The good news is I don't have much to unlearn, as I wasn't able to interact with the guy enough do to stupid business hours, and the whole skimmer debacle made me lose faith pretty quickly. That and a friend turned me onto the baking soda for TA idea at which point I started to question what other chemicals can I get a lot cheaper.. Though I also mistakenly followed that same friend's advice for getting the pool clear... MORE CHLORINE, MORE SHOCK MORE MORE until it's clear!! I was not quite as extreme as he though, he said he kept his chlorine dispenser filled to the brim with tablets daily, plus adding pounds of shock every day.
It's funny about the strips.. when I was in high school (graduated in 2003) my family had a 20x40 pool and the local pool place we went to if we took a bottle of water for testing all she did was use one of the strips and she'd tell us what chemicals to get.. strangely that always seemed to work. Though that was also in Northern PA so Algae wasn't all that common.
Still seems odd though that the pool store computerized test system wanted me to add more stabilizer after the 25lb of shock and the 6-10lb of stabilizer... what would their system be checking for?
Also note while not super high volumes I have been continually adding water to the pool due to the aforementioned skimmer leak, as well as backwashing.
I was a little baffled at one of our friends (the one who recommended this pool guy) said during summer months their water bill goes up by $150/month due to backwashing.. I don't think our total water bill has been more than $20...
It's funny about the strips.. when I was in high school (graduated in 2003) my family had a 20x40 pool and the local pool place we went to if we took a bottle of water for testing all she did was use one of the strips and she'd tell us what chemicals to get.. strangely that always seemed to work. Though that was also in Northern PA so Algae wasn't all that common.
Still seems odd though that the pool store computerized test system wanted me to add more stabilizer after the 25lb of shock and the 6-10lb of stabilizer... what would their system be checking for?
Also note while not super high volumes I have been continually adding water to the pool due to the aforementioned skimmer leak, as well as backwashing.
I was a little baffled at one of our friends (the one who recommended this pool guy) said during summer months their water bill goes up by $150/month due to backwashing.. I don't think our total water bill has been more than $20...
yeah, high CYA is very common when people come here from the "pool store guys". they simply don't understand the chemistry relationship between CYA and FC. check your 25lb tub of shock, its probably dichlor, if so that's what I plugged in. and you added more, so you definitely are going to have high CYA unfortunately. sorry man, but unfortunately its a very common lesson learned as you will find the more you read the site.
the test strips are not accurate, and I wouldnt put any faith in them. I am going to bet your CYA is going to be over 100 when your test kit arrives
the reality is your pool is probably going to need at least a partial drain and refill, and those chemicals you bought is money gone at this point. yes, it would have been money better spent on draining and refilling the pool, but chalk it up to learning curve. the good news is, you are going to spend $65 or so on the test kit, plus probably $100 on chlorine I bet, plus the cost to refill your pool...but after that, maintenance costs are going to be so much cheaper moving forward. you will also have a crystal clear pool you can be proud of and will know everything about its pool chemistry.
it may sound complicated and it will be the first couple of days of the SLAM, but by the end you will know so much about your pool and how it works you will be amazed going back and reading your original posts. I promise.
but one thing I have been saying, in order to move forward you have to un-learn what you have learned from the pool store. they are in business to sell you high priced chemicals and have you coming back over and over. the people here have no financial gain based on recommendations.
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the fact that this pool guy wouldn't test your water and had you adding shock and stabilizer without knowing current levels is disappointing. this guy sounds like he has no idea what he is doing and is just out to steal as much money as he can from you. He has really done you a disservice which is going to result in you having to remove water. would give him the big middle finger next time you crossed paths.
