New Guy Trying to Fix Water Problems
- Thread starter da-waterboy
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After all that work and cost, now just make sure to stay away from powder, granular, and tablet forms of chlorine.
Oh and stay away from pool stores unless your buying stabilizer or liquid chlorine =)
Oh and stay away from pool stores unless your buying stabilizer or liquid chlorine =)
I'm assuming where you live you will have to drain water to winterize, and then refill next season with more trucked in water.
To save costs of trucking in 1 last load of water, wonder what the thought of dealing with a 70-80 CYA pool for this year. The difference from 50 to 70 is only is only 2 for the target and 8 for the shock. Seeing as his water is already clear and already drained alot, he might not even need to shock, or maybe only 1 or day days of shocking, just do the overnight test to verify.
I would think (but I'm no expert) his cya is manageable since his pool is not green or cloudy. Plus any rain he gets would help a little bit. Considering I think he needs to drain to winterize and refill next year It might be more cost efficent to save on a truck of water and using a little more Chlorine and have it lower next year with the refill.
To save costs of trucking in 1 last load of water, wonder what the thought of dealing with a 70-80 CYA pool for this year. The difference from 50 to 70 is only is only 2 for the target and 8 for the shock. Seeing as his water is already clear and already drained alot, he might not even need to shock, or maybe only 1 or day days of shocking, just do the overnight test to verify.
I would think (but I'm no expert) his cya is manageable since his pool is not green or cloudy. Plus any rain he gets would help a little bit. Considering I think he needs to drain to winterize and refill next year It might be more cost efficent to save on a truck of water and using a little more Chlorine and have it lower next year with the refill.
Ok - So now for the fine tuning and more questions
What are your thoughts on the above statement of not doing another drain and refill and just deal with the 70-80 CYA for the rest of the season???
1. I am ok with doing another one if you all think it should be done
2. I do not drain completely for winter, i probably let 4 to 5 inches out so the cover can not push water out over the edge with a snow load and the such. So a complete drain is not in the future.
Should i go with what was said above and not go thru the shocking process. Is this just based on an Overnight test and/or if the water is clear?
As for the water , please see pics below. I think it is clear however you may all disagree. If there is room for improvement please let me know, i want that sparkle that everyone is chasing. :-D
[attachment=0:19pfodkk]adjusted Photo Jun 16, 8 52 21 AM.jpg[/attachment:19pfodkk]
[attachment=1:19pfodkk]resized Photo Jun 16, 8 52 32 AM.jpg[/attachment:19pfodkk]
Current test results for this evening are as follows:
PH 7.5
FC 1.5
CC .5
TC 2???
TA 60
CH 100
CYA 70-80
I came out getting ready to adjust some things with the water but figured i would run all the tests again and then ask for your recommendations ... I followed you all this far, i dont want to lose you in the end.
Please any thoughts and more help is appreciated
What are your thoughts on the above statement of not doing another drain and refill and just deal with the 70-80 CYA for the rest of the season???
1. I am ok with doing another one if you all think it should be done
2. I do not drain completely for winter, i probably let 4 to 5 inches out so the cover can not push water out over the edge with a snow load and the such. So a complete drain is not in the future.
Should i go with what was said above and not go thru the shocking process. Is this just based on an Overnight test and/or if the water is clear?
As for the water , please see pics below. I think it is clear however you may all disagree. If there is room for improvement please let me know, i want that sparkle that everyone is chasing. :-D
[attachment=0:19pfodkk]adjusted Photo Jun 16, 8 52 21 AM.jpg[/attachment:19pfodkk]
[attachment=1:19pfodkk]resized Photo Jun 16, 8 52 32 AM.jpg[/attachment:19pfodkk]
Current test results for this evening are as follows:
PH 7.5
FC 1.5
CC .5
TC 2???
TA 60
CH 100
CYA 70-80
I came out getting ready to adjust some things with the water but figured i would run all the tests again and then ask for your recommendations ... I followed you all this far, i dont want to lose you in the end.
Please any thoughts and more help is appreciated
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Beautiful pool! According to the chlorine/CYA chart, you're way low on FC and your CC is too high for my liking. I would bring that FC up to 7 ppm.
Thanks. We love it , thats why i am trying to get this all right and start enjoying it instead of fighting it :-D . I agree that the FC is low. Just added some bleach to bring it up to par (hopefully). going to monitor i guess at this point and see if i lose anything overnight.
Now this may sound stupid butttttt i know i have read numerous times in the posts and pool school about CC level. and now when i need a refresher i cant seem to find what i read, so the question is... how on earth do i get it to be lower?
Now this may sound stupid butttttt i know i have read numerous times in the posts and pool school about CC level. and now when i need a refresher i cant seem to find what i read, so the question is... how on earth do i get it to be lower?
Your CC result is absolutely fine. .5 ppm and 0 ppm are the same thing for our purposes.
Bring your FC up to around 5 ppm, keep it there and go swimming. Your water looks terrific
How are you chlorinating?
Bring your FC up to around 5 ppm, keep it there and go swimming. Your water looks terrific
How are you chlorinating?
Funny you ask , because i was just researching what my next step was.
Once i learned that the pucks i was using in the automatic in-line chlorinator was part of the Crazy High CYA level and causing other problems, i since removed the pucks (left the chlorinator in-line but no pucks in it). since then i have been just adding bleach here n there when needed. I have been doing the Partial Drain Refills since then too, so i was too concerned about the daily levels of things.
So i may as well ask the other dumb question now..... I use bleach to bring the levels up as needed... is that what i should be doing (putting my readings in Pool Calculator and adding BBB accordingly all year)? or should i have something else i need to be doing?
Once i learned that the pucks i was using in the automatic in-line chlorinator was part of the Crazy High CYA level and causing other problems, i since removed the pucks (left the chlorinator in-line but no pucks in it). since then i have been just adding bleach here n there when needed. I have been doing the Partial Drain Refills since then too, so i was too concerned about the daily levels of things.
So i may as well ask the other dumb question now..... I use bleach to bring the levels up as needed... is that what i should be doing (putting my readings in Pool Calculator and adding BBB accordingly all year)? or should i have something else i need to be doing?
Since you are manually chlorinating with a CYA of 70-80 ppm, that's pretty high so you will need to keep FC up around 7-8 ppm all the time and be diligent that it nor go below 5 ppm. I would personally drain/refill to get CYA of 50 ppm and the FC requirements will be considerably lower but that's your call.
You'll have to restate your last question.....I don't understand.
You'll have to restate your last question.....I don't understand.
Sorry , sometimes I type and ramble at the same time , lol... what I was asking is ... Should I be putting anything in that automatic chlorinator I have. As of now it is empty. Basically I just assumed that I would use bleach daily or whenever needed from here on out. And same for borax and baking soda .?????
If u are thinking I should do another partial drain refil then I will do that . I would rather things be easier from here on out and not just be borderline crazy all the time .
If u are thinking I should do another partial drain refil then I will do that . I would rather things be easier from here on out and not just be borderline crazy all the time .
The chlorinator is just fine left empty. I would let water circulate through it.
I think you will be happier with CYA @ 50 ppm.....that's what I would do.
Obviously you will need bleach.....you may not need anything else the rest of the season.
read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School.
I think you will be happier with CYA @ 50 ppm.....that's what I would do.
Obviously you will need bleach.....you may not need anything else the rest of the season.
read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School.
okay, I thought an IG pool would have to be drained below the skimmer/return jets to winterize the pipes. I have little knowledge of them just trying to save you on the expense of trucking in for another drain/refill.da-waterboy said:
Don't take this as arguing just clarifying as to my point I was aiming for.
I was looking at it as, its not that you would have to exactly use more chlorine, your just maintaining higher FC levels. The same amount of bleach/chlorine will still raise the FC the same PPM regardless of CYA.
at 50CYA if you maintain target FC of 6 and it drops to 4, a half gallon of 10% will raise you 2PPM
and at 80 CYA if you maintain FC of 9 and it drops to 7, a half gallon of 10% will still raise you 2PPM
Please correct me if what I said isn't exactly true, but it sounds like excluding having to take it to shock levels there is really no difference in how much bleach he will use for the season? This has kind of gotten interesting to me now.
Yes but would he be happier with CYA @ 50 or CIP @ $--- (Cash in pocket) :lol:duraleigh said:
(If you don't mind me asking, how much would 1 truckload of water cost?
Maybe some people do drain completely but i do not because of the horror stories of cave ins, pool lifting out of ground due to pressure, and a bunch of other "not so fun" things that have happened, So i basically drain enough to leave room for the cover to sink a bit from snow weight, and just make sure to blow all the water out of the lines and cap them and the skimmer inlet too. seems to work ok. no broken plumbing as of yet (knock on wood).
the comparison of the CYA level and FC Levels really sparked my interest too once you posted that, :idea: never really looked at it that way. good thought for sure.
Around here a tri-axle tanker brings it and it holds 5000 gallon per load. Cash price is $275.00
I dont know if that is alot in other peoples area or not but that is the going rate where i live. The only sad part is , as he is pulling out of the driveway i am pumping 5000 gallons back out into the woods. Feels crazy like i should be pumping dollar bills out the hose. But the way i looked at it, is that it isnt an everyday thing, i am just trying to fix a mess and hopefully once all this is done , i will have a nice easy and CHEAP pool to maintain. at least that gets me thru the feeling i get while pumping $$ into the woods. lol.. i think i should be able to back bill the pool store for this
the comparison of the CYA level and FC Levels really sparked my interest too once you posted that, :idea: never really looked at it that way. good thought for sure.
Around here a tri-axle tanker brings it and it holds 5000 gallon per load. Cash price is $275.00
I dont know if that is alot in other peoples area or not but that is the going rate where i live. The only sad part is , as he is pulling out of the driveway i am pumping 5000 gallons back out into the woods. Feels crazy like i should be pumping dollar bills out the hose. But the way i looked at it, is that it isnt an everyday thing, i am just trying to fix a mess and hopefully once all this is done , i will have a nice easy and CHEAP pool to maintain. at least that gets me thru the feeling i get while pumping $$ into the woods. lol.. i think i should be able to back bill the pool store for this
I never meant a complete drain, but was referring to draining below the top skimmer and top return jets. Honestly I have zero knowledge of winterizing inground pools except to know that water in pipes and freezing is bad and somehow you have to get and keep water out I assume.da-waterboy said:
Unless there is something flawed with my theory above, I personally couldn't bring myself to do another drain/refill, (But I'm quite cheap). I seen that you already spent close to a grand, and just really wanted to bring to attention that 70-80 might be manageable. You still have all season for additional rainfall (someone posted that they diverted rain gutters to the pool before)
The way duraleigh worded it, he didn't say it was bad or wrong, just you would be happier so without a major correction to my theory I guess the decision is all on you. You seem to have a good understanding of how the pool care works, how the testing and poolcalculator work and seem to be committed and on top of your pool care able to deal with keeping it at the higher FC levels for remainder of this season. With that said, I'm cheap, and I'm not the one having to maintain your pool. I do hope duraleigh checks in again.
I am not an expert here but if you keep your CL levels in the correct range, with your Cya 80, I would think you will dollars ahead of a $1000 drain and fill with you delivery fees. ( Even with a potentially higher CL cost due to higher requirements)
Over winter, things may change, during the summer let rain fill and dilute your high CYA.
Over winter, things may change, during the summer let rain fill and dilute your high CYA.
We're getting just mildly off topic here but $275 would get his CYA down to an almost perfect 50 ppm, I think.
That said, I would certainly learn more about the gpm capacity of your well and have it tested for iron.
My well is PUNY @ 3 gpm and I can still carefully manage it to maintain my large pool...just have to be careful. If your well contained no iron, you could reduce your CYA for free.
That said, I would certainly learn more about the gpm capacity of your well and have it tested for iron.
My well is PUNY @ 3 gpm and I can still carefully manage it to maintain my large pool...just have to be careful. If your well contained no iron, you could reduce your CYA for free.
I am tempted to figure out the well situation. I think after all these drains and refills and i test the water from well and post the results here to make sure they are safe to fill pool with and then be able to maintain the evaporation lose that needs attention here and there. as for the drain and refills, it would depend on what time of year it is and the timing i guess. but........
Yeah i agree that one more load should do the trick.... Even tho both points are valid (keeping cya70-80 or cya 50), i am sure there are tradeoffs to both.
One obvious point (for lower cya) would be the ease of testing just using the PH CL Block test on a daily basis instead of the Chlorine Drop Test, cause at higher CYA/ HIgher FC Requirements it will not read on the block but at 50 CYA it ALMOST reads on the block test (a shade darker then the top shade should be sufficient. Maybe a minor point of ease but still a point.
I made it this far and i was shooting for CYA 50 so i may as well keep on going and complete the mission.
On another note i did the overnight Chlorine lose test and it went from FC11 to FC7.5. with that said i guess based on that i have to do the shock process ??????? any thoughts? (obviously if i do need to shock, i should probably wait until this last drain refill??)
thanks for all the great idea and info
Yeah i agree that one more load should do the trick.... Even tho both points are valid (keeping cya70-80 or cya 50), i am sure there are tradeoffs to both.
One obvious point (for lower cya) would be the ease of testing just using the PH CL Block test on a daily basis instead of the Chlorine Drop Test, cause at higher CYA/ HIgher FC Requirements it will not read on the block but at 50 CYA it ALMOST reads on the block test (a shade darker then the top shade should be sufficient. Maybe a minor point of ease but still a point.
I made it this far and i was shooting for CYA 50 so i may as well keep on going and complete the mission.
On another note i did the overnight Chlorine lose test and it went from FC11 to FC7.5. with that said i guess based on that i have to do the shock process ??????? any thoughts? (obviously if i do need to shock, i should probably wait until this last drain refill??)
thanks for all the great idea and info
Yes, that is a sign you need to do the shock process, Yes, if you think your going to lower your CYA with a drain and refill, you should wait...the shock amount for 80 CYA is high.
Would he get a more effective dilution of his CYA if he drained the water before filling it with new water? The way he worded it before, he seems to have it filled with new water than drains it after. It seems like having less water in the pool at the time of filling would lead to a lower cya.
Would he get a more effective dilution of his CYA if he drained the water before filling it with new water? The way he worded it before, he seems to have it filled with new water than drains it after. It seems like having less water in the pool at the time of filling would lead to a lower cya.