I recently rented a home with a pool, and I’m responsible for maintaining it. When I got here the pool was crystal clear, but I had no concept of how to care for it. The landlord said he would have his handyman come teach me how to take care of it. I didn’t know the pool should be checked and maintained daily. After about 5 days I got out after a swim and found a giant green cloud, I could not see the bottom. It took a few days to clear it up. I used Dichlor, which I now know probably added a lot of CYA to the pool.
Anyway, everything seemed to be going fine for awhile, but then several weeks later I found the whole bottom pretty much covered with algae. Another round of dichlor, vacuuming, scrubbing, etc., and it cleared up again. Since then I have learned (contrary to the handyman and the pool store who had told me I could just check and adjust the chemicals once a week) that I need to check and adjust the chlorine daily. The problem is, the pool will not hold chlorine. I now use Cal Hypo for weekly shock, but no matter how much I add, the pool will be down close to zero by the morning.
After reading this website, I’ve decided I should do a SLAM to clear up any algae remaining from the earlier issues (or ammonia?). I ordered the TF100 test kit, and found my CYA to be around 100 (FC and CC are both around .5). I would like to do a partial drain of the pool to lower the CYA before I begin the SLAM. The pool is 12,000 gallons. I was going to drain about a foot.
The problem is, I’m uncertain if there is a way to drain the pool using the pump, without messing it up by getting too much air in it. I backwashed the filter, and then started a siphon with the garden hose, but at this rate I think it would take days to get to where I need to be. I’ve gotten it down maybe 2 inches so far. I thought if I learned better how the plumbing works there may be a way to do it with the pump. I was reading if I can bypass the skimmer and just use the main drain this might be possible. Is it possible to tell just from looking at this setup what type of system I have? The skimmer has 2 holes, one is definitely the suction, the other doesn’t seem to do anything. The drain line (for waste and backwash) runs underground and comes out a pipe at the back of the yard.
If anyone is able to give advice I’d sure appreciate it. Otherwise I may just give up on draining and SLAM as best I can this week. The last week or so I’ve been adding several ounces of bleach every night, and the water has stayed clear, and I haven’t seen any algae growth. So maybe the pool isn’t as bad off as I thInk. I’m just concerned about the low chlorine levels.
Anyway, everything seemed to be going fine for awhile, but then several weeks later I found the whole bottom pretty much covered with algae. Another round of dichlor, vacuuming, scrubbing, etc., and it cleared up again. Since then I have learned (contrary to the handyman and the pool store who had told me I could just check and adjust the chemicals once a week) that I need to check and adjust the chlorine daily. The problem is, the pool will not hold chlorine. I now use Cal Hypo for weekly shock, but no matter how much I add, the pool will be down close to zero by the morning.
After reading this website, I’ve decided I should do a SLAM to clear up any algae remaining from the earlier issues (or ammonia?). I ordered the TF100 test kit, and found my CYA to be around 100 (FC and CC are both around .5). I would like to do a partial drain of the pool to lower the CYA before I begin the SLAM. The pool is 12,000 gallons. I was going to drain about a foot.
The problem is, I’m uncertain if there is a way to drain the pool using the pump, without messing it up by getting too much air in it. I backwashed the filter, and then started a siphon with the garden hose, but at this rate I think it would take days to get to where I need to be. I’ve gotten it down maybe 2 inches so far. I thought if I learned better how the plumbing works there may be a way to do it with the pump. I was reading if I can bypass the skimmer and just use the main drain this might be possible. Is it possible to tell just from looking at this setup what type of system I have? The skimmer has 2 holes, one is definitely the suction, the other doesn’t seem to do anything. The drain line (for waste and backwash) runs underground and comes out a pipe at the back of the yard.
If anyone is able to give advice I’d sure appreciate it. Otherwise I may just give up on draining and SLAM as best I can this week. The last week or so I’ve been adding several ounces of bleach every night, and the water has stayed clear, and I haven’t seen any algae growth. So maybe the pool isn’t as bad off as I thInk. I’m just concerned about the low chlorine levels.