Water Chemistry Fun - 10 year old Pool

[toofast]

I am a new (well new since I was a kid) pool owner and I've been lurking and reading this forum for quite some time as a guest. Now that I have a pool coming in I've been brushing up on pool chemistry/ (I have a minor in chemistry that I've never used, so this pool testing is quite fun to me)

Anyways - the fun is this...who wants to guess what my brothers (coming over for mothers day and bringing water) 10 year old pool water CYA will be?

He's always used a auto inline feeder with the tri-chlor pucks and keeps mentioning to me how clear and how much chlorine he uses for his pool.

I guess it must be possible to keep a pool with CYA that my guess is will be off the charts clear and safe, but I am baffled. OH well...can't wait to test later on this afternoon. Only issue is I am torn to tell him the bad news as he is SO HAPPY with is pool clarity, etc.

What would you all do ?

 

[harleysilo]

If its not sky high......

He could be RePlacing a lot of water each year, mine also mysteriously disappeared over the winter, he could just be lucky!

My neighbor with a SWG has been running blind for 12 years and I tested his water... All was well!

If it is high I'd probably just print out some reading for him from pool school or the further reading section that talks about unsanitary conditions with high CYA and lower chlorine levels, after all you can see algae but you cant see a poop virus....

 

[257WbyMag]

If he has a sand filter or a DE filter, he could be sending enough to waste to keep his CYA in check. If his water has been clear the whole time, it may be fine. Only way to know for sure though is to test it when it arrives.

 

[toofast]

He does have a sand filter - if his water is in good shape it will certainly make me second guess my approach. I almost hope his water has a super high CYA Level...(shoot, I didn't mean to say that)

 

[Richard320]

You're not giving us enough information to make an accurate guess!!

Does he live in Minnesota where has to drain it below the skimmers to close every winter? Does he live in Seattle where it rains constantly? Does he live in Palm Springs where we can expect to see massive evaporation?

When I took over my pool, it was clear but CYA was 220-240.

 

[toofast]

sorry he lives in Northeast Ohio vinyl pool he claims he's never drain the water much blow the skimmers

So - and the test results are:

CYA - beyond measurable...1/4 the way to 100.

Oh and Free Chlorine - 14...

guess that explains how you keep a pool clear with such a high CYA.

He does have a cartridge filter though, I thought it was Sand.

Hopefully he will list to the note about the pool school and take some action.