now .. any ideas of how much to put in once I start filling the pool back up? And my last question to all of you helpful responders is what is your thought on backwashing?? I have heard backwash weekly and others have said only backwash when your pressure goes up.
Click to expand...
Use www.poolcalculator.com; set your pool size at the top, and at the bottom set the type of chlorine, surface type, and suggested levels etc. Then you should be able to set your current Free Chlorine level up towards the top, and any other values you have like CYA level etc and your goal (target) Free Chlorine level (FC) and the website will tell you roughly what you need to add to get the desired levels. You'll also need to specify the % of sodium hypochlorite (bleach) that you are using to get the final numbers.

Let's pretend your new CYA level after refill was 80. Your CYA would be higher than recommended without an SWG but assuming you wanted to try that would result in a recommended range of 6-11 - let's say you targeted a FC of 9 - this would need about 71oz of 12.5% liquid chlorine or 110oz of 8.25% bleach etc.

Sunnyizzie said:
Thanks for everyones input. When I go to the pool store I get 5 different answers if I speak to 5 different people and I know they just want you to buy more of their products to dump in your pool. Looking forward to all of the good things I have heard from the BBB method. :-D
Click to expand...
:goodjob:
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

O.K. Pool has been emptied and refilled and, for the moment, all my readings are within range and the water looks great. I need to know what TFP thinks about backwashing my sand filter?? I have heard I should do it weekly and I have also heard not to do it unless my pressure goes up. What is your opinion?
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Backwash when the pressure goes up 20-25% of the clean pressure. Doing it too early reduces the filtering effectiveness. Doing it too late reduces the water flow.
 
Re: Help, Just bought a house with a pool and chemicals are

Sunnyizzie said:
O.K. Pool has been emptied and refilled and, for the moment, all my readings are within range and the water looks great. I need to know what TFP thinks about backwashing my sand filter?? I have heard I should do it weekly and I have also heard not to do it unless my pressure goes up. What is your opinion?
Click to expand...

Post the readings - nice to see progress!
Agree with previous poster - backwash when the pressure rises 20-25% if you can stand it.
 

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