I'm new to trying to manage my pool after having had a pool guy manage it for 2.5 years but he's selling his business and I wanted to try to do this myself. Everything was fine till the temps started getting above 100 here in AZ. I originally only had test strips and was having trouble reading some of the values accurately. I'll try to outline what's happened lately:
about 2 weeks ago:
Pool had been looking ok but not completely clear
Put 3 tabs in floater
Backwashed filter
about 7 days ago:
Temperature starting rising rapidly outside
Pool started looking very cloudy with greenish/yellow tint
Took sample to Leslie's and they said all reading in normal range except CYA was like 100
Added 2lbs Doheny shock (thought I needed to do this every 2 weeks)
Ran filter overnight and pool looked a little better in the morning
3 days ago:
Temperature was over 100 and the pool turned much greener and could barely see past 3 feet down
I decided to order LaMotte's ColorQ test kit and purchased PerfectPoolandSpa software
I didn't have test kit yet but selecting pool is green in program told me to add like 10lbs shock
I thought that seemed too high so I googled for help and decided on about 4lbs of shock to do a double dose
2 days ago:
Water didn't seem to clear up much at all from the shock
ColorQ test kit arrives
TC 9.6 (figured this was due to shock 24 hours earlier)
CC 9.6
pH 7.5
ALK 65
CYA 90 (not sure I did this test correctly first time....didn't know I needed to crush it at first and was searching for crusher and may not have done time right)
Pool software says CYA too high and I must drain some water and refill to dilute before it will recommend other adjustments
We called pool store, old pool guy, and guy who installed filter and none of them suggested we drain any water especially since it was hot time of year.
So I overrode CYA limit in software to see what it would recommend.
It said add chemicals to raise ALK up to 100.
Went to Leslie's and described situation. They recommended product called First Aid and I bought some Alk Up.
Next morning:
Added recommended amount of First Aid and enough Alk Up for 20ppm increase since I read not to try to do it all at once.
Yesterday evening:
Came home and water looked slighting clearer but still really cloudy...couldn't quite see floor at 4 feet depth.
Repeated ColorQ tests:
FC 1.6
CC 9.6
pH 7.5
ALK 70
CYA 100
So now the software is telling me to add almost 12lbs of shock to cause the chlorine to get to a level to break down the total chlorine number and bring it to zero. I was hesistant to do that without seeking advice and is why I'm here. I don't know if I need to go ahead and drain some water to get the CYA level down first and how much to drain if I do. I'd like to also know if there is a good method to keep it from getting back to those levels again. Any help? I'm about to give up and hire someone again.
about 2 weeks ago:
Pool had been looking ok but not completely clear
Put 3 tabs in floater
Backwashed filter
about 7 days ago:
Temperature starting rising rapidly outside
Pool started looking very cloudy with greenish/yellow tint
Took sample to Leslie's and they said all reading in normal range except CYA was like 100
Added 2lbs Doheny shock (thought I needed to do this every 2 weeks)
Ran filter overnight and pool looked a little better in the morning
3 days ago:
Temperature was over 100 and the pool turned much greener and could barely see past 3 feet down
I decided to order LaMotte's ColorQ test kit and purchased PerfectPoolandSpa software
I didn't have test kit yet but selecting pool is green in program told me to add like 10lbs shock
I thought that seemed too high so I googled for help and decided on about 4lbs of shock to do a double dose
2 days ago:
Water didn't seem to clear up much at all from the shock
ColorQ test kit arrives
TC 9.6 (figured this was due to shock 24 hours earlier)
CC 9.6
pH 7.5
ALK 65
CYA 90 (not sure I did this test correctly first time....didn't know I needed to crush it at first and was searching for crusher and may not have done time right)
Pool software says CYA too high and I must drain some water and refill to dilute before it will recommend other adjustments
We called pool store, old pool guy, and guy who installed filter and none of them suggested we drain any water especially since it was hot time of year.
So I overrode CYA limit in software to see what it would recommend.
It said add chemicals to raise ALK up to 100.
Went to Leslie's and described situation. They recommended product called First Aid and I bought some Alk Up.
Next morning:
Added recommended amount of First Aid and enough Alk Up for 20ppm increase since I read not to try to do it all at once.
Yesterday evening:
Came home and water looked slighting clearer but still really cloudy...couldn't quite see floor at 4 feet depth.
Repeated ColorQ tests:
FC 1.6
CC 9.6
pH 7.5
ALK 70
CYA 100
So now the software is telling me to add almost 12lbs of shock to cause the chlorine to get to a level to break down the total chlorine number and bring it to zero. I was hesistant to do that without seeking advice and is why I'm here. I don't know if I need to go ahead and drain some water to get the CYA level down first and how much to drain if I do. I'd like to also know if there is a good method to keep it from getting back to those levels again. Any help? I'm about to give up and hire someone again.
Welcome to TFP, very close neighbor!!!