Yes, wait for the test kit which should arrive in a matter of days. Until then, keep it simple and add only the needed amount of bleach.
Transitioning from Pool Store Method to TFPC - What Should I do First?
- Thread starter KASCPAMBA
- Start date
Thanks RJ and BoDarville. Well, back down to "0" chlorine again this afternoon. The test kit arrived in Vernon, CA this morning - hopefully it will arrive tomorrow as scheduled and we can find out why we're going through chlorine so quickly! Otherwise, I may need to buy stock in Chlorox lol.
I received the test kit! Results: CYA is probably 150-300 (between 100 and the bottom of the test tube). FC = .5, TC = 2.0, CH = 250, TA = 210, Ph = 7.3. Using CYA of 150 Pool math says to drain 60% of pool. Since it's vinyl, we can only drain about 1/3 at a time. We'll do 1 foot at a time so 2-3 drains (pool is 3.5 feet shallow and 4.5 feet deep end). Does that sound right? That will change everything so I assume a retest is in order? Do we keep doing this till CYA is in normal range or adjust other chemicals and wait till next week? Thanks in advance!
You can use 50% pool water and 50% tap water to do the CYA test ... then double the reading. If it is currently over 100ppm, it could be WAY over 100ppm.
high CYA=drain Go ahead and drain what you feel is safe. If you try to adjust any other levels before you drain you will just be wasting your time.
I would still keep the FC up to avoid algae.
Let us know the results of the 50/50 test.
Here is the CYA/FC chart
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
You are so close to have a purrrrrrrrfect pool!
Kim
high CYA=drain Go ahead and drain what you feel is safe. If you try to adjust any other levels before you drain you will just be wasting your time.
I would still keep the FC up to avoid algae.
Let us know the results of the 50/50 test.
Here is the CYA/FC chart
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
You are so close to have a purrrrrrrrfect pool!
Kim
Thanks Kim. CYA is over 100 with 50% tap water - about 1/3 down from 100 to the bottom of the test tube - so it's well over 200. We have time to drain and fill 1/2 the pool today. I will retest after refill tonight and then if CYA is still high we will have to wait until tomorrow to drain and refill again. Either way I will add bleach as needed after fill tonight. I'm hoping this is our issue!
Great! Just make sure to have the pump run for at least an hour on high before you test after the refill.
Good luck!
Kim
Good luck!
Kim
KASCPAMBA:
Kim's gotcha covered. Keep draining/refilling as you are doing until CYA is in the 30-50 ppm range. Focus only on this right now - don't worry about the other parameters just yet. Continue to maintain FC using bleach.
Kim's gotcha covered. Keep draining/refilling as you are doing until CYA is in the 30-50 ppm range. Focus only on this right now - don't worry about the other parameters just yet. Continue to maintain FC using bleach.
Thanks Kim & BoDarville. CYA is still over 200 (over 100 using 50% tap water - probably about 1/4 from 100 to bottom of tube this time). We will drain and refill another half tomorrow. Ironically FC went up from .5 earlier today to .75 after fill up even though I hadn't added chlorine yet - I guess that shows that chlorine is in our tap water? I added more bleach according to pool math. I wonder how high the CYA really was
I want to also mention that I am feeling hopeful.
I want to also mention that I am feeling hopeful.
I have often wondered how high my CYA was when it caused my liner to crack all across the bottom of the pool.
You are heading in the right direction.
keep us posted!
Kim
You are heading in the right direction.
keep us posted!
Kim
Wow Kim - I didn't realize the CYA could get so high that it would crack a liner! Well we just got done with the refill and running the filter an hour and CYA is still over 200. It didn't seem to move on the test tube. My husband even tried it and got the same reading as I did. Then he insisted we try a CYA test on 100% tap water just in case CYA was in our tap water and the tube was clear all the way up as I expected lol. FC was .75 again so added bleach according to pool math. I'm hoping we're making progress as we can't see a difference in the CYA test.
We have been draining half way, then refilling. Is there anything wrong with simultaneously draining and refilling? That may or may not work faster dependent on how much new water we would be draining. We want to swim again while it's hot so we're hoping we get results soon!
We have been draining half way, then refilling. Is there anything wrong with simultaneously draining and refilling? That may or may not work faster dependent on how much new water we would be draining. We want to swim again while it's hot so we're hoping we get results soon!
R.J.
0
How are you getting .25 FC? The test is in increments of .5 for 10ml sample or .2 for 25 ml sample. The 10ml sample size is what you need.
There's nothing inherently wrong with simultaneously draining & refilling - it will just use more water and take longer to reach your CYA target. When doing a drain & refill, our typical recommendation is to drain no more than half the pool at a time as a precaution against the pool shifting or popping out of the ground if the underground water table is high. When professionals completely drain a pool, say to do a surface refinishing, they take extra measures to prevent this from happening. If you can get data on the water table depth in your area, we could modify this recommendation depending on the results.KASCPAMBA said:
Just to clarify, are you simultaneously draining while refilling? If so, I would drain the pool about half-way (drain only - without refilling). After the pool has been drained about half-way, then stop the drain process and refill. This will result in a more concentrated amount of CYA-laden water to drain out. You still may need to go through this process more than once, but you should get faster results with this adjustment.
RJ - I'm using my basic test I had before for the daily FC test which has a .5 and 1 ppm mark. If the FC pinkness is between clear and .5, I say it's .25....if it's between .5 and 1, I say it's .75.
Abigail and BoDarville - thanks! We have been draining it half way (with a vinyl liner that is what we were told is the absolute maximum amount you should drain at a time), then refilling. We did that the last 2 days. Today is the 3rd day and we have already drained half again and are in the process of refilling. I read somewhere that sometimes the CYA sticks on the pool tub area, so we brushed the pool before draining today in case that will stir up some of the CYA. I don't see how it could hurt anyway. We won't try the simultaneous drain and refill if it takes more water and more time to get results! It was just a thought because it would give use more freedom if we wanted to stop the progress at any time and get out. Right now the process is taking about 13-14 hours per day from drain to being able to test CYA. Hopefully we will see some progress this evening!
Abigail and BoDarville - thanks! We have been draining it half way (with a vinyl liner that is what we were told is the absolute maximum amount you should drain at a time), then refilling. We did that the last 2 days. Today is the 3rd day and we have already drained half again and are in the process of refilling. I read somewhere that sometimes the CYA sticks on the pool tub area, so we brushed the pool before draining today in case that will stir up some of the CYA. I don't see how it could hurt anyway. We won't try the simultaneous drain and refill if it takes more water and more time to get results! It was just a thought because it would give use more freedom if we wanted to stop the progress at any time and get out
. Right now the process is taking about 13-14 hours per day from drain to being able to test CYA. Hopefully we will see some progress this evening!
R.J.
0
You're welcome RJ. Well there's a slight improvement. CYA is very close to 200 so we're getting somewhere, albeit slow! FC is still at .75. I will add bleach according to Pool Math and carry on. I want to 
! Hopefully soon!
! Hopefully soon!Well, after 4 days of draining and refilling the CYA = 150 :grrrr:. At least it's going down but it's so depressing not being able to use the pool - plus I'm dreading looking at the water bill. I know there was a suggestion that we might get a reduced rate but I doubt it with the CA drought and I sure did not want them to tell me I couldn't drain so I went ahead without the call. FC = .75 so no surprise there. Carrying on 
.
.5th drain and CYA appears to = 180 (or at a minimum 170). How can this be when all I have added is bleach? I was so excited because I started the drain in the middle of the night so my husband could finish it and refill this am and now the pool is full before evening and 83 degrees! It appears we need to drain again but we are both getting extremely discouraged, especially after today's test. Any ideas? FC still = .75. Will add bleach and hope for some suggestions on why the CYA is taking so long to disappear and why it appears to have gone up since yesterday. I ran the pump an hour after fill every day before testing as soon as that was mentioned. My husband brushed the pool today & I think 2 days ago. That's the only thing I can think of - if that stirred up the CYA maybe that's why we're getting a higher reading?
FC still = .75. Will add bleach and hope for some suggestions on why the CYA is taking so long to disappear and why it appears to have gone up since yesterday. I ran the pump an hour after fill every day before testing as soon as that was mentioned. My husband brushed the pool today & I think 2 days ago. That's the only thing I can think of - if that stirred up the CYA maybe that's why we're getting a higher reading?
R.J.
0
The accuracy of the test goes down with the dilution method, so your 150 may have been 180 and your 180 might actually be 150.