Hello! Just joined this site a couple days ago, just updated my signature and just made a $100 donation to TFP. Thank you for all the pool knowledge and wisdom newbies like me can obtain on a site like this! I'm DONE with going into our local pool stores!
Current pool reading from my pool store is below (until I clear up my issues and start using my K-2006C test kit on my own):
FC: 3.38 ppm
TC: 3.4 ppm
CC: .02 ppm
pH: 7.6
Hard: 181 ppm
TA: 126 ppm (but it says "w/ stabilizer correction" next to it...not sure what that even means?)
CYA: 159 ppm (too high from using chlorine tablets...my own fault!)
Cop: .6 ppm (added Copper Algaecide during shocking)
Iron: .1 ppm
Phos: 3163 ppb (why are my phosphates so high?!)
Ok, serious question...just suffered the first algae outbreak since I bought my pool back in 2018 two weeks ago. Long story short, most of this is my own fault (I've learned TONS in the past month about pool chemistry in general) but I still need advice regarding fixing this problem! Currently, I'm back to cloudy-blue after fighting an olive-green algae bloom. Prior to the outbreak I'd always used chlorine tabs to keep FC at a healthy level. Big mistake! Now my CYA level is through the roof and according to my pool store it's the main reason that my water is cloudy and I can't get past cloudy-blue? I think the algae outbreak occurred in the first place because my CYA level was too high and we went on vacation and my FC level got down to .1 ppm. POOF... algae bloom! As I said, my own fault, I know!
Anyway, I've been told by my pool store and other members on here helping me through my first post yesterday that I need to drain my pool to get the CYA and phosphate levels back down to healthy levels. I've learned about the vicious food cycle in the past month...algae eats phosphates, phosphates eat chlorine, and chlorine eats algae...so now I understand why phosphates need to be pretty low. Chlorine is the key, but I've also learned that my ridiculously high CYA amount is preventing my FC from being totally effective, not to mention that shocking my pool requires an obscene amount of chlorine because of the high CYA level. So I'll make sure never to use chlorine tabs again! I started on liquid chlorinator during this algae bloom/shocking process.
So my question is...how far down can one drain an above ground 13,500-gallon pool before I risk damage to the liner and/or the pool walls caving in? I know the weight of the water keeps the liner in place and it can get severely messed up if the pool is drained too far down? So, in order to fix my algae bloom/CYA/phosphates issues, I've decided to drain the pool and call in the water truck! Now...how far down can I drain it without causing problems w/ the overall structure of the pool?
Thank you!
Todd
Current pool reading from my pool store is below (until I clear up my issues and start using my K-2006C test kit on my own):
FC: 3.38 ppm
TC: 3.4 ppm
CC: .02 ppm
pH: 7.6
Hard: 181 ppm
TA: 126 ppm (but it says "w/ stabilizer correction" next to it...not sure what that even means?)
CYA: 159 ppm (too high from using chlorine tablets...my own fault!)
Cop: .6 ppm (added Copper Algaecide during shocking)
Iron: .1 ppm
Phos: 3163 ppb (why are my phosphates so high?!)
Ok, serious question...just suffered the first algae outbreak since I bought my pool back in 2018 two weeks ago. Long story short, most of this is my own fault (I've learned TONS in the past month about pool chemistry in general) but I still need advice regarding fixing this problem! Currently, I'm back to cloudy-blue after fighting an olive-green algae bloom. Prior to the outbreak I'd always used chlorine tabs to keep FC at a healthy level. Big mistake! Now my CYA level is through the roof and according to my pool store it's the main reason that my water is cloudy and I can't get past cloudy-blue? I think the algae outbreak occurred in the first place because my CYA level was too high and we went on vacation and my FC level got down to .1 ppm. POOF... algae bloom! As I said, my own fault, I know!
Anyway, I've been told by my pool store and other members on here helping me through my first post yesterday that I need to drain my pool to get the CYA and phosphate levels back down to healthy levels. I've learned about the vicious food cycle in the past month...algae eats phosphates, phosphates eat chlorine, and chlorine eats algae...so now I understand why phosphates need to be pretty low. Chlorine is the key, but I've also learned that my ridiculously high CYA amount is preventing my FC from being totally effective, not to mention that shocking my pool requires an obscene amount of chlorine because of the high CYA level. So I'll make sure never to use chlorine tabs again! I started on liquid chlorinator during this algae bloom/shocking process.
So my question is...how far down can one drain an above ground 13,500-gallon pool before I risk damage to the liner and/or the pool walls caving in? I know the weight of the water keeps the liner in place and it can get severely messed up if the pool is drained too far down? So, in order to fix my algae bloom/CYA/phosphates issues, I've decided to drain the pool and call in the water truck! Now...how far down can I drain it without causing problems w/ the overall structure of the pool?
Thank you!
Todd
