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Jbra22

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May 8, 2020
22
Riverside CT
Hi All,
Need some help here. I have an above ground pool, about 12K gallons with vinyl walls, sand filter and chlorinator. This is the first year I will take care of the pool and I’m already running into some issues.
We hired Leslie’s to open the pool, and I was sold an opening kit which I used following all the instructions. It has been two weeks and after numerous trips To Leslies, today I was told that I might as well just drain my pool since the chemicals are all over the place. I basically left there really upset but sure I was not going to use them anymore as I’ve already spent so much money with them on chemicals that I found it insulting to be told to drain the pool. However, I’m wondering if that’s really the solution... I just ordered a K2006 kit which should arrive tomorrow since it looks like, from what I’ve read, these pool stores tests are not very accurate (should I also order a tds meter?) I’m attaching a picture of the latest test I did and also of the pool...
Looking for some guidance, I have a kid with Autism and the sensory input of the pool is great for him so I feel I’m failing him by not having the pool up and running.
Any help is much appreciated
 

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Wow, that's annoying and smart move ordering your own test kit. Read up on the pool school links and post your test results tomorrow when you get your results.
 
Idle speculation here. They probably had you use a lot of Chlor-brite (dichlor) and theit tablets (trichlor). Both are very acidic, hence the low pH and TA, and both add a lot of CYA, hence the high CYA.

I don't believe their results are precise, but I will believe that they crashed the pH and jacked up the CYA. Sadly, the easy fix for CYA is a drain. But don't start that yet. Wait for your test kit. You don;t want to drain half now and then test and find out you should've drained more. And while you wait, do some reading. ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry is a good place to sttart. And also, this CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test - Trouble Free Pool Step 8 will most likely come into play. So when you first run the CYA test, don't think you did it wrong because a few drops is all it took to obsure things.
 
Richard320 said:
Idle speculation here. They probably had you use a lot of Chlor-brite (dichlor) and theit tablets (trichlor). Both are very acidic, hence the low pH and TA, and both add a lot of CYA, hence the high CYA.

I don't believe their results are precise, but I will believe that they crashed the pH and jacked up the CYA. Sadly, the easy fix for CYA is a drain. But don't start that yet. Wait for your test kit. You don;t want to drain half now and then test and find out you should've drained more. And while you wait, do some reading. ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry is a good place to sttart. And also, this CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test - Trouble Free Pool Step 8 will most likely come into play. So when you first run the CYA test, don't think you did it wrong because a few drops is all it took to obsure things.
Click to expand...
Got it, I’ve been reading some articles from the pool school and getting more familiarized with things. The explanation for the CYA test is great!
I have the pool running for now; I forgot to add to my signature that I also have a pentair 125 natural gas heater (1 week old), should I keep running it 24/7 or should I give it a rest?
Thanks for your help
 
Jbra22 said:
Got it, I’ve been reading some articles from the pool school and getting more familiarized with things. The explanation for the CYA test is great!
I have the pool running for now; I forgot to add to my signature that I also have a pentair 125 natural gas heater (1 week old), should I keep running it 24/7 or should I give it a rest?
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
I'd shut the heat off. Why warm up water you may be draining?
 

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Jbra22 said:
I also have a question in regards to water temperature when performing the test. Is there a minimum water temperature the pool should be to get accurate results
Thanks
Click to expand...
The CYA sample mixing can get slow if the water is real cold. But you don't need to heat the whole pool up. Just grab a sample and leave it in the sun for a while to warm up, then take it out to test in the sun. Some of the other tests can be skewed if they sit too long, so only do that for the CYA. The rest can get tested right after you pull a sample.
 
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Hi All,
Got my kit today and here are the results:
FC= 4.6
CC= 0.8
PH= 7.4
TA= 80
CH= 350
CYA=100 (I tested the Cya 3 times as I wasn’t sure and got the same result.... tried the tap water if it was over 90 but the read out was falling between 30 and 40 so not sure if I did something wrong)
I’ve been vacuuming, brushing and backwashing the pool the last couple of days and haven’t add anything to it in regards to chemicals.
The pool has a white cloudy color
Any help is much appreciated
 
So you got 100 first time out and let's call it 80 using the dilution method. You diluted the sample 50% with tap water so you double the 40 reading. That's not too bad a spread, really. And the worst number isn't all that bad, anyway. Replace half the pool water and you'll end up somewhere between 40 and 50 CYA. The rest will change with all the fresh water added, so don't sweat it. Nothing raised alarm bells.
 
Richard320 said:
So you got 100 first time out and let's call it 80 using the dilution method. You diluted the sample 50% with tap water so you double the 40 reading. That's not too bad a spread, really. And the worst number isn't all that bad, anyway. Replace half the pool water and you'll end up somewhere between 40 and 50 CYA. The rest will change with all the fresh water added, so don't sweat it. Nothing raised alarm bells.
Click to expand...
Got it. My only concern is how to get rid of 50% of the water. First thing is I believe I can’t take all the water out of the shallow side which is about 3 1/2 feet deep so how many inches of water should I leave on the shallow side.
My other concern is where all this water will go. I live in an area that’s an uphill. House is the highest point, pool is below and then below is my neighbors backyard which I’m afraid will get flooded?
I was thinking to lower the water to the lowest lever of the skinmer and refill and do it like that for a couple of days; thoughts?
Also, why is the water with that white milky color, because of the CYA? Is there anything I can do to clear it?
Thanks,
 
You can replace the water in steps, but that's less efficient. Let's say you start with 100% old water. You drain 10% and refill. Now you have 90% old and 10% new. Replace another 10%, you've removed 9% old, 1% new. And so on. And I doubt you could replace 10% at a whack. Even at 5%, it would take 12 cycles to get down to 50%. So the more you can get rid of in one shot, the better.

To be rid of the water, it matters whether you are on septic or sewer. Because on a sewer you could use a small submersible pump with a garden hose and stick the other end in a cleanout or a toilet or a laundry tub or even where the washing machine drains. On a septic, is it possible to connect hoses and discharge out in a street gutter where it will flow to a storm drain?

White color could be dead algae. Could be bad paint chalking. No way to tell online.
 
It is cloudy because there’s still algae the fc target for 90 cya is 10 -12 which is hard to maintain & slam level is 35 so you may be killing some but not all - hence the reason for lowering cya to an easier to slam level. Every time you fall below the min fc for your cya something has the potential to grow.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
It is cloudy because there’s still algae the fc target for 90 cya is 10 -12 which is hard to maintain & slam level is 35 so you may be killing some but not all - hence the reason for lowering cya to an easier to slam level. Every time you fall below the min fc for your cya something has the potential to grow.
Click to expand...
Got it, so fixing the Cya first by taking 50% of the water out should correct the cloudiness issue.
Thanks,
 
Jbra22 said:
Got it, so fixing the Cya first by taking 50% of the water out should correct the cloudiness issue.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
To be clear, the lowering of CYA will likely not clear up cloudiness assuming the cloudiness is from algae starting to form.

The lowering of the CYA is still the correct next step, but you will have another step will be to SLAM for a few days to kill the algae and clear up your pool.
 
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Richard320 said:
You can replace the water in steps, but that's less efficient. Let's say you start with 100% old water. You drain 10% and refill. Now you have 90% old and 10% new. Replace another 10%, you've removed 9% old, 1% new. And so on. And I doubt you could replace 10% at a whack. Even at 5%, it would take 12 cycles to get down to 50%. So the more you can get rid of in one shot, the better.

To be rid of the water, it matters whether you are on septic or sewer. Because on a sewer you could use a small submersible pump with a garden hose and stick the other end in a cleanout or a toilet or a laundry tub or even where the washing machine drains. On a septic, is it possible to connect hoses and discharge out in a street gutter where it will flow to a storm drain?

White color could be dead algae. Could be bad paint chalking. No way to tell online.
Click to expand...
So I’m getting a sump pump tomorrow and getting the water out! I’m planning on putting the sump pump inside a bucket in the pool’s shallow end, that way I won’t drain it completely and prevent the liner from coming up, correct?
 
JJ_Tex said:
To be clear, the lowering of CYA will likely not clear up cloudiness assuming the cloudiness is from algae starting to form.

The lowering of the CYA is still the correct next step, but you will have another step will be to SLAM for a few days to kill the algae and clear up your pool.
Click to expand...
That was going to be my next question. What are the next steps right after filling it up again. Want to be ready. Anything else aside from the SLAM? Should I test the water before SLAM?
Thanks for all the help
 

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