Draining

[longt2]

After talking to several people and much debate I have decided to drain and refill my 27' agp. I know to leave about twelve inches of water in it but what is the next step after draining scooping and refilling? I am getting started a little early in the season so what do I do first after filling? I'm guessing get the ph up to par then worry about chlorine...as you can tell, I am completely clueless.
Any direction you can point me would be appreciated

 

[heatmisr]

Hi! Welcome to TFP!

It would help if you told us why you are draining it. If we don't know the problem, we can't offer correct advice.

 

[longt2]

Draining to clean it, it is a nice emerald green with plenty of swimmers and so many leaves in the bottom I could barely lift the leaf rake. I just bought the house so I dont know what kind of maintenance was done previously. Partial drain just seems to be the easiest and most cost effective.

 

[Casey]

Are you sure you want to drain it? You could ruin the liner if you do and collaspe the walls at worse! We can help you but you'll be doing all the muscle work.

 

[JasonLion]

The first step is to get all the debris out. There are various ways to do that. I would use a leaf rake.

Once the pool is refilled and the pump is running you want to:
Make sure the TA is 60 or higher.
Adjust the PH to between 7.2 and 7.4.
Adjust CYA to be 20 or higher.
Start shocking by adding chlorine to maintain the FC level at shock level. The appropriate shock level depends on your CYA level.

You might want to read Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparking Oasis.

 

[duraleigh]

Just to reaffirm what the others said, you will have just as much as algae after a partial drain as you do now. You need chlorine in your pool......not draining. Your existing water can be crystal clear if you make the plunge to learn about chlorine and how it will clear your pool.

Your pool got green because of improper maintenance practices. Even if your drain, It will go back to green unles you get chlorine in the pool and kill the algae that currently exists....draining wont help.

 

[TizMe]

When you are using your leaf net try not to fill it so full and maybe you could lift it that way if there are that many leaves in the water. Chlorine is the only thing that will kill the algae ... not a drain and fill.

Post pictures if you can so we all can watch you turn your water crystal clear ...

Keep in mind this is going to require some POP (pool owners patience) .This event will not happen over night and could take a couple of weeks to clear up.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Ditto, I wouldn't risk draining it.

BTW, Welcome to TFP!

 

[longt2]

Well, it looks like I have drained and refilled without incedent. I got all the leaves out but still have a lot of sludgy looking stuff in the bottom. Now I will get the sand filter going, the question I have is about adding the ph plus, do i mix it with water and add it in front of a return or the skimmer, then will I dilute the shock with water and where do i add it?

 

[Guest]

Well, it looks like I have drained and refilled without incedent. I got all the leaves out but still have a lot of sludgy looking stuff in the bottom. Now I will get the sand filter going, the question I have is about adding the ph plus, do i mix it with water and add it in front of a return or the skimmer, then will I dilute the shock with water and where do i add it?

Most if your questions can be answered if you take some time to click on the pool school link in the upper right hand corner of the page. Read everything there twice. This is why we wrote pool school!

Why are you adding pH up? Do you have both low pH AND TA? or is it just low pH? If it's just low pH then pH up is not the best way to go.

Are you shocking with Sodium Hypochlorite, Calcium Hypochlorite, Ltihium Hypochlorite, or Dichlor (NOT recommened!)? Remember, shock is a noun, not a verb (It's something you do to a pool by raising the FC to destroy chloramines or kill algae. It's NOT a special product! Although there are many products out there called 'shock' they are actually just one of the forms of chlorine I listed above. If you are not familiar with the different forms of chlorine then reading Pool School will help you learn about them.
It will also teach you HOW to add the chlorine!

Read pool school and post a full set of test results. The second pool school post outlines the information that we need.
Welcome to TFP!

 

[JasonLion]

Most powdered chemicals are best pre-dissolved in a bucket of water and then poured slowly in front of a return. The main exception is calcium, which is best distributed across the surface of the pool.