New pool, new to "modern pools", would appreciate some confirmation

[Saturn94]

I don't know who the others feel about this but I'm concerned about something - you're reading a 20ppm CYA when that's the bottom of the test tube AND you say that they have been adding trichlor tablets to your in-line chlorinator all this time AND you have no idea what other chemicals they were using.

I know you said you measured your CYA with a TF-100, but can you redo the measurement BEFORE you add anymore CYA? The CYA test is the trickiest one to do and whenever I see people posting results that are on the margins of the test (high or low), I almost always certain that the test needs to be redone.

As for trichlor use, I would advise against it. If your CYA is truly 20ppm and your pool has been clear all these years then you are indeed VERY lucky. Most pool service companies screw up people's pool water badly and over-stabilize their water (CYA > 100ppm). If your CYA is 20ppm, then I would add enough granular stabilizer (pure CYA) to get your water to 30ppm and use manual bleach chlorination going forward. Considering the nature of your pool (screened in), your FC demand from sunlight degradation should be minimal as will your contaminant load, so I would expect your pool to be very easy to maintain manually with liquid bleach. If you want to save some trichlor tabs for when you go away on vacation, that's fine. But it's simply too easy to get lazy and screw up your pool water using pucks.

You can use trichlor pucks but know this - for every 10ppm FC added by trichlor, you increase your CYA by 6ppm. So you'll only be at 30ppm CYA after about 20ppm FC added. The number of pucks that equates to will be based on your pool volume.

You need, at a minimum, 20ppm CYA in the water. CYA not only protects the FC from UV degradation, it also moderates the strength of the active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) in water. At 0ppn CYA, even 0.5ppm FC would be incredibly harsh on clothes and hair. So you must have some CYA added.

I would suggest you spend some time on the site in Pool School learning about the FC/CYA relationship as that will help guide your decision making process.


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+1!!!

 

[kimkats]

You will find your PH/TA sweet spot with some playing around. Some pools like a higher TA to keep the PH happy. Some like a lower TA for happy PH. It all depends on YOUR area. Play with it and see what works for your pool. TA is the last thing to play with when you are balancing your water.

Circle planters idea-----------fill them in with cement and do a pretty tile mosaic on top of them! Just make sure the cement is higher and sloped a tiny bit so it does not hold water or you will have a whole nother problem!

Kim

 

[setsailsoon]

Thanks! Most of my fill water is rain. I'll have to check it next time and see what the TA is.

Chris

 

[Catanzaro]

I would use the 3" tablets to increase your CYA (Considering you have them). Place the chlorinator setting on low and watch the levels closely. Worst case scenario, you can add a few ounces of liquid bleach every few days to keep your FC within range. Regarding the circulator planters, there are many things you can do. You will have to decide if you want a statue, plants, etc., If you will be using rocks and/or creating a concrete fill or possibly decorative stone or pavers to accent the area. You will need a good mason/stone company. Keep us posted!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks! Most of my fill water is rain. I'll have to check it next time and see what the TA is.

Chris

Rain water is "aggressive" compared to other sources. It will have low pH (average pH ~ 5.6), little alkalinity and no CH.

Do you collect rainwater or do you just receive enough fill from just rainfall into the pool?


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[setsailsoon]

JN,

Thanks for the info. The rain is just what gets through the screening material in my enclosure. I end up draining about an inch or two once per week during the rainy season here which is roughly June-October. I wish I had known about this and gotten an overflow installed but it's not really that much trouble to open up the valve on the pump discharge line for a day or two. I haven't noticed any low pH problems and in fact the pH generally seems to increase very slowly over time.

Thanks again for the reply and I'll watch the test results closely. We haven't had any rain for me to test but as soon as we do I'll test it and report the results.

Chris

 

[setsailsoon]

JN,

Just for completeness in my previous response. During Nov-May I've been "water level neutral" with rain water. The only times we've added water after the initial fill were once when I "over lowered" the pool after heavy rains (about 6"). And the other time was when a pipe fitting feeding water to the solar heater came apart (never was glued during installation). We lost about 6" then also.

Chris