very dirty - drain and refill?

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td3201

Well-known member
May 2, 2018
53
Lincoln, NE
I have a 15000 gallon fiberglass pool. Last year, I had to get a new cover, but it didn't show up until a bunch of leaves fell in it. Like a bunch. I think I'm getting close to getting at least the leaves off the bottom. Of course the water is very dark. I expected that. I'm wondering if there is much value in draining it as much as possible and refilling with clean. I understand that I cannot completely drain it because it's fiberglass.
1. Any value in draining and refilling?
2. How much water can I take out?

Thanks!
 
A fiberglass pool should not be drained much or at all. The weight of the water holds the pool into the ground against any ground water pressure, and you don't know where the balance is.

Look at our No Drain Water Exchange Process described in Draining - Further Reading
 
Holy Darn. I see an excel sheet in my future.

Do I need to drain? It’s a chlorine pool with a cartridge filter. Weighing cost and time associated with letting the filter get all the matter out vs. the water replace method. Any opinions?
 
Ok, double check my math here guys per the replacement draining method. I am confident in the temp, hardness, CYA, and alkalinity in these numbers. The salt is a big variable here. I have a chlorine pool, but it's a mess. I threw shock in there, but that's about it. It says to use 1000 for my pool water. Not very confident I'm using the right number there. Also, on the fill side, the water quality report is reporting sodium as an average of 54.5. I appreciate your help!

Fill WaterPool Water
Temp54.159.2
Hardness200140
Alkalinity8080
CYA7040
SALT (Sodium on public water report?)54.51000
TDS404.51260
DeltaT-0.085
 
Temperature is the biggest variable. I suspect you are about balanced as the solids in the pool water are counteracted by the warmer water.

Up to you. I would pump from the deepest point and put water in at the surface. Add it to the skimmer or use a bucket on a step to reduce the water disturbance.
 
td3201 said:
Ok, double check my math here guys per the replacement draining method. I am confident in the temp, hardness, CYA, and alkalinity in these numbers. The salt is a big variable here. I have a chlorine pool, but it's a mess. I threw shock in there, but that's about it. It says to use 1000 for my pool water. Not very confident I'm using the right number there. Also, on the fill side, the water quality report is reporting sodium as an average of 54.5. I appreciate your help!

Fill WaterPool Water
Temp54.159.2
Hardness200140
Alkalinity8080
CYA7040
SALT (Sodium on public water report?)54.51000
TDS404.51260
DeltaT-0.085
Click to expand...
Fill water never has CYA.

It is rare for fill water hardness to be greater than pool water hardness.

Those make all the fill water values suspect.
 
Please don't ever drain your fiberglass pool. Only a professional with insurance on their company should drain a fiberglass pool. These pools need their walls braced due to the outward pressure on the walls and the water table must be acknowledged before draining.

I say SLAM the pool. You're never going to get it clean with a water replacement. Start scooping in a grid pattern to remove debris while in the SLAM. I'm currently shocking my pool that was a swamp since Sunday and it's made significant progress. I'm over half way there. Rinse the cartridge filter when the pressure rises and repeat. JMO Good luck and keep us posted.
 
The replacement method isn’t quite working. It helped some. I went to fire up my pump and determined the gasket on my cartridge filter needs replaced. Heading out of town for a few days. Will pick this up when I’m back. I just need to let the filter do its job here I think. The good news is my robot is amazing and cleaned up the bottom pretty well.
 

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