Howdy from Phoenix, AZ

[jblizzle]

Wait until it's full. Circulate the Water for an hour. Test everything.

 

[passthebandaids]

Easy enough, thanks! Other than keeping the walls damp while draining and refilling, anything else to keep an eye on?

 

[proavia]

Easy enough, thanks! Other than keeping the walls damp while draining and refilling, anything else to keep an eye on?

I'd use a pretty strong spray nozzle on the hose - and as you're draining, spray as much gunk off the walls and into the draining water as you can. The more gunk you can pump out, the easier the start up and possible SLAM will be.

When you start the refill, get a reading off your water meter prior to starting and another after it's full. This will give a reasonable estimate of the pool volume (even if using water in the house, it will be within a few hundred gallons) - and help with ongoing chemical maintenance calculations.

Keep us updated, take some pictures and post them here.

 

[triptyx]

Awesome! Best of luck.

I used a spinning lawn sprinkler to keep the shallow end damp until the water got too high ($13 at Home Depot), after that I just went out and sprayed it every 15 minutes or so.

 

[passthebandaids]

So far so good! Spraying every 20 minutes while draining; plan to do the same while filling. Little sprinkler for the shallow end is waiting on stand by!

 

[triptyx]

It's a good feeling isn't it? You're on your way to a good swimming season.

Once it's low enough, I'd grab my brush and hose and brush those sides with running water.

 

[passthebandaids]

Tried brushing with water just to see; those look like stains to me. Brushing had zero effect.

Any idea how I can get rid of those? Is that something I'd handle after filling process is complete?

 

[kimkats]

Well you can always try a 50/50 bleach spray and see what happens.

We can also help you with them after you fill.

Kim:cat:

 

[passthebandaids]

Looks like some pretty serious staining. Earlier Jason had advised waiting until pool is full; should we just do that, or in light of the staining, would it be better to spray with 50/50 bleach/water while filling?

 

[proavia]

I might try the 50/50 mix on a small spot and see if it works. Spray/sprinkle it on and scrub gently. Be sure to rinse good! If it works, do a larger area.

 

[passthebandaids]

bleach/water mix ineffective. drain is complete; filling back up now. seriously disappointed in myself for letting it get this bad. i'm trying to get an idea of what it'll take (and how much it'll cost) to get rid of those stains.

will test once filled and water has cycled for an hour; i don't expect it to be full until tomorrow.

 

[proavia]

It's probably an organic stain. You're on city water, so chances it's metal staining are pretty slim - unless a lot of copper based algacide was used at a previous point. There are a few ways to check what type stain it is. But first, get it refilled and all chemicals balanced.

I (luckily) haven't had to deal with staining. Hopefully, someone with experience testing and treating stains will be along shortly.

Any chance you have additional garden hose and can connect to an additional hose bib? That will speed up the fill a bit.

 

[kimkats]

We have some tricks we will try when you are full and balanced. Let us know what you find when you are done filling.

Kim:cat:

 

[aeh0603]

To test to see if it's a metal stain, if you have any vitamin c tablets around you can crush one up and make a paste. Rub that on a small area and rinse it off after a few minutes to see if it makes a difference.

 

[passthebandaids]

Here we go
FC: 0.5
CC: 0.5
pH: 8.0
TA: 140
CH: 450
CYA: filled to top of tube and can still clearly see dot, so... 0?

 

[proavia]

Were you able to guess an estimated gallons from the water meter? Is it close to the 25k gallons in your signature.

How does the water look?

Bring your pH down to 7.2-7.3
Add bleach to attain 2-3 for now
Add CYA to target 30 for now - suggest increase to 40-50 after we know if SLAM needed/completed
Leave filter running 24/7

You can get CYA at Walmart - use Pool Math to estimate the quantity you need.

- - - Updated - - -

About 15-20 minutes needed to circulate between acid and chlorine adds.

- - - Updated - - -

CYA can be placed in a sock and then placed in the skimmer. Squeeze the sock several times a day to get the CYA to dissolve. Leave pump running 24/7 until it's totally dissolved.

After you put CYA in sock in skimmer, use the CYA target of 30 to figure your Cl target and dose with bleach accordingly. It will take a few days after all CYA is dissolved to get a reliable CYA number, so don't test CYA again until a few days after it's fully dissolved.

 

[kimkats]

Easy one for me! hehe What they ^^^^^^^^^^ said!

Kim:cat:

 

[passthebandaids]

I have all these chlorine pucks that also add CYA - could I use those in conjunction with the bleach once the acid is added? Or just stick with the bleach? I know the powder adds a ton of CH in addition to the chlorine, definitely don't want more CH. That's why I drained in the first place.

I added 82 oz of muriatic about 20 min ago, used pool math to get the 82 oz measurement based on 20,000 gallons, which appears to be the volume.

Grabbed CYA in powder form from Walmart, 4lbs of it. Not sure how I'm gonna fit 4lbs of this into a sock.

 

[proavia]

Two socks?

One in skimmer and the other can be hung in front of a return.

Definitely don't use any of the powdered chlorine. If it's Cal-hypo, you need to rid yourself of it.....permanently.

As for the pucks, yes they will add CYA - but they dissolve rather slowly so it will take too long. Save for vacation.

Retest the pH and see if you hit your expected target.

 

[triptyx]

You'll lose some extra chlorine while waiting for CYA to come up, but I added mine about 24oz at a time by putting it in a sock in the skimmer and massaging the heck out of that sock every hour or so.

Go slow. It's worth some extra bleach to dial in CYA without overshooting.