Taking over care of 55k gallon pool

[TPelt17]

Hello everyone! I will soon be taking over full-time care of my family's pool after we have had continued issues with our pool service company (high CYA levels, only using powder shock and pucks, not cleaning the pool very well, leaving debris behind, etc.) The pool has had an ongoing problem with algae and sometimes cloudy water. Also, since living out here in the country on well water, we have iron staining and discoloration along the walls/steps.

I had a 2.7hp VSP Jandy pump installed last week and I am now focusing on taking care of the water chemistry. I have recently cleaned and added new DE to our 72sqft filter.

Here are the results of my first water chemistry tests using a Taylor K-2006 kit:

• Ph - 7.6
• Free Chlorine - 4ppm
• Calcium Hardness - 200
• Total alkalinity - 90
• CYA - 100

I am assuming that I need to SLAM and get the chlorine levels at a good place to take care of any algae buildup first, correct? I know the CYA levels are high and to get the FC into a good range for this size pool, the Pool Math app is telling me I would need to add nearly 19 gallons of 10% bleach - does that seem right?

Bonus questions: Would you also recommend adding Calcium chloride to increase hardness, or should I just start with SLAM and reevaluate? Also, once water chemistries have been balanced, that is when I should tackle any residual iron staining using the method listed on here with ascorbic acid?

Thanks again for any and all help for this newbie!

 

[PoolStored]

Welcome to TFP!!!

I am assuming that I need to SLAM and get the chlorine levels at a good place to take care of any algae buildup first, correct?

Correct.

I know the CYA levels are high and to get the FC into a good range for this size pool, the Pool Math app is telling me I would need to add nearly 19 gallons of 10% bleach - does that seem right?

Unfortunately, you will not be able to slam with that level of CYA in the water. We are going to have to reduce it.

Since you are 100 or over, do the diluted CYA test, it could be higher.

1. Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark (15 ml line) with pool water.
2. Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark (30 ml line) 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 (15 ml line).
5. Continue the test normally from adding R-0013, but multiply the final result by two.

Report the result...We'll help with next step...

Read up on "No Drain Water Exchange" here...

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Bonus questions: Would you also recommend adding Calcium chloride to increase hardness, or should I just start with SLAM and reevaluate?

You should have 250 in the pool. Test your fill water, what the CH of your fill water?

Also, once water chemistries have been balanced, that is when I should tackle any residual iron staining using the method listed on here with ascorbic acid?

Correct, clear the pool and balance, then tackle the stains.

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum

My first step would be a 50% drain of the pool to drop your CYA to 50 ppm. The subsequent SLAM and daily maintenance will be much better and easier if you get your CYA to 50 ppm.

Since you are on a well, this would be cost effective if you have enough flow to do a slow water exchange. Do you know the gpm of your well?

 

[Gotta Pool]

Sadly, draining 50% of the pool is the best way to start. That being said, do that first, because you are going to throw away 50% of any chemicals you add before draining. Once CYA is squared away, you can get the pH, and Chlorine in order. Yes, you need to bring CH up to 350 and keep TA at 90. That pool is a BIG pool and you are going to have to supersize chemical purchases to get the refill sanitized and balanced.

I would also suggest doing (and posting) a full test of your well water (possibly including the iron content, if that is where it probably came from).

 

[PoolStored]

Yes, you need to bring CH up to 350 and keep TA at 90.

Raising CH to 250 is just fine. Until we know the CH of the fill water, we would not recommend raising it to 350. OP doesn't need to worry about "keeping" TA at 90, and should not worry about TA at this point. 90 is just fine.

 

[Gotta Pool]

You may note that I suggested not doing anything until the water was changed and the situation was tested. The water is currently at TA 90 as it should be. Surely a 55,000 gallon pool is not vinyl and, thus, CH should be increased to 350. All of this per published TFP standards.

 

[borjis]

Sounds good but nobody really knows if the TA needs to be 90. My pool pH is happiest at a TA of 50. All pools are different.

 

[TPelt17]

Hey everyone, thanks for the quick replies! I am fine with slowly draining and refilling the pool. I am unsure of the gpm of the well head, but I do have water test results. (Next step on our farm is to get a whole home water filter).

I am assuming I could set the multiport to waste/drain while also filling the pool and set the VSP to an appropriate RPM to pretty much match the incoming water flow rate?

 

[PoolStored]

I would get a sump pump. If you lose prime you can damage the pool pump.

You can attach a garden hose to the sump pump. If you need more head to the sump, put it up over a ladder. You can usually match input and output fairly close!

 

[PoolStored]

Another thought, if your well head is high volume, you can use 1.5" pvc attached to the sump pump, and a backwash hose attached to the pvc...if you can reach a drain or location, with the backwash hose, that can handle the water.

 

[TPelt17]

Wouldn't it be okay to turn off the skimmer valves to the pump and drain just using the floor drain in the deep end?

 

[PoolStored]

You can, we don't recommend it. Too many times something happens and pumps get trashed. They are expensive. A sump is just so much cheaper.

Additionally, for this to work, you want to do this in one shot and not mix water. If you have a large imbalance, you will be turning your pool pump on and off alot...it can move a large volume of water.

If your well head is high output, you might consider renting a trash pump from HD etc...

 

[setsailsoon]

T,

Welcome aboard! Wow nice size pool! First question I have, are you sure it's 55,000 gal? If so how do you know? Regardless of the answer though your gonna need to get your CYA way lower. I'd work on getting the water exchange done and we'll figure out the rest while your doing that. You're going to use a huge amount of chlorine to get this pool slammed as it is so you want to be sure to get most efficient use of your chlorine.

You've got some pretty typical well water with a few things to treat most notably iron, magnesium, manganese. What is going to be added for your whole house filter? Does the well water stink?

Chris
PS 10 gal of 10% Cl will raise your FC by 18 ppm if your 55K is correct.

 

[setsailsoon]

Wouldn't it be okay to turn off the skimmer valves to the pump and drain just using the floor drain in the deep end?

Part of the idea with a sump pump is to avoid a lot of mixing. When you turn on the main pump there's normally a pretty substantial mixing that happens.

 

[TPelt17]

Well a little backstory, my wife and I bough this house from my parents last year (this is my childhood home) when they decided to move. I was 7 years old when my parents built the pool back in 2000 and it was refurbished in 2018 with new decking, coping and plaster. We still have the original sketches, blueprints, and all build parameters of the pool from the company that built it, so I know it is 55k gallons.

In the next month or so we are looking at installing a springwell whole home iron/manganese filter with a salt water softener. Our water does have some of that iron smell and staining that you can see on shower fixtures and toilets.

One of the slight trade offs for living in the country but I wouldn't change it for the world lol!

 

[setsailsoon]

Well a little backstory, my wife and I bough this house from my parents last year (this is my childhood home) when they decided to move. I was 7 years old when my parents built the pool back in 2000 and it was refurbished in 2018 with new decking, coping and plaster. We still have the original sketches, blueprints, and all build parameters of the pool from the company that built it, so I know it is 55k gallons.

In the next month or so we are looking at installing a springwell whole home iron/manganese filter with a salt water softener. Our water does have some of that iron smell and staining that you can see on shower fixtures and toilets.

One of the slight trade offs for living in the country but I wouldn't change it for the world lol!

What a neat story! OK the 55K is good. As I look through the analysis in more detail you definitely have some well water challenges. I'm not familiar with the Springwell system but I'll ask a couple of our experts to opine on that. @JoyfulNoise Matt, can you please take a look at the analysis on post #8. Pretty high magnesium levels with some iron and manganese as well as sounds like they have some sulfides.

Can you please also give us more information on your Springwell system? Do you have a total hardness test result they did to size the softener?

Chris

 

[Gotta Pool]

Sounds good but nobody really knows if the TA needs to be 90. My pool pH is happiest at a TA of 50. All pools are different.

Yes, this is true, but most people start with 90 and adjust according to their particular pool. My pool doesn't care much for 90, either.

 

[setsailsoon]

Yes, this is true, but most people start with 90 and adjust according to their particular pool. My pool doesn't care much for 90, either.

Based on the analysis, TA is going to be high after you do the exchange. Once you get your CYA down and can slam you will be adding acid over time to adjust pH down. Each time you do this you'll reduce TA. Mine worked a lot better at TA 50 also. Water coming directly out of the well may be much lower pH. But after sitting for a couple hours it will go back up. At least that's how my well water behaves. Incidentally, if your water has a lot of sulfur you're going to need to do more treatment for it than you may expect especially if your wife is like mine. They seem to have a much lower threshold to detect it. I found air injection over a catalytic bed removes about 96%. Normally this is good enough but if like me you start with 2-3 ppm sulfides 96% just isn't enough for the wife. So I have discovered a polishing filter that contains KDF 85 and catalytic carbon... works like a charm! You know, happy wife...

I hope this is helpful!

Chris

 

[TPelt17]

Chris, thanks for your suggestions. Would it be best to maybe get the whole home water filter and softener installed first before doing any water exchanging with the pool?

I recently got a Jack's stain ID kit and found that the "Copper and Scale" treatment removed nearly all the green stains that contacted the powder. I know there is quite a bit of copper, iron, and manganese in the well water so maybe the filter would help to not add more of those minerals to the water when I start to refill.

Alternatively, couldn't I put one of those large CuLator products in the filter basket and the small bags in the skimmer baskets? Would that capture a lot of the free copper and minerals during the refill?

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

[Gotta Pool]

At this point, it seems that you are preparing to do battle with a mostly unknown and unquantified enemy. Personally, I strongly suggest testing your well water with the K-2006 and with a K-1730 and K-1716. Normally, I wouldn't necessarily suggest this, but you need to KNOW what kind of fill water you will be using. I'm not convinced that the copper came from the well, especially with known algae and a dodgy pool company. Iron? Probably did, but you need to know what challenges you are facing to create a plan of action for future water fills. First, define what your pool needs and then only put chemicals in the pool that specifically and scientifically address the defined problem(s).

Again, my personal position would not include employing water softeners, CuLater, or anything from Jack's (other than lube and then, only if specified by the manufacturer). Keep reading, here, with respect to minerals abatement.