Is it really this easy? (And finally, more pictures!)

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oh_me_oh_my

oh_me_oh_my

0
Feb 3, 2016
53
Near Toronto, Ontario
So, it's been three weeks that we've had the house, and life with an indoor pool is fantastic. We vacuumed for the first time last night, as there were some specks on the bottom of the pool from a backwashing fiasco (more on that in a minute).

Numbers are looking great - FC started out near 10 (guessing the former owner dosed the pool just before we took over, in case we didn't get on it right away), and now we're running:

FC - 3 to 4 (easily maintained, only changes when somebody swims)
CC - 0 (some days not even a hint of pink)
CYA - 0
pH - 7.6 (rock solid - almost too solid, I'd like to bring the TA down with acid over time, rather than all at once)
TA ~ 220 (high, yes)
CH ~ 200
Temperature - 79 to 81 degrees
CSI ~ 0.4

On the CYA front, the previous owner left us a bucket of dichlor - would it make sense to slowly add CYA by using the dichlor instead of bleach, until I hit about 20? It's not even worth testing right now, it's so low.

We keep the pool covered when not swimming, and it really helps keep the humidity in the room down. No issues with fogging windows except for a particularly boisterous swim occasion so far. Air temperature around 82 when swimming.

As for the backwash incident, the backwash line and the floor drains run out to the back of our property, and I think the end of the line is covered by a fallen tree. An attempt at backwashing resulted in the floor drains turning into fountains... they do drain, but not quickly enough - not ideal. I have acquired some tracer dye, and I will use it to find the (assumed to be) buried pipe outlet.

And finally - pictures of the pool in its nighttime glory - uncovered and illuminated. I tried to take some underwater pictures, but they didn't work well with the lighting.

Suggestions welcome!

P1020595 small.jpg

P1020602 small.jpg
 
Looking good!

I would be suspicious of the CYA being 0. If the owner left you dichlor to use, they probably used it at some point. It's hard to know since the detection limit of the CYA test is 30 ppm. You really only know that you're <30 ppm. If you do add some dichlor to increase FC and CYA... keep track of exactly how much you add and test your CYA weekly and before adding any more.

As long as your pH is stable, I wouldn't be very concerned with the "high" TA. TA is one of those numbers that's very subjective to each pool. The rule is: stable pH = leave the TA alone. Your CSI is OK, slightly high, but still OK. If anything, occasionally bump your pH down to 7.4 or 7.5 and over time your TA will come down, bringing your CSI down a bit as well.

Great looking pool. Wish I had an indoor pool this time of year...
 
with a cya of 0 your FC is way too high. You only need 0.1 ppm to properly sanitize. Now, granted, that level of FC will disappear quickly when someone goes swimming. But if you keep the FC at 2, 3, or 4, so that it doesn't drop to 0, you are exposing people, swim suits, and equipment to a very high CL level. That is why it is recommended to keep CYA at least 20 ppm (or 30, so your testing is more definitive). This way you can keep most of your chlorine bound to CYA, and inactive, while still having enough unbound chlorine to kill organics. As you use up chlorine sanitizing, some other chlorine bound to the CYA is released. It's like a reserve that constantly is rebalancing, where you keep the pool sanitized, but not overchlorinated.

- - - Updated - - -

"Most heterotrophic bacteria have very low CT values of 0.08 or lower such that one only needs the equivalent of 0.1 ppm FC with no CYA to kill 99% of them in one minute or less. So even lower levels of chlorine will kill bacteria faster than they can reproduce, but it takes a higher level of chlorine to inhibit algae growth. It's still relatively low, however, at around 0.06 ppm FC with no CYA to prevent algae growth"

from here
To CYA or Not to CYA...
 
Yep - planning to bring the CYA to the 20 to 30 range. The previous owner was using the bucket of dichlor he left behind - but it was a new fill, and the pool water was only at 65 degrees, so it was only using about one small scoop a week.

We have tried to swim pretty much every day - there have been days where we just got home too late (between moving, working, and life) but rest assured, we get in there every chance we can. Those pictures were taken just before re-covering the pool for the evening. The water calms so quickly... after uncovering it, or after a swim, we're greeted with that crystal clear water - and we're going to do our best to keep it that way!
 
Sure you can use the Dichlor to get your CYA in range, just be aware that dichlor will also lower your pH a little as it is acidic, but not as acidic as trichlor. Also it is probably best to set aside about 5 pounds of dichlor and use that, when it is done you will have added about 15 ppm of CYA to your pool, then retest, as it is far better to sneak up on the right level than to over shoot.

Ike

p.s. you might also want to try to get a 20 ppm range CYA testing tube from TF test kits, I know they can't ship Taylor test chemicals to Canada, but may be able to ship hardware, plus I don't know if the 20 ppm CYA tube is even a Taylor product. If they can't let me know and I will send you one next time I order refills for my test kit.
 

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Yes, it really is amazing the effect a cover has on humidity around an indoor pool, although I tend to only cover mine in the spring and fall months, for the peak of summer I just run the high volume exhaust fans as they are less hassle than covering and uncovering in prime swim season.

Ike
 
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