Newbie to TFP - Opening help

[mich7088]

Hello all! We moved in a new house several months ago that has an above ground (oval) pool. It is x and has a Hayward pump and cartridge filter. It appears that the previous owner used the mineral pack/chlorine cartridge combo (money pit) that I used at our last house.

I have been lurking here for about a year and am excited to switch to the TFP method. I have read pool school and just bought my Leslie's FST-DPD kit today. I also have stocked up on bleach from Walmart.

I started the pool filter last night and started to vacuum some of the green algae off the floor and scrub the walls down (the water appears cloudy but otherwise clear). Today, even though it has been raining all day the pool looks much better. It is actually a blue color and the walls appear clean for the most part. I tested the water today and here are the results:

FC 0.5
CC 0.5
PH 7.0
TA 50
CH 80
CYA - Too much to measure, I would estimate around 150

I am unsure where to go from here. I know that the CYA is too high and don't want to start anything if I am going to have to drain part of the water to lower it. If it makes any difference I decided to check the chlorine dispenser earlier and found that it had a new cartridge in it apparently left by the last owner. I was unsure of whether I should remove that or just let it run out. I am also wondering if I need to balance the pool first even if I need to drain part of it.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Attached is a picture of the CYA test.

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[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Yank that chlorine dispenser out and start replacing water to get that CYA back to a reasonable range ... then retest everything and start from there.

 

[mich7088]

Thanks for the welcome! Is there an amount of water to start with when it comes to replacing?

 

[JVTrain]

If you want a ballpark figure on what you're real CYA is, just dilute the pool water with tap water 50/50 first, then test. Tap water should have 0 CYA but then you can test and maybe get a number below 100 and know how much water to replace before attempting to test again. You're adding some uncertainty by diluting but it will give you a closer ballpark number of where it's at.

 

[mich7088]

Don't think my last reply went through. I tried diluting it but then came up with 40 on the test which didn't make any sense to me as it was so far from the 100 mark on the first test.

 

[jblizzle]

Are you doing the test outside in bright indirect light with the tube at your waist? Are you pouring it back and forth a few times to see if you are consistent?

 

[mich7088]

No...that I didn't do. I will retry it outside tomorrow when its not raining. Will that make a big difference?

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[jblizzle]

Lighting can make a pretty good difference.

 

[Casey]

Welcome to TFP.

When you start to drain, go to just below the skimmer or return and refill, circulate the water and test it again and if it's still high, repeat the steps.

 

[mich7088]

OK. I am going to start that tomorrow. It has been raining non-stop here for days

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[Richard320]

OK. I am going to start that tomorrow. It has been raining non-stop here for days

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Take advantage of the rain! Replace the CYA-laden pool water with CYA-free, Calcium-free rainwater! Pump out the old stuff and aim a downspout at the pool to catch as much free stuff as possible!

 

[mich7088]

OK. Never thought about that! Thanks. I'll repost to this when I get it straight. Thanks

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[mich7088]

OK, I have replaced some water and gotten the CYA down to around 80. Does it need to be lower than that? Our pool is in full sun all day (no trees or obstructions)

 

[duraleigh]

Assuming you are chlorinating without an SWG, then, yes, lower your CYA to 40-50 ppm CYA.

 

[mich7088]

The. CYA is now 50! Do I just start adding the chemicals from the calculator? Any certain order?

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[Richard320]

The. CYA is now 50! Do I just start adding the chemicals from the calculator? Any certain order?

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Post a set of test results and we can tell you. Don't just go by what poolmath says. Because some chemicals affect other levels and it doesn't account for that. You'll end up with a shopping list not unlike what the pool store hands you. Minus the phosfree.

You KNOW you need to keep FC in there all the time, so you can start there.

 

[mich7088]

FC: 0
PH: 7.0
TA: 50
CH: 80

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[mich7088]

I have 2 bottles of "shock" that the previous owners left here. They are gallon bottles and are 10% sodium hypochlorite

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[jblizzle]

Get some chlorine in the pool, what they left is fine. Then raise the TA to about 70ppm.

 

[mich7088]

Here is what I have this morning. Pool looks crystal clear, filter is clean, walls and floor were scrubbed. Yesterday was the first time anyone has been in it. We had about 10 people in the pool for 4-5 hours. The following is a before and after test. I was just curious if that is a normal chlorine loss for one day and that much use?

Before: (Yesterday morning)

FC: 6.0
CC: 0.5
PH: 7.6
TA: 110
CH: 90
CYA: Rechecked and it actually around 60-65


After (This morning)

FC: 1.5
CC: 0.5
PH: 7.6
TA: 110
CH: 90
CYA: Rechecked and it actually around 60-65