First Test Results for New Pool Owner

[cchalup]

New pool owner here so bear with me... I recently renovated a 12,000 gallon vinyl-liner pool with an IC15 SWG system. I have since had difficulty maintaining FC levels above 1.0. Prior to ordering a Taylors kit I was relying on the pool company's tests and they said all other indicators looked OK except that there was a presence of Phosphates causing the low FC levels. This was treated with 5 lbs of Cal Hypo and 32 oz of Lo-Phos Pro. FC levels spiked above 10.0 ppm but within 48 hours levels returned to 0-0.5 ppm. During that time the SWG system has run 24/7 @ 100% output. After a follow up tests seven days later the pool company recommended an additional 32 oz. of Lo-Phos Pro due to a still existing 100 ppm presence of phosphates. It has now been 48 hours since follow up treatment of Lo Phos.

My Taylor's kit arrived today and my results are as follows:

FC=1.0
CC=0.5
PH=7.8
TA= 140
CH = 80
CYA = <30

Any ideas what may be causing this? Pool is in direct sun for the better part of the day. Do I need to let the Lo Phos run its course and continue boosting the SWG until FC levels increase or should I try raising my CYA levels?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! You need at least 70 ppm of CYA to prevent the chlorine from burning off rapidly in the sun. Phosphates are not the problem. Since you have used cal-hypo you have not added any CYA to the pool. The best method to add only the CYA you need is to buy it separately and add it to the pool. Liquid CYA (may also be called stabilizer or conditioner) is more expensive but you will be able to test for it right away. If you use dry CYA it may not register on the test for up to a week. To add dry CYA to the pool, place it in a clean white sock and hang it over the side of the pool in front of a return jet and keep the pump running. It may take a couple of days to dissolve, but it will go faster if you give the sock a few good squeezes a couple of times a day.

An SWG is good at maintaining chlorine levels but have a hard time getting to the recommended level from scratch. Until the SWG catches up use liquid chlorine to raise the chlorine to the correct level and keep it there by testing FC daily and adding more as needed. The pool calculator is a great tool. Just plug in your current test results and it will tell you what and how much of any given chemical to add.

 

[cchalup]

Thank You, I will purchase the stabilizer tomorrow and follow up with the results.

 

[Richard320]

Low CYA. Study Pool School, fire the pool company, and be grateful they didn't nail your wallet for any more useless stuff besides the phos-free. I'd say you got off cheap!

PS: pay attention to the sock method. There're a few pictures floating around here of how to do it if you look in the threads from the last three days.

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[cchalup]

Thanks Rich for the reply and the advice, and believe me the pool company is fired for good. I will add the stabilizer to increase CYA and will follow up with the results.