My #'s Are Out of Whack and I Need Advice!

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J

Jay15

0
Dec 28, 2014
56
Rockwall, TX
Hi all,
I got complacent and relied upon my pool cleaning company for balancing my chemicals. Last weekend I found about 5 backswimmers in my pool, so I thought I was having a low chlorine issue. In addition to having my chemicals tested by my pool guy and taking a sample to a local pool company for testing, I also bought TF Test Kit refill and tested it myself today.
The numbers aren't what I was expecting. (Also, the 3 sets of #'s - mine, local co., my pool guy's - are all very different. I'm using mine here.)

FC = 19
TA = 150
CYA = 120
CH = 700
pH = 7.4 - the only good #
CSI = .48 per the Pool Math app (and yes, I have scaling on some tile, esp around the spa waterfall)

I realize I need to get my CYA down first, and the only way is to drain the pool and refill it. I'm buying a submersible pump, 100 ft. long hose, and will drain it into my sewer cleanout.

Am I right that that's my first step...draining the pool? It's an 18,000-gallon pool — how much do you recommend I drain out?

What will I need on hand to get it back into shape ASAP? (I have an in-line chlorinator, which I have turned off for now. I don't have any other chemicals except baking soda since we thought we were moving...)

Anything I'm missing? Any other advice you can give?

Other info: it's a 5-year old, chlorine, plaster/gunite pool.

Thanks very much,
Janice
 
If you continue to use Trichlor in your inline chlorinator you will be draining your pool every month or so to reduce the CYA. Decide if you want to change the way you chlorinate your pool. That dictates the CYA level you drain to.

For liquid chlorine you want a CYA of 40-50 in TX. You will need to drain 2/3 of your water .

Read about the No Drain Water Exchange method in...

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
We don’t recommend Trichlor as a long term method of chlorination due to the accumulation of CYA and it adding acid.

Lots of folks here prefer using a SWG to generate the necessary chlorine.

www.troublefreepool.com

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

www.troublefreepool.com

Salt Water Chlorine Generators

Salt Water Generators are designed to produce small amounts of chlorine continuously. This is perfect for day to day use and reduces work for the homeowner.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
We're still planning on moving when COVID is under control, and we really don't want to spend what it will take to convert to salt. Although I realize that we don't know how long we'll be here and by the time we leave we may have spent more $ on new water than it would have taken to just convert to a SWG...anyway, may have to revisit that.

So for now I think my plan is to drain about 2/3 of the water and stop using the in line chlorinator. I found that there are tablets without stabilizer but they have calcium which will just raise the CH, so it's trading one problem for another.

Can someone please give me a rundown on what I can expect to need to have on hand to handle this new approach myself going forward. Obviously liquid bleach, baking soda, muriatic acid. What else do you suggest?

Thanks...I've been researching for hours and need a little break ;)
 
Before draining your pool be certain that your groundwater level is deep enough so that your pool shell will not be lifted. Check with your regulators to see if you need any permits to drain. Test the water you will be using to fill your pool to anticipate how to proceed balancing your pool water. Test for pH, CH, TA only. Will you be using a well or municipal water?
 
Municipal water; will be draining into sewer clean out which is allowed per the town.
I just tested the water temp on the new water and there’s only a 5-degree difference, so I'll be doing the water exchange, not a drain/refill.
I'll check those levels you recommended.
What else do I need to know/do?
 
Jayo said:
We're still planning on moving when COVID is under control, and we really don't want to spend what it will take to convert to salt. Although I realize that we don't know how long we'll be here and by the time we leave we may have spent more $ on new water than it would have taken to just convert to a SWG...anyway, may have to revisit that.

So for now I think my plan is to drain about 2/3 of the water and stop using the in line chlorinator. I found that there are tablets without stabilizer but they have calcium which will just raise the CH, so it's trading one problem for another.

Can someone please give me a rundown on what I can expect to need to have on hand to handle this new approach myself going forward. Obviously liquid bleach, baking soda, muriatic acid. What else do you suggest?

Thanks...I've been researching for hours and need a little break ;)
Click to expand...

I opened my pool mid May and haven't had to add anything except liquid chlorine. I added salt to improve the feel of the water, and it feels great. I put in borates last year, and my PH hardly moves from 7.8. Make sure you don't get Clorox bleach. It and most store brands have additives for laundry. You could get some Borax on case you have to raise PH.
 

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mguzzy said:
Hi Janice! So you've been a member since 2014! Nice to see you sticking around.!
How does the water look? Is it cloudy, green, crystal clear? You might want to do a little SLAM Process after you refill just to get you on a nice clear first step out the gate. It will be easy to transition to using liquid chlorine after that.
Click to expand...
Hello MGuzzy! Yes, I joined before we built our pool (started in March 2015, finished in August 2015) and have been lurking here now and then. I'm bummed out that I didn't interact more over the last 5 years.

The water is crystal clear, and always has been (except when a neighboring pond flooded it). Glad to hear the transition to liquid chlorine will be easy.
 
Ok Pool People...I've been draining/replacing water starting yesterday, but stopped overnight (shouldn't have :rolleyes:) and I need some advice/guidance/reassurance...

I started by draining from the deep end for 2.5 hours until the water reached the bottom of the tile; then I started refilling with a hose in the shallow end skimmer. I'm keeping the water at the bottom of the tile so I don't expose the plaster, so I have to shut the pump off for about 10 minutes every 90 minutes or so. Total pump time in the pool was about 7 hours.

Then I moved the pump to the spa at 6:15pm and completely drained it, then refilled it. That took about 4.5 hours total. So now the spa has new water in it. This morning/today, it has a slight green tinge to it. The chlorine in the spa is 1.0 and the pH was high-over 8.0 around noon today.

The pool equipment is off and hasn't run since yesterday at approximately noon.

The pump is removing water at 6 gallons/minute or 360 gallons/hour. Ugh... (Pump is 6 feet deep and hose is about 75 ft long, so it's not very efficient and I should have planned that better).

The refill is slightly slower at just under 6 gallons/minute.

Today (Sunday), the pump has been running since 7:45, with those intermittent stoppages to allow the pool to fill back up to the tile line).

As of 3:45pm today, I've estimated that I've pumped out only 5700 gallons.

So at 4:30pm, I decided to test the CH and CYA, knowing it's early, but just to get an idea where I'm at:
CH is 625 (down from 700)
CYA is exactly the same at 120. (I'm demoralized by this.)
Chlorine color is better but still over 5.
pH was 7.5.

So my questions for you are:
1) Am I on the right track? (I am planning on running the pump overnight)
2) Given this information how much longer can I expect to run the pump and refill hose? (My initial calculation was that it would take 26 hours to get 9500 gallons out.)
3) Should I run the pool equipment to mix the spa water in with the pool water? (I hate the idea of not running the system for this long in this heat - currently 95 at 6pm, but I also hate pumping out new water.)
4) What am I missing/forgetting??
5) Also, I got liquid chlorine at the only place I could get it near by, but it's from Leslie's and it's called Blue Whale Shock Chlorinator. Is this OK? Now I'm seeing that I'll need 20+ gallons of it (I have 4). I still have the inline chlorinator with tabs but want to avoid re-adding stabilizer. HELP!!

Thanks in advance...and sorry for the long post. I'm feeling a little panicky...
 
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