New pool owner, feeling totally overwhelmed

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please reread the instructions. I seem to recall that there is a need for R-0003 in there somewhere.

oops I just watched the video and the R-003 comes after the R-0871

My bad!!!

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Hopefully chem geek or one of the other chem people check in soon.
 
I did the test on the tap water, it took 4 drops to turn clear, so 2 ppm?

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The other results I came up with:

TA: 90 (my test went from blue to yellow instead of green to red)
CYA: I'm not exactly sure, I couldn't see the black dot a little more than halfway up from the bottom of the tube to the 100 mark so that indicates it's really, really high, correct?
Ph: not sure, the color was much more yellow than any of the comparison colors.

I'm guessing we are going to need to at least partially drain the pool due to the CYA? The other thing I am wondering is we have what I assume is calcium scaling on the sides of the pool right above the water level, the company that installed the new pump recommended draining the pool and bead blasting it (I think that was the term), I'm not sure if this is a good idea or what the alternatives are for removing it or if it's ok to leave it as is? I will see if I can post some pics...
 
schmoopie11 said:
I did the test on the tap water, it took 4 drops to turn clear, so 2 ppm?

- - - Updated - - -

A couple of the other results I came up with:

TA: 90 (my test went from blue to yellow instead of green to red)
CYA: I'm not exactly sure, I couldn't see the black dot a little more than halfway up from the bottom of the tube to the 100 mark so that indicates it's really, really high, correct?
Click to expand...
Blue>yellow on TA test indicates high FC levels. It's still valid.

Yes, CYA is really high. See step 9 on the CYA directions. Extended Test Kit Directions

Here's a little something I wrote a while ago that explains it.

We'll take a 16000 gallon pool, because that's what I have. On a fresh fill, prominent national pool chain recommends 2.5 pounds pf stabilizer per 10,000 gallons, which works out nicely to 4 pounds which brings CYA to 30.

With an average loss of 2 PPM/Day or 14 ppm/week, I'll have added 8.6 PPM/CYA if I used trichlor pucks perfectly. And they recommend a weekly "shock" of dichlor between 5 and 10 FC.... 2-3 oz per 10,000 gallons. Split the difference; I'll add 4 oz. CYA went up another .9.

So..by the end of week one, I have added 9.5 more CYA. It is now 39.5. Mimimum FC for that is 3, so I'm probably okay.

Week two, up to 49 CYA.
Week three, 58.5. Minimum FC should be 5, but they recommend 3 as ideal, so the pool looks a bit hazy. So I'll toss in a little extra dichlor "shock" to jack FC up to 10. Which adds another 6.4 CYA. Keeping count? We're up to 64.9 now.

That caught the algae just in time.. we had two weeks of good luck. A steady diet of pucks and 4 oz. "shock" each week only added another 19, up to 73.9 now.

Week 6 it started looking funky, so we "shocked"it once again. CYA is up to 99.3. But minimum FC to keep algae at bay is 8, and we're still holding things to 3, because prominent national chain's preprinted sheet shows that as ideal. So algae got a toehold and the pool has a bit of a tint. So we throw two whole bags of dichlor in which jacks it another 7.6 by the time week 7 is over, we're at 116.4, because we had pucks in the floater the whole time.

So...in 7 weeks, from 30 to 116.4. Let's say there are no more algae outbreaks because they sold me a huge bucket of phos-free and another of yellow-out monopersulfate "shock" Nothing but the pucks and the extra 4 oz of dichlor "shock" weekly. So the next 7 weeks added 66.5, which brings the total to 182.9 CYA.

Now if we didn't understand this and things looked a bit hazy, we might throw an extra puck or two in the floater every couple weeks, which will drive it over 200 easily.
 

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Yes, draining is the only way to lower CYA. CYA above 100 is not manageable. Even at 100 you would have to maintain FC at 12 all times and SLAM level would be 39. 200 would be twice that and 300 would be 3x, etc.
 
Retesting CYA with 1/3 pool water and 2/3 tap gave me just over 100 (just under the 100 mark), so 300ish for CYA. For the pool math calculator, what should my CYA goal be? In AZ and it probably gets 9-10 hours of direct sun per day.

ETA: I just reread Wildcat's post that 60 is a good number for Tucson. Plugging that in tells me I need to replace 80% of the water.
 
yes you need to do a big drain and refill. I would do a minimum of a 50% drain and refill followed by another 50% drain and refill. that would be a 75% reduction in CYA. if you can do 60% each time, even better. bigger water changes are more efficient than multiple smaller ones.
 
I am in for cheerleading! Look at what all you have already learned! You have a good test kit AND you are learning how to do the tests.

Your water is going to be MUCH easier to balance and enjoy when you follow the tips and directions given!

You can do it!

Kim
 
Yes, 60-80 is a manageable CYA number. The key for me is to have target FC under 10 so that you can test and manage PH regularly. And with the hot sun there it will help with loss.
 
Thank you all! I am feeling so much better about things. I feel like I am (slowly) starting to understand things better and the whole situation feels more manageable. Having to drain so much is a bummer but at the same time it feels good to be actually DOING something.
 
schmoopie11 said:
Thank you all! I am feeling so much better about things. I feel like I am (slowly) starting to understand things better and the whole situation feels more manageable. Having to drain so much is a bummer but at the same time it feels good to be actually DOING something.
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yeah, draining is no fun. but you will have your pool "reset" and shouldn't ever worry about having to do it again now that you have test kit and will understand your pool's chemistry
 
You may be able to scrub the scale off the tile by hand if it is on the tile only. You could do this while draining the pool. Try using a stiff nylon brush or 3M pad and scrub the stains with CLR or Lime-away. If that doesn't work you can try something stronger.
 
schmoopie11 said:
Thank you all! I am feeling so much better about things. I feel like I am (slowly) starting to understand things better and the whole situation feels more manageable. Having to drain so much is a bummer but at the same time it feels good to be actually DOING something.
Click to expand...

That feeling is the sense of control that comes from TFP and it's great. Having clear goals (target levels) and knowing the steps to get there is so much better than the pool store's "shock and pray" method even if the steps can be a bummer like draining/filling.

My cya wasn't as high as yours but I have been there with the need to drain/fill due to high cya. While it was a bummer to do the results were fantastic and the pool is so easy to care for now.

Keep us posted on progress and know that there are people here who have been there/done that and are here to help and support you through it.
 

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