Welp. Here we go again….

[DonnieTheMan]

Let me start off by saying I’m about sick of dealing with this pool lol. But with a demanding wife and kid, I have no choice.

Anyhow. I was getting ready to cover up the pool for the winter, but had to tackle an algae issue first. My test levels were decent except for PH @8.0 and CYA really low. Like below 20 because all the tester measures up to. Slammed the pool for 2 days and it went from green to a light blue. Success! Or so I thought. So yesterday I used the pool calculator and assumed my CYA level might be around 10. So I added an even 2lbs of dry stabilizer in a panty hose and hung it in front of the return. After it was absorbed into the water, I decided to toss the pool vac in and let it clean up whatever little debris might be on the bottom. Well, there was still algae on the bottom because the vacuum stirred it up and made the pool green again. Great right? I tested my CYA this morning and now it’s between 100-120 and the pool is still green. And that’s with my slam level being at 16 last night. So it’s chlorine locked AGAIN. Is there something I can add in to bring the CYA down, or do I need to drain again? And if so, about how much?

And would It be ok to just leave the pool like it is and worry about draining it next season?

 

[bradgray]

Let me start off by saying I’m about sick of dealing with this pool lol. But with a demanding wife and kid, I have no choice.

Anyhow. I was getting ready to cover up the pool for the winter, but had to tackle an algae issue first. My test levels were decent except for PH @8.0 and CYA really low. Like below 20 because all the tester measures up to. Slammed the pool for 2 days and it went from green to a light blue. Success! Or so I thought. So yesterday I used the pool calculator and assumed my CYA level might be around 10. So I added an even 2lbs of dry stabilizer in a panty hose and hung it in front of the return. After it was absorbed into the water, I decided to toss the pool vac in and let it clean up whatever little debris might be on the bottom. Well, there was still algae on the bottom because the vacuum stirred it up and made the pool green again. Great right? I tested my CYA this morning and now it’s between 100-120 and the pool is still green. And that’s with my slam level being at 16 last night. So it’s chlorine locked AGAIN. Is there something I can add in to bring the CYA down, or do I need to drain again? And if so, about how much?

And would It be ok to just leave the pool like it is and worry about draining it next season?

CYA is one of the very few things that can't be reacted out. It will degrade slowly with time, but at the level yours is at, that's too far down the road to be a useful strategy.

You can do a partial drain to dilute the water chemistry rather than a full drain.

As far as leaving it, your liner is fairly resilient and easy to clean vs plaster for example, but I'd not want to worry about the build up in my equipment, and giving all those tight nooks and crannies filled with something to spawn a new bloom next year.

Finally, I wouldn't sleep well knowing it was worsening and I'd need to tackle it later. But that's very much a "me" thing!

 

[DonnieTheMan]

CYA is one of the very few things that can't be reacted out. It will degrade slowly with time, but at the level yours is at, that's too far down the road to be a useful strategy.

You can do a partial drain to dilute the water chemistry rather than a full drain.

As far as leaving it, your liner is fairly resilient and easy to clean vs plaster for example, but I'd not want to worry about the build up in my equipment, and giving all those tight nooks and crannies filled with something to spawn a new bloom next year.

Finally, I wouldn't sleep well knowing it was worsening and I'd need to tackle it later. But that's very much a "me" thing!

Yeah. I’m just going to rent a submersible pump this time and draining guessing about 60%. Last time I used the water hose and it took like 3 days to drain lol

 

[Dirk]

You might first want to explore what happened with the CYA, in terms of the overdose, before you drain your pool. Adding 32oz of CYA in a 6,423 gallon pool should yield a CYA of 37 (assuming zero CYA). You guesstimated 10, so that should be 47, not 120! So either you tested incorrectly beforehand, or after, or both. In other words, your testing methods are suspect and you shouldn't be draining your pool based on them. I'm short for time today, but maybe others can help you with your CYA testing MO. @Newdude, can you help or bring in others to help? Gotta run...

 

[DonnieTheMan]

You might first want to explore what happened with the CYA, in terms of the overdose, before you drain your pool. Adding 32oz of CYA in a 6,423 gallon pool should yield a CYA of 37 (assuming zero CYA). You guesstimated 10, so that should be 47, not 120! So either you tested incorrectly beforehand, or after, or both. In other words, your testing methods are suspect and you shouldn't be draining your pool based on them. I'm short for time today, but maybe others can help you with your CYA testing MO. @Newdude, can you help or bring in others to help? Gotta run...

I’m not sure what happened. When I tested the CYA, the black dot was clear as day all the way up to 20. I figured I’d play it safe yesterday and put 10 in the pool calculator. It actually called for 2lb 2oz. I only measured out 2lbs though. Maybe my initial test was off and I should have retested prior to adding the cya yesterday. The pool water was blue yesterday so I assumed all of the algae was dead. But once I seen how much was still present on the floor, I brought it to slam level again. When I tested the FC this morning, it was still at 16 and the pool is still green.

 

[Dirk]

Sorry, I don't have the time today, hopefully @Newdude can come to the rescue regarding the SLAM and the CYA testing. But real quick:

For future reference: you never add all the CYA you think you need, for this very reason. Same with salt. You add some lesser percentage, circulate and wait a good while, test again, add a little more, wait some more, etc. You have to sneak up on the target to account for the lousy test, the time it takes to truly disperse and other factors. It's not like chlorine and acid where you can get decent results after 30 minutes, and adding too much of either corrects itself in short order. CYA requires more care and patience.

 

[Bperry]

I’m not sure what happened. When I tested the CYA, the black dot was clear as day all the way up to 20. I figured I’d play it safe yesterday and put 10 in the pool calculator. It actually called for 2lb 2oz. I only measured out 2lbs though. Maybe my initial test was off and I should have retested prior to adding the cya yesterday. The pool water was blue yesterday so I assumed all of the algae was dead. But once I seen how much was still present on the floor, I brought it to slam level again. When I tested the FC this morning, it was still at 16 and the pool is still green.

Do the test a few more times just to be sure. Maybe you forgot to add the reagent when you tested originally? For a future reference if your pool has visible algae in it the chlorine levels are not fine.

 

[Newdude]

So 2lbs of granular CYA nets you a skootch under 40 increase. Something in the testing was off, and probably the measuring also.

Lets go over your testing procedure so we can verify you're doing it right. How you doing it ?

Also, did you do the dilution test for 100-120 ? You can't read over 90 reliably so you have to use half tap water (0 CYA) and half pool water as your 'sample'. Then double the result for a much better estimate than the eyeball guess. Many have found it to be 200 or more when they though it was 120 ish.

Once we get a good CYA result, we can move on to how much you'll need to drain and/or SLAM. If you need to drain most of it, you'll be far better off just draining it all. Intex pools don't have the draining concerns that the other pools do because they are designed to be taken down and put away at the end of the season.

 

[bradgray]

Donnie, it occurs to me that we are all assuming you're using liquid chlorine to repeatedly shock the pool.

If you've been using granular dichlor, this would be another source of CYA. Dichlor usually leaves behind as much CYA as it does chlorine. And heaven forbid, if you have trichlor powder, as it can be 60% CYA or more.

 

[DonnieTheMan]

Do the test a few more times just to be sure. Maybe you forgot to add the reagent when you tested originally? For a future reference if your pool has visible algae in it the chlorine levels are not fine.

Yeah, it totally fooled me. My OCLT was only 3 yesterday morning. It wasn’t until yesterday evening when I dropped the vac in it that I saw it stirring up the algae on the floor. My fault because I should have brushed the pool the 2 days I had it at slam levels. Lesson learned.

 

[DonnieTheMan]

Donnie, it occurs to me that we are all assuming you're using liquid chlorine to repeatedly shock the pool.

If you've been using granular dichlor, this would be another source of CYA. Dichlor usually leaves behind as much CYA as it does chlorine. And heaven forbid, if you have trichlor powder, as it can be 60% CYA or more.

Yes. I just use LC. I learned my lesson with those dumb pucks.

 

[Newdude]

I should have brushed the pool the 2 days I had it at slam levels. Lesson learned.

I'll save you the next cuz I got another lesson for ya.

SLAM FC is 40% of your CYA. Let's say you do have the 120, that's 48 FC needed to sanitize at the same efficiency as 40 CYA 16 FC. So you were at 'what you thought was' SLAM level. You weren't making much progress.

*free lesson with no screw-up needed.

This is why high CYA pools simply become unmanagable. And when you can't maintain the higher FC, you go green. Then you can't realistically keep the FC where it needs to be without blowing through dozens of gallons of chlorine.

So we have folks drain to get the CYA to a 'high' at 50 or so which is much more manageable. Then you can wait out the slow degrading over time and rain/fill dilution. But in your case with a safe pool to empty, you might as well just start with a fresh slate. (If the CYA is proven 100+) Other vinyl pools need to keep water to hold the liner in place, and then have to SLAM what's left.

 

[DonnieTheMan]

I'll save you the next cuz I got another lesson for ya.

SLAM FC is 40% of your CYA. Let's say you do have the 120, that's 48 FC needed to sanitize at the same efficiency as 40 CYA 16 FC. So you were at 'what you thought was' SLAM level. You weren't making much progress.

*free lesson with no screw-up needed.

This is why high CYA pools simply become unmanagable. And when you can't maintain the higher FC, you go green. Then you can't realistically keep the FC where it needs to be without blowing through dozens of gallons of chlorine.

So we have folks drain to get the CYA to a 'high' at 50 or so which is much more manageable. Then you can wait out the slow degrading over time and rain/fill dilution. But in your case with a safe pool to empty, you might as well just start with a fresh slate. (If the CYA is proven 100+) Other vinyl pools need to keep water to hold the liner in place, and then have to SLAM what's left.

I’m going to take a sample to Leslie’s tomorrow and see what they say the cya is at. At this point, I think I’m just going to cover the pool and worry about draining it come feb or March. My pump runs 24/7 so it will at least keep theb water moving. What’s your thought on just covering it and waiting? Financially I can’t afford to refill it right now and I surely don’t want it to sit there empty because it would just collapse.

 

[Newdude]

I’m going to take a sample to Leslie’s tomorrow and see what they say the cya is at.

Save your gas. That's their worst test, proven over and over and over when folks break down and get a drop based kit. For real. Send me a sample and I'll swish it like a wine tasting and guess better than Leslie's.

What’s your thought on just covering it and waiting?

As Brad said above, the vinyl can be easily cleaned when the time comes.

 

[Newdude]

*also, what do you expect the replacement water to cost ? Even with a small pool, you could blow through $100 in bleach, plus testing supplies, plus electricity from running the pump up to 3 weeks straight. Intex filters are horribly undersized and the battle drags on and on before they filter out the dead algae.

So you may be saving the refill costs, just to have similar costs, and a bunch of work to SLAM. (When the time comes) Food for thought.

 

[bradgray]

I’m going to take a sample to Leslie’s tomorrow and see what they say the cya is at. At this point, I think I’m just going to cover the pool and worry about draining it come feb or March. My pump runs 24/7 so it will at least keep theb water moving. What’s your thought on just covering it and waiting? Financially I can’t afford to refill it right now and I surely don’t want it to sit there empty because it would just collapse.

Totally understand the line between spending money and wasting money, which is why I have to ask what part is cost prohibitive? A decent sump could cost well under $100 from Harbor Freight or you could use the free method of a siphoned garden hose as you did before.

American water tends to be less than $10 per 1,000 gallons. I glanced at your local water rates and if I read them right, it'd add roughly $50 to your bill for your pool size. I'd wager you'd spend that much in chemicals pretty quickly at the current rate.

I guess what I'm suggesting is when it comes to your pocketbook, draining is more cost-effective toward resolution. In order to save any money by waiting, you'd need to immediately stop adding anything and walk away. Then plan on scrubbing and shop-vacuuming that pool early spring after you drain (with more chemicals). I'm envisioning a slippery emerald pool by then

*EDIT; darn it; Newdude beat me to it.

 

[DonnieTheMan]

Save your gas. That's their worst test, proven over and over and over when folks break down and get a drop based kit. For real. Send me a sample and I'll swish it like a wine tasting and guess better than Leslie's.

As Brad said above, the vinyl can be easily cleaned when the time comes.

Will do. I’ll just cover it up and wait till it’s opening season again

 

[Newdude]

Once it's covered you might as well turn the pump off. The chlorine will be gone in no time due to the algae and the filter will be clogged even quicker. So not only is circulating not going to help anything, it will also hurt.

Get expanding rubber winterizing plugs for the inlet/outlet at the pool. That way you can bring the equipment inside if you get some time below freezing.

 

[DonnieTheMan]

*also, what do you expect the replacement water to cost ? Even with a small pool, you could blow through $100 in bleach, plus testing supplies, plus electricity from running the pump up to 3 weeks straight. Intex filters are horribly undersized and the battle drags on and on before they filter out the dead algae.

So you may be saving the refill costs, just to have similar costs, and a bunch of work to SLAM. (When the time comes) Food for thought.

Yeah. I’m just going to rent a sump pump and do about a 70% drain. I also have a 50lb sand filter system. Got tired of those paper filters a long time ago

 

[Newdude]

I’m just going to rent a sump pump and do about a 70% drain

Doesn't it have a drain plug ? That'd be free.