New pool owner

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McClain14

McClain14

Active member
Apr 10, 2019
29
Oklahoma City
Hi all! My husband and I are new pool owners. We purchased a home a year ago with an unground pool. The previous owners had a pool service guy who came out and maintained their pool. We continued to use the same serviceman until here recently because I noticed that he was only ever adding chlorine to our pool. I took a sample of water to a pool supply place in town and they said our pool had a cyanic acid reading of 120. When I asked our serviceman about this he said everything else read fine so not to worry. We have since stopped using the pool guy and are now draining some water from our pool to get the CYA corrected. My first question is how do I determine how many gallons of water are in my pool. we have a kidney shaped pool with a half circle hot tub attached. The previous owners were not sure and the pool guy said about 25K to 28K. I used an only calculator using this measurement of our pool and it says 18,711 with out the hot tub! I am so LOST! Please help me. I have also ordered the Taylor Technologies test kit and it should be here today so I can get our pool back in shape. Another question I have is how much water should I drain from the pool to lower the CYA. We have already drained a little over a foot. Thanks to all who are willing to help me.
 
Welcome to the forum!
You can start with the volume the pool service person was using and when you get your test kit you can use PoolMath to narrow down the size.
Which Taylor kit did you get? The K2006C is the one to get. If you did not get that, see if you can cancel the order and either order the K2006C or, even better, the TF100 as it is the best value for a residential pool owner.

Can you fill out your signature with pool type, equipment, etc?

I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook.
 
I got the K2000 kit. I am not sure how to fill out the signature line, and how would I narrow down the size with the test kit. I have read the ABC's and I am currently working on the SLAMing your pool section of the Pool School. Thanks again for your help!
 
Welcome! You're in good hands here. You really need to get some reliable test results from your own test kit before you get in too deep. Use THIS post as a guide on how to complete your signature. Click on your name twice and navigate your way to settings, then signature. For calculations, I like Pool Math, the old web-based calculator you can find in my signature. There is also a pool volume calculator which may help you out. If your CYA is really 120, you'll need to exchange a significant amount of water depending on how you chlorinate. Once set up Pool Math will guide you on how much to drain. Follow Marty's advice regarding the test kit.
 
To my knowledge their is not a K2000 kit. I know of a K2006 and a K2005. You need the K2006C - the C matters.

When you get your kit, you use PoolMath, testing, and chemical addition to narrow your pool volume size.

I would not drain much from your pool until you tell us your pool type. Also, the CYA value you have may or may not be accurate.

Signature is in your Member Profile settings - here.
 
Okay while I work on getting all the info for my signature I just wanted to let you all know that I ordered the K2006 test. I was told that the C just meant the kit include bigger bottles of reagents? I have been told the pool is made of gunite.
 
Not to hijack the thread but @mknauss, you're a pool wizard -- so a question on testing for CYA. If you're actually adding CYA using the sock method, how long after it's dissolved can you test and get an accurate reading? I've added what the TFP pool calc said I'd need to get in SWG range but I'm still a bit low. I figured I either under estimated my pool volume or I need to give it more time to fully disperse to get an accurate reading.
 
McClain14 said:
I was told that the C just meant the kit include bigger bottles of reagents
Click to expand...
That is correct. If you did not get the C version, you will need refills for the FAS-DPD and CYA tests very soon. If you need to SLAM, order the FAS-DPD refills now.
 
jasonwbaggett said:
If you're actually adding CYA using the sock method, how long after it's dissolved can you test and get an accurate reading?
Click to expand...
We suggest waiting 24 hours after the CYA if fully dissolved from the sock. Then test.
If you just poured the CYA into the skimmer, then you need to wait 7 days.
 
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mknauss said:
That is correct. If you did not get the C version, you will need refills for the FAS-DPD and CYA tests very soon. If you need to SLAM, order the FAS-DPD refills now.
Click to expand...
Thank you I will order those now. I drained a foot of water from the pool and I am now refilling it so I can use my test kit tomorrow. I am sure I will be back with more questions Thank you so so much for your help.
 
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McClain14 said:
Thank you I will order those now. I drained a foot of water from the pool and I am now refilling it so I can use my test kit tomorrow. I am sure I will be back with more questions Thank you so so much for your help.
Click to expand...

You're probably overwhelmed by being bombarded with guidance, but you now have time to pause and take it all in. Take some time to study up in Pool School. Start with ABCs of Chemistry and Chemicals-Recommended . Check out the Chlorine/CYA Chart and take some time to get Pool Math set up. Try to nail down the pool volume the best you can. It will all make sense as you get your pool back in shape.

Good luck!
 
Hey guys! thanks for all the info you have given me. I do have another question. I was told that I need to scrub the walls of my pool as I am draining it because the CYA can stick to the walls and cause the levels to remain high. Is this true?
 
The CYA is water soluble so scrubbing the walls to remove CYA makes no sense. I have a vinyl liner pool so I don't know if exposing gunite for a while is a problem or not. Don't drain any more water until you have a chance to get a good CYA reading.
 
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DorsalSpine said:
The CYA is water soluble so scrubbing the walls to remove CYA makes no sense. I have a vinyl liner pool so I don't know if exposing gunite for a while is a problem or not. Don't drain any more water until you have a chance to get a good CYA reading.
Click to expand...
I refilled the pool a few days ago and was able to get a reading of way over 100ppm on the CYA. I have been told numerous times to drain more water so we are currently in the process of doing that. However I am worried that the CYA is stuck to the walls and will just be reabsorbed when we refill it and will defeat the purpose of draining the water to begin with. I guess to be on the safe side I will continue to scrub the walls a few times a day while it drains.
 
To get a better estimate of your CYA level, follow the directions below from Pool School. This will give you a better idea of how much water you need to replace. How much water did you replace the first time around? I wouldn't be concerned about CYA sticking to the walls. If its warm and sunny, you should keep your plaster moist during the drain.

If your CYA level is 90 or higher, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows:
  1. Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water.
  2. Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark with tap water.
  3. Shake briefly to mix.
  4. Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark.
  5. Continue the test normally from step 2, but multiply the final result by two.
 
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McClain14 said:
However I am worried that the CYA is stuck to the walls and will just be reabsorbed when we refill it
Click to expand...
That is false. You most likely had very high CYA and did not drain enough the first time to lower you CYA to below 100 ppm.
 
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The first ti
Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:
To get a better estimate of your CYA level, follow the directions below from Pool School. This will give you a better idea of how much water you need to replace. How much water did you replace the first time around? I wouldn't be concerned about CYA sticking to the walls. If its warm and sunny, you should keep your plaster moist during the drain.

If your CYA level is 90 or higher, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows:
  1. Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water.
  2. Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark with tap water.
  3. Shake briefly to mix.
  4. Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark.
  5. Continue the test normally from step 2, but multiply the final result by two.
Click to expand...
The first time I drained the water I only drained about a foot of water. This time around I drained almost 2 feet of water. I am now refilling it so I can recheck the CYA level.
 
Two feet is probably about 25-30%. So your CYA will drop accordingly. Did you have an accurate test of CYA prior to draining?
 

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