Doing everything wrong - why is my pool so good?

[Harrybeerbelly]

So I purchased this house with a 20x40 pool. When I first moved in I was very busy, too busy to care for the pool.
With that I just added chlorine pucks to the feeder every week. No other testing, adding pucks and running the robot is all I did for almost two seasons.
My water has been crystal clear no problems what so ever. Water is still good.

Now I had a chance to get my Taylor k2006C kit out and did some testing.
FC - 2.6
PH - less than 7
TA - 50
CYA - 110

Now I have gone to work getting the numbers where they should be. I am now at,
FC - 8
PH - 7.4
TA - 70
CYA - 100


But my question is how did the water stay so nice and clear with just using pucks?

 

[PoolGate]

All you need is chlorine to keep it clean and clear. You were keeping up with that. And now that you recognize your CYA is getting high, you can take measures to lower it.

 

[Bperry]

So I purchased this house with a 20x40 pool. When I first moved in I was very busy, too busy to care for the pool.
With that I just added chlorine pucks to the feeder every week. No other testing, adding pucks and running the robot is all I did for almost two seasons.
My water has been crystal clear no problems what so ever. Water is still good.

Now I had a chance to get my Taylor k2006C kit out and did some testing.
FC - 2.6
PH - less than 7
TA - 50
CYA - 110

Now I have gone to work getting the numbers where they should be. I am now at,
FC - 8
PH - 7.4
TA - 70
CYA - 100


But my question is how did the water stay so nice and clear with just using pucks?

Cause your CYA hadn’t spikes yet but you were well on the way.

 

[mknauss]

Lots of rain, a sand filter (backwashed how often?), and draining for winterizing.

Were you also doing weekly 'shocks' with dichlor? That is what really raises CYA quickly.

Definition of 'crystal clear' may also not be exactly what we see.

 

[Newdude]

I got lucky for 6.5 years and my 1st problem landed me here. It happens.

 

[generessler]

Chalk it up to luck. Our story is similar. When we moved in, June 2020, we knew nothing about pools. CYA was over 90 and FC near zero. SWG broken. Hadn't found TFP yet. Got FC up to 3 and kept it there with Cal Hypo pucks (yeah a weird beast) provided by the local pool store.They noted that CH was a bit low and these would boost it while being easy for a new pool owner to use. Water seemed pretty clear. Thought I was good.

Took about 3 months to figure out that things were right on the edge with those numbers.

BTW that pool place Atlantic Solutions seems pretty competent, though expensive. Their test results are consistently close to Taylor, and they got me through those early days with what I realize now was sound advice. They're not potion pushers. Of course, haven't been there much since TFP

 

[SoDel]

My brother’s pool is like yours. He has used pucks in a feeder exclusively for decades but as a matter of luck drains and replaces enough water each open/close and I guess sand filter backwashing to keep CYA slightly below the stratosphere by Fall. By now his kids are grown so nobody pee’ing in the pool and negligible bather load. Vinyl liner so water balance not any big deal. It works for him so while we occasionally talk about pool maintenance, he’s doing what he’s doing and I’d bet lunch that as long as nothing goes completely off the rails, he’ll have no reason to change.

A neighbor had the opposite experience, pool went green one Summer years ago and he had one heck of a time getting it back under control. Enough of a struggle that he still tells the story with a shudder as a cautionary tale. He was a proponent of some “EZPool“ product that he explained to me, one could just toss the stuff in the pool, along with pucks in a floater, and it would all automatically balance all the chemicals. That was before I had a pool but even then, just seemed impossible. I kept quiet as he battled the algae like Ahab vs Moby Richard. For water balance, the EZPool stuff was so effective that the pool had to be refinished before its time.

Just a matter of luck. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Better to rely on knowledgable folks here than on luck

 

[Harrybeerbelly]

Thanks for all the input.

As mentioned it must be the water replacement that is getting me by. When I first moved into my new house I discovered the pool had a leak. Nothing like moving into a new house and have a leak in the pool, PO had to know.
Again too busy to address it I added water everyday for a few months until I had it repaired. Since the pool leak was repaired I have had to let water out at least every two weeks.

So I have stopped using the pucks. Will continue to lower the CYA via rain and winter draw down.

 

[mknauss]

Ahhh -- the rest of the story ----

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Also your pool novice expectations of what a clear pool are and ours here at TFP may differ?-
How Clear is TFP Clear?

Maddie