New Owner - Old Pool - Questions and Observations

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AustinPynes

0
Jul 3, 2014
19
Round Rock
Hi all,

This is my first post here. I moved into a house less than a year ago and am now coming to grips with the pool.
So far so good. Clear, fun, ignorant until I had water analyzed by pool store.
I do have several inherited pool test kits including a larger one with something about Professional and 5 tests written on it.

So test come back:
FC - 0
TAC - 0
CH - 420
CYA - 120
TA - 110
pH - 8.0
Acid - 4
TDS - 1100
Pho - 200


I then began reading and searching for understanding. Thanks to this site and others I now have charts and guidelines to work from.
I ordered a pump and line as I realized I would need to remove at least a third of my water to bring things down.
(I did one drain and refil to skimmer but had little impact.)
While waiting and not knowing if I would have pump, etc by 4th holiday I dropped the PH to 7.6 and raised the FC to 14.
So I should be sanitized at least until I can drain and refill.
I have also bought boxes of 12% liquid chlorine realizing that I need to quit the easy tabs of Tri and Di stuff and only use it for maybe when I am away.

Anything else to add to my plan? I assume draining and refilling will address a lot of my issues to get the CYA and Pho and Calc down.
Then I will manage it better by using liquid Chlorine.

I may consider SWG if it would make my life easier but have no idea which would be best to install.

thanks all.
 
Have the Dpd test but not hte fas-dpd. Will check it out. yep I picked up on the chart and it looks like my FC should be 12-14 for the 120CYA.
Question is...if I push off draining and refilling until after the 4th when company is coming to swim, will the higher level of chlorine - assuming I keep it at 13-14ppm be irritating to them when they swim or will the CYA control it?
 
Just measured and calculated....pool is 20000..will correct sig line.
I dumped about 4500 gallons and refilled but ran out of stabilizer regent....New kit coming and I will see where I am on cya. Keeping FC up until then. Hopefully the cyan is down some. Now that I see my true volume I will probably have to dump more water.
 
Just got the Taylor 2006 kit.
Ph 7.5
FC 12.5
CYA over 100 even after replacing about 4500 gallons

Question. In the chlorine test, after I finish step 4 and it says to add 5drops of R-0003 to make it turn pink again I get nothing. Do I continue to add drops until it is pink and then move on to CC test?

Chlorine has been holding steady or at least not dropping much for the last few days and I have only added a partial...less than half a gallon of liquid 12 %chlorine. Maybe I should shock it to ensure CC is down.

Thoughts?
I really would rather wait for a couple of months before I replace another 4-5 thousand gallons...
 
Keep in mind CYA at or over 100 is not going to test properly. To get a ballpark figure, dilute the pool water with an equal amount of tap water. Run the CYA test again then double the result.
 
Thanks...With further reading I figured that out but glad to have the confirmation. I am now planning on removing another 5000 gallons...talking to water haulers and my MUD to see who is cheaper. We are on stage 2 drought here. Restrictions say I can still refill a pool just no new pool fills.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
 

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I was where you are just a few weeks ago. I found that I couldn't keep my CYA-100+ pool clear. I did the drain and refill, got my CYA down to 50, and I was able to bring it under control. No more cloudiness. Stay on top of the FC while you work on the rest of the chemistry, and you will be in the clear.
 
Did you ever test (dilution method mentioned above) your CYA to get a closer reading? If it's over 100 you will save time, money and frustration by dumping more then 25% of your water. That would only take you to 75+% CYA and you would then need to dump again. I would get the correct number and dump close to the amount you need all at once or you will be adjusting your chemistry a lot more then necessary.
 
Daltex....I did not get to that and I should have. But I went ahead and dumped about 12000 gallons out. Just finished filling up 2 hours ago and had the pump running for last 6 hours.
Cya is still about 80 which tells me it was a lot higher than pool store said...I know I know....
But for the 90-100 temps around here I think I will wait until later in August to replace any more.
FC was 1
Cc less than .5
Cya70-80..took samples from diff areas...course now need more R0013
Ph was 7.5
Added a gallon of 12%chlorine and brought FC to 5. Added another half gallon and tonight I will bring it back to max for CYA level....kids coming over to swim so I need to wait
Ph popped up to 7.6-7.7 so I added a little muriatic acid...used calculator for amounts and will check tonight.
So while I am not completely happy with cya level I am in the right ballpark. And will see if I can manage with liquid chlorine for the next few weeks.
I am hoping after a few more hours the cya may go a little more down after the pump has time to mix in more but that is prob wishful thinking. Took about 36 hours to refill pool. Low water pressure here...new pipes come in next year for the neighborhood and is expected to help things.

This site has been a lifesaver for me. I haven't had any cloudiness or algae issues but suspect it was coming. At least now I understand why things are the way they are and how to correct them.
We do have copper stains from an olde heater that is now disconnected but they don't bother us right now.
 
At least @ 80 CYA you can manage it easier now. You will need to keep your FC between 6 & 11ppm according to pool math. I would try and keep it closer to the 11ppm due to the fact that you will have to bump it up to 31ppm if you need to SLAM it. It looks like one more 12000 gallon drain and fill might get you closer to 50 CYA. Also remember that the bleach will be more effective if you keep the pH on the low end. Sounds like you are on the right track.
 
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