I got pool stored!

[Lazypoolowner]

Hello everybody,

We got a pool built just under 2 years ago. The first year or so everything seemed to be fine but this year we had algae for the first time, and a really bad case of it (what I was calling "crocodile water".) I was using strips to test the water and all I could tell is my CYA was over 200! I felt there was something very wrong with the instructions I was given (like shocking with granules every 12 hours 4 times in a row while using their expensive algaecide.) I have been reading this forum for months and with your help have gotten my water crystal clear. I had to half-empty my pool 3 times to get the CYA down and I intend to follow the advice here to switch what I've been doing entirely.

With that in mind, I am ordering myself a real test kit, I'm shopping for bleach, researching about the liquidator, etc.

I do have two questions regarding the pool school info. Is there a method where I don't need to test the water every day? And how important is it to empty the skimmer baskets daily? I guess I'm just lazy but my definition of "trouble free" would be only having to maintain the pool on the weekends. There are seasons where I have to clean the pool every day due to leaf and/or oak acorns falling into it. But the bigger part of the year the skimmers will only have a handful of leaves/flowers, even if checked only weekly. My schedule doesn't really allow me to take care of the pool every day in the daylight and testing the pool at night with insufficient lighting is not ideal.

I feel like I'm waking up after being hooked up to the Matrix. Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Welcome to TFP.

Remember it's trouble free not maintenance free. You may not need to clean the skimmer basket every day and you might be able to go a couple of days between testing, but a week between testing is asking for trouble. You will get comfortable with your pool after a while and maintenance becomes a quick easy task. A lot of the tests only need to be done about once a month unless something happens, so you really only have to test pH and FC every day or two once you learn your pool.

 

[pwrstrk]

+ 1 what Bama said !!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

 

[Isaac-1]

I would certainly suggest starting off with daily testing, at least for pH, FC, and CC, weekly or every other week for TA and CH, and monthly for CYA assuming all of those are well within accepted ranges, as you learn the way levels tend to drift in your pool you can modify this, maybe going to every other day or perhaps even every 3rd day on your pH and Chlorine testing, and every 2 weeks TA, etc. The key here is to maintain stable ranges between testing, you don't want your levels fluctuating between very high and very low every testing cycle, this may mean dosing your pool with Chlorine daily, but only testing every other day, etc.

 

[RobbieH]

I'd say you MIGHT be able to go weekly, but only in certain situations. First, you are really going to have to know your pool. A true intimate knowledge. Second, you are going to need some way to keep it chlorinated automatically. Liquidators are great on smaller pools, mine is too big for the chlorine to last a week so I went SWG. Third, it won't always be that you can go that long. Knowing how leaves are dropping, wind/storms blowing debris into the pool, etc., these all affect both the cleanliness and balance of the pool. Oh, and automated cleaners go a long way toward not having to do brushing and such more than weekly, I use a robot.

I can be gone a week and not worry about my pool at all. I do know when I get home I'll need to adjust pH and at least check my FC, but the rest is trouble free. When I'm gone that long I have the wife or a friend run the robot and keep the skimmer basket clean, but that's all that needs to be done until I get home.