Feeling a little miffed and looking from advice from a forum and people I've come to trust implicitly with these matters...
I just had my mom's pool professionally power-washed and refilled over the past weekend. This included cleaning the filter and re-charging it with DE. The same guys returned after the pool was refilled (with fresh water) to balance the water. I didn't mind this one-time use of chlorine because I knew I'd be returning to the BBB method right after and I knew I need the other chemicals anyway (CYA, TA, pH, etc.). I mentioned to them that she had had problems with CYA levels in the past, and they assured me they only put in enough stabilizer to bring the pool to 40 ppm.
So I tested (with my own FAS-DPD kit) the water 24 hours later, and while the pH and FC were within range, the TA and CH were way too low. But worse of all, the CYA was at 90. Remember: this was new water (only 1 day old).
Using the pool calculator, I put in enough baking soda to get the TA right. I don't like to mess with CH too much because for some reason, her pool naturally goes up in that area.
I tested again the next day (2 days after the "professionals" were out) and the TA was fine, but I still got between 80-90 on the CYA. I took my water to two pool stores, and they also got between 90-100. I also did the Extended Test procedure and got about 60-70 ppm for the CYA (which made me feel a little better).
I called the guys who worked on her pool, and asked them about it. They said 90-100 was okay and the pucks, etc. wouldn't raise the CYA enough (within a year or so) to be a problem.
Obviously, I don't plan to use pucks or chlorine (since I'm a BBB guy), but my questions are...
1. Is 90-100 CYA (or 60-70 based on extended test) high enough to partially drain and refill the pool (again)?
2. Should I pursue the guys who did this and have them compensate me somehow for promising 40 but delivering 90, especially if I have to pay for the refill again?
Thanks in advance!
I just had my mom's pool professionally power-washed and refilled over the past weekend. This included cleaning the filter and re-charging it with DE. The same guys returned after the pool was refilled (with fresh water) to balance the water. I didn't mind this one-time use of chlorine because I knew I'd be returning to the BBB method right after and I knew I need the other chemicals anyway (CYA, TA, pH, etc.). I mentioned to them that she had had problems with CYA levels in the past, and they assured me they only put in enough stabilizer to bring the pool to 40 ppm.
So I tested (with my own FAS-DPD kit) the water 24 hours later, and while the pH and FC were within range, the TA and CH were way too low. But worse of all, the CYA was at 90. Remember: this was new water (only 1 day old).
Using the pool calculator, I put in enough baking soda to get the TA right. I don't like to mess with CH too much because for some reason, her pool naturally goes up in that area.
I tested again the next day (2 days after the "professionals" were out) and the TA was fine, but I still got between 80-90 on the CYA. I took my water to two pool stores, and they also got between 90-100. I also did the Extended Test procedure and got about 60-70 ppm for the CYA (which made me feel a little better).
I called the guys who worked on her pool, and asked them about it. They said 90-100 was okay and the pucks, etc. wouldn't raise the CYA enough (within a year or so) to be a problem.
Obviously, I don't plan to use pucks or chlorine (since I'm a BBB guy), but my questions are...
1. Is 90-100 CYA (or 60-70 based on extended test) high enough to partially drain and refill the pool (again)?
2. Should I pursue the guys who did this and have them compensate me somehow for promising 40 but delivering 90, especially if I have to pay for the refill again?
Thanks in advance!