Pool Store Blues

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J

JFiesler

0
May 29, 2014
3
Cortaro
Have the Pool Store Blues
Hello, we purchased our home a little over a year ago, pool already installed, it had some issues, and we worked to repair the orbiter, and replaced the filters and the pump. I want to move away from using the 3" pucks from Leslie's it seems everything including the shocks have stabilizer in them, so, I have begun using liquid chlorine as of last week. I am completely satisfied with it. However; the pool store is saying that liquid chlorine is bad for my pool and will raise my PH to high. BUT, before I started using the liquid my PH kept bottoming out. Here are my last test results from the pool store. The other reason I want to quit the pucks as I forgot to mention is the water is 1 year old, we did a complete dump and refill last April as the TDS/CYA were through the roof. Now my CYA has climbed, according to the pool store they aren't able to provide me with a "correct" number since their test only goes to 100, they can only estimate, it could be way higher they said...Anyway here are my numbers....I know I need to get a different test kit for myself in order to provide more information, as for now, the pools stores kit it more informational than my own....

FC: 3
CYA: 120
TA: 90
PH: 7.4
TDS: 1000
Phosphates: 200

We are thinking of dumping half the water in order to bring down the CYA. Please Help, I don't even want to talk to them anymore...They are the fourth pool store we have visited in the past year....I'm ready to suck my thumb and rock in a corner........:(
 
If the numbers are right, you do need to dump about half the water, wait for your good test kit to confirm though, as my signature says I use and endorse the TF-100, hint, hint. Like so many things the Pool Stores tend to tell people, there is some half truths to the issue of bleach and pH since Trichlor is much more acidic and bleach works out as fairly neutral on pH (spikes when added, then drops), you may have to adjust your pH management some, how much depends on your local conditions. Still I would rather have to add a little acid from time to time than dump half my water every year due to CYA hitting unmaintainable levels.

Ike

p.s. if those numbers are right, your FC is too low for your CYA level and you may be about to get an algae outbreak as the water warms up. See the Chlorine/ CYA chart in pool school http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock actually you may need the extended chart in Chem 201 http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/2177-Chlorine-CYA-Chart
 
Welcome! :wave:

You are waking up! Outstanding! The sooner you get a proper test kit in your hands, the sooner your pool will be sparkling clean. What test kit do you have now? You might just need to add the FAS-DPD test and keep the rest.

TDS is always going to be high for you. Arizona is noted for hard water and lots of evaporation. The water leaves, the calcium stays behind. Draining to lower high TDS is just a blanket answer the pools stores use when they have no real answer. For what its worth, I haven't got a cle what my TDS reading is, nor my phosphate level, and my pool is so clear you can toss a quarter in the deep end and call heads or tails from the deck. And I use bleach to chlorinate.

Draining to lower CYA is probably a good idea, if those results are accurate. Sadly, you can't trust the readings, so you really can't tell how much to drain. Usually they underreport CYA, but a couple days ago someone here reported a CYA of 59 from a pool that had just been filled and hadn't had any CYA added yet!

So... keep doing what you're doing and get some more bleach in there like Ike said and tell us about your test kit or oder up a good one today. You'll have what you need before next weekend and will have a sparkling pool shortly after.
 
Thanks Guys, the pool is sparkling right now, we have been swimming for at least 5 days now, I take what I need from the guys at the pool store, (knowledge) and the rest I leave at the pool store.....I did use the chart yesterday in regards to the CYA, however; it says I should be sitting at a 5, so does that mean that I consider 3 as my zero? This is where I am getting confused...I guess I only have to deal with it until this weekend we will be doing the dump this Saturday. Just is a little sad, cause with the liquid chlorine the pool is finally pretty...:D
 
IF (BIG IF) that CYA is correct, per the CYA chart previously linked by Isaac, your FC should always be at 9 or above and your target when you add is 14. Without a FAS-DPD chlorine test, you have no way to know if your FC is at 9 or not. It's not very cost effective or practical to run at that CYA level due to more complex testing and increased FC needs (from my understanding).
 
Thanks Guys, the pool is sparkling right now, we have been swimming for at least 5 days now.....I did use the chart yesterday in regards to the CYA, however; it says I should be sitting at a 5, so does that mean that I consider 3 as my zero? This is where I am getting confused...
 
Careful, that pool store knowledge can be a dangerous thing. On a side topic, where is Cortaro, google maps only suggested a city in Estonia . Knowing your location helps us give better advice as it gives us some ideas about your climate, and other regional issues.
 
That CYA test result is just NOT reliable. If it is, then 9 is your minimum. If your pool is sparkling for five days with FC at 5, that sort of points out that 5 FC is adequate, which means CYA can't be that high. At the minimum, I'd expect it to look hazy by now. Don't dump ANY water until you have your own CYA reading. It's just as likely your CYA is 50 as it is is 120 as it is 200

Just keep doing what you're doing if it's staying clear and once you get a test kit, it should be easy to get things fixed up.
 
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