Brand new pool owners

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serialian

0
May 3, 2016
25
Alvin, TX
Hi all,

We've owned this pool for 5 days shy of 2 months. We bought the house and the pool came with it. I have no idea how old it is but certainly longer than a year. I would say around 7-10 years old. We've been struggling with algae and general ignorance I'm sure. Then we found your website. Our test kit came today. Up until now we have been using powered chlorine shock and 3 inch chlorine pucks from Leslie's. We have not used bleach yet.

Here are our numbers.

FC- 12
pH-7.8
TA - 250
CH - 125
CYA - 95

The big problem I see is the CYA. We are on city water and we are paying for it. I've been backwashing and replacing quite a bit this week anyway because of the algae. I know I replaced around 2000 gallons yesterday alone. God knows what it was before that.

Is there anything I'm missing? How would you start transitioning to Bleach?
 
:wave: WElcome to TFP!!!

There is no transition, you just start using bleach daily.

Your CYA is certainly too high, and that is a result of using all the pucks and possibly the powder which add chlorine and the stabilizer. The chlorine is consumed and the stabilizer builds up. The required FC level is a function of the CYA level according to the FC/CYA Chart. Right now your FC is adequate for your high CYA.

One note, when the FC > 10ppm, the pH test will read artificially high.
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: You're correct, that CYA makes management a bit difficult. I would do a partial drain if I were in your shoes (actually I was before TFP). :) At least get the CYA down to around 50-70 so you can perform the SLAM adequately without requiring an astronomical amount of bleach. That would be step 1. The SLAM and everything else will go fine after that. After that, feed your pool Bravo bleach from HEB or Great Value from Wal-Mart - the regular/plain stuff. CYA will never increase again unless YOU want it to. Great to have you with us.
 
More than chemicals, we also are still learning all aspects of pool ownership. Please forgive the probably simple questions. We haven't wanted to lower the water level below the skimmer level. Can we do that as long as we don't run the pump until it's back to skimmer level? Do we drain with a hose? Can I drain it into the street or do cities not like that? The last thing we want to do is damage the pump.
 
You need to check with your city/county to find out where you are allowed to drain the pool water.

Can you isolate the suction to just the floor? Do you have a Waste function on your filter valve? If yes to both, you should be able to pump water out of your pool using your pump. If not, then you might need to rent/buy a submersible pump.
 
If you only have a skimmer, then you have to stop draining before the pump runs dry. Then you have to siphon or perhaps rent a submersible pump to keep going. If you have a main drain, you can pull water to the pump from there. If you have a backwash hose from your filter, you can let the water go into your yard or down a slope. Which ever works for your area. Feel free to ask all the questions you need to. :)
 

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Then you might see a 3-way valve/handle before the pump to adjust water "pull" from either the skimmer or drain. OR. ... in the skimmer there may be a UFO-looking diverter flap. If you have neither of those, then your drain and skimmer are simply plumbed together underground with no way to adjust flow from either.
 
Question about draining

Merged by moderator. Please keep related questions together. Easier to help you. Thanks, jblizzle

I need to drain due to high CYA. I was researching to see if there were any city ordnance issues about draining to the street. While I was looking. I found this:

"Caution, vinyl inground swimming pools are the most dangerous to drain and should only be attempted by swimming pool professionals. If you have an older in-ground pool with a vinyl liner, it may not have the structural integrity to withstand not having water in it to keep it upright. If you drain it, the walls could collapse because these type of in ground pools are backfilled with dirt as the water levels rise - this helps equalize the pressure as the pool is filled. Modern in ground vinyl liner pools are now designed to hold the weight of the dirt without water in the pool. When the water is drained, the liner will float away from the wall. If ground water seeped in and under your pool liner, that will also cause the liner to float and wrinkle."

Is there any truth to this or is it just your basic DIYer caution. Pool Math says I need to replace 58% of the water, FYI.
 
Glad I asked. Sorry about the starting a new thread.

Is there any danger for the pump if the water drops below skimmer level while backwashing/pumping to waste? Keeping about a foot in the shallow should be enough to drain it 58%, I would hope. If not, can I refill, retest and drain again?
 
As long as the pump can still pull water from the main drain - it's okay. From our discussions, I couldn't tell if your main drain is always open (pulling water) or adjustable from a valve or something. Also be aware that the previous owners may have had that main drain closed if it leaked, so it may not even be open. If you're not sure, that's something you'll need to watch closely as the water drops to the bottom of the skimmer. If you see the pump running dry and lose its prime, shut it off immediately and add more water to the pool.

- - - Updated - - -

When in doubt ... play it safe and don't drain too low. Better to be safe for the integrity of your pool and liner than anything. Eventually you'll get the CYA lower. :)
 
The danger depends on how your system is plumbed.

If your floor drains route through your skimmer (there will be a UFO looking diverter plate in the bottom of the skimmer under the skimmer basket, OR if the diverter is missing (mine was when I moved into this house) there will usually be two pipes - one sucking and the other sitting idle) you need a working diverter plate to keep draining. The plate is designed to seal the skimmer itself when the water gets too low so that all suction can be pulled from the floor drain(s).

If your floor drains route straight to your pump, you'll want to adjust your valves to turn off the skimmer (and possibly the vac port) completely and pull all water from the floor drains.

If you're flat out confused about what you do and don't have, and if you've done everything right, just be standing right there at the pump when the water level drops below the skimmer. If the pump starts pulling air or loses prime, you can just shut it off and avoid damage. The issue is not letting the pump run while dry.
 
Well, the pump will not keep pumping once the water is below the skimmer if you can not isolate the floor drain. And if it is starved of water for too long it can be damaged.
 
The entire tone of the pump changes. As mentioned the clear lid on the pump's strainer basket will show air bubbles and then air instead of water (but I know some of us don't have lids that are easy to see through), but the sound the pump makes will usually change pitch and overall volume as it loses prime.
 

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