"New" home, poorly maintained large pool needs help

[Isaac-1]

You should try to minimize pressure on the solar panels, they should see a peak of about 10 psi (ideally less than that), if they were set up right there should probably be a valve to bypass some of the flow around the panels. This pressure should be measured at the panels or at the line going to the panels compensating for the pressure for the height to the top of the panels, a good rule of thumb is each psi equals about 2.2 feet of water column. So if you have a roof mounted panel with the top at about 15 feet above the height of the pressure gauge it would read about 7 psi when their was 0 psi and no flow at the top of the panel. This could probably be worded better but it is almost 2 am here. So to sum this up you generally only want enough flow out of the solar panels so that the water coming out feels only slightly warmer than the water going in, but not so much flow as to over pressurize the panels. Think a steady flow, not a gusher.

 

[Goliath]

There are eight panels.

I've uploaded a satellite photo which shows the panels somewhat clearly. It's on the link two posts prior. I'm sure you can't ID them from a blurry sat pic, but you can see the size and quantity.

I realize this is all speculation, but I have no experience from which to draw. Perhaps you have a recommendation for max flow, and I'll figure out the rpms at which the pump should run.

Edit - Sorry Isaac, didn't see your post before I hit "submit."

 

[Goliath]

New readings. Chemicals added Monday at about 6:30 p.m.

FC = 1.26 (I'm sure it's dropped, due to very low CYA, direct sun, and organics in the water).
PH = 7.4 (Got it on the first shot! >>> lucky <<<)
TA = 102
CH = 140
CYA = <5, Either my meter is inaccurate, or it hasn't been long enough. I understand it can take a week to register.

I'm going to wait for my Taylor kit to arrive Friday, then retest the CYA. If the readings match my digital, and are still below 5, I will add
120oz solid CYA through a sock in the skimmer.

The algae has subsided slightly, but is still very present. I'd like to keep it in check until I'm ready to shock, which will happen after I stabilize the CYA.

Dichlor was fairly expensive, and it seems to have already been consumed. Is there a more economical methodology until I can get the CYA stable and add bleach?

 

[Isaac-1]

When your new Taylor test comes in be aware the CYA turbidity test is one that takes a while to get the hang of, and should be performed outdoors with the sun to your back, lighting conditions can make a big difference in perceived results. Thankfully you can pour the solution back and forth as needed for several minutes until you get a good reading. I am not sure where you live, but around here the cheapest place I have found that sells Dichlor is Lowes, it seems in recent years most of the other big box stores have switched to Cal-Hypo for their powdered "shock" products, but as of at least a few months ago Lowes still had some types that are dichlor(orange bags, shock plus I think, they also have orange bag trichlor with a similar name so read the fine print). A quick check of their web site shows the price of around $15 for 5 pounds, which according to pool calculator will raise your CYA by about 9 ppm, as well as add about 10 ppm of FC, given that you should probably shoot for a goal of around 40 ppm for CYA to start with your looking at about $60-70 to reach your CYA goal, and your getting around 45-50 ppm of total FC in the bargin, it is not all that bad of deal when you keep in mind that the same FC rise would require about 30 gallons of 5.25% bleach which often sells for over $2 per gallon. Just don't get addicted to the handy little bags.

Ike

 

[anonapersona]

If you got the pH adjusted correctly on the first shot, likely you have the pool volume correct.

 

[march2012]

The taylor k2006 kit has an additional acid and base demand test. Once you test the pH, you add acid drop by drop until the pH gets to the desired level. You can convert that to an amount of acid to add. This is good when your pH is off the scale and you are having problems figuring out how much acid to add.