Start from Scratch or Fixable?

[KristineKelly]

Me again. Thanks for your previous input re CYA.

Here's our story as briefly as possible and I apologize in advance for being so clueless!!!! During a hot spell we spontaneously decided to put up a pool without having done ANY research . Had the pool up for a couple of weeks then noticed the water going off a bit - darker/cloudier/tiny bit greenish/slimy sides and bottom. Brilliantly decided we should put chemicals in (duh!) after brushing the sides and bottom. Errantly used (obviously we have NO idea what we're doing!) Aquarius 5 Salt Water Maintenance Kit. Proceeded to add the chemicals almost as the instructions stated (ahem). That was a few days ago. We have since purchased a test kit (duh again! - happen to be test strips which I now read are not a good choice). The pool is not much better. After reading some posts on your Forum and out of desperation we decided to add some chlorine (about 2 gallons).
Our levels last night were: Total Bromine 20, Free Chlorine 10, Total Alk 120, PH 7.2 or 7.8, Total Hardness 1000.
Our levels this morning were: TB 20, FC 10, TA 180, PH 7.8, TH 250.
(I'm thinking the Bromine and Total Hardness are not pertinent to our pool but are for a spa?)

The chemicals in the Aquarius kit that we added are: Pool Water Stabilizer (is this the CYA?) 450 g, Comfort 450 g, Algicide 500 ml, Stain Prevent 500 ml. (I basically don't know what any of those are compared to the chemicals discussed on this forum).

Anyway ... you can see we are in a mess. If the test strip numbers are in ppm then our chlorine is crazy, yet we still have darkish unclear water. The test strip for the PH shows almost pinkish and on the chart it should be more orange so that one is hard to read. At this point we are wondering if we should just drain the pool and start from scratch (utilizing the TFP method, of course!), and get a proper two way test kit.

Sigh. Your advice would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks so much.
Kris

 

[LFrankow]

Drain, scrub and fill. While it is refilling read over;

Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

I had a look downstairs at my useless collection of pool chemicals, left over from being pool stored, sometimes I wonder how much bleach I could have bought with that money.

 

[duraleigh]

Drain it.

All I would do with that pool is test pH and FC daily. Then, put about 16 oz of clorox in your pool every morning......whether you swim or not.

Enjoy the short rest of the swim season

If you decide to really get involved in your pool chemistry, read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. I still would maintain your pool with just Clorox but you will find that article very informative.

 

[jblizzle]

Have you seen the temporary/seasonal pool guide article in Pool School? I would follow that, which is basically what Dave said, but I would want to add the stabilizer.

 

[KristineKelly]

Hi Dave,

Thanks so much for the input. We are presently draining and I have read pool school a couple of times. Still fighting a bit with the calculator. I have a couple of questions (of course

We keep the pool covered with a secured tarp when not in use ... will that make a difference to anything i.e. chlorine levels, etc.

Do you think we need to use stabilizer (CYA).

The CYA still confuses me. There is no 'level' of it in a new pool until it is added correct? So if I add the recommended amount at the beginning ... and don't have a proper tester ... how do I know what the level of it is as time goes on? I can continue to test the chlorine and ph but what about the CYA. And how would I know when/if I need to add more?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Kris

 

[triptyx]

Covering the pool during the day will reduce the amount of chlorine lost to the sun. It may also prevent CCs (combined chlorine, or chlorine that has done its job killing something) from burning off, so some sun is a good thing.

CYA is consumed at a very low rate. The main way you lose CYA is due to water being splashed out and replaced with tap water, rain, etc. After the initial add, most folks test CYA very infrequently. If you know your pool volume, PoolMath can tell you the exact amount you need to reach target. Sine you're dealing with a temporary pool and a short swim season, you probably won't need to add CYA unless you drain/fill.

its a good idea to use stabilizer because it makes the chlorine less harsh on you, your clothing, etc. CYA will also reduce chlorine loss due to the sun, when your pool is uncovered.

 

[KristineKelly]

Thanks .. that was very helpful

 

[KristineKelly]

Draining Pool

Hi ... we're in the process of draining the pool ... any thoughts on how to get the last of the water out of the bottom ... probably about 6 inches deep.

Thanks

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: Draining Pool

There are a variety of pumps designed to lay flat or very close to the ground surface to pull water very low. Not sure in your area, but you might try a local hardware store to see if they rent one?

Also, just to keep everything together, I'm probably going to go ahead and combine this thread with your other one just it all flows nicely okay. Good luck and keep us posted. Have a nice day.

 

[needsajet]

You can also lay a hose in the bottom, and put a sock full of rocks over the end to hold it down. Then push the rest of the hose into the water, hand over hand, working your way to the free end. Then put your hand or thumb over the free end to seal it. Then pull it up and over the edge and take it to a spot lower than the pool water. Take your hand or thumb off and it should start siphoning.

 

[duraleigh]

Adding stabilizer (CYA) is just fine. My thinking in not suggesting it is OP is in BC, Canada, with maybe only a month or so of swim season left. Add that to the fact that CYA often comes in 4 lbs containers.....way too much for that pool. Just FC makes sense to me.

 

[jblizzle]

Not to complicate matters, but seems that a bag of Dichlor would make sense to slowly add the CYA and FC.

 

[needsajet]

I'm from there and yep, short season, and lots of options, but good until beginning or middle of September depending where in BC. I would add CYA to stop the FC from burning off by noon, and also keeping in mind the benefit of moderating the active chlorine. If you can find liquid stabilizer, and assuming this is a 9,000 litre pool - a 1 litre bottle will do the job, targeting 40 ppm CYA. Next I would adjust the pH to achieve around 7.5. For the first day, I'd add 1.5 litres of 8.25% bleach to blast any left over algae at 16 ppm FC, then 1 litre on the second day. After that, let the FC burn off until it comes in range of your test kit.

If you can't find liquid stabilizer, try to find a 1 kg bag. Add 360 g by weight if you have a scale, or you can measure in in a measuring cup, and use 400 ml by volume. Save the rest for next year.

For maintenance, it will be roughly 300 ml of 8.25% bleach per day and see how that goes, watching with your test kit and shooting for 4 ppm FC.

Please read Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals for instructions on adding chemicals.

The pool will be safe for swimming as soon as it warms up, and provided that FC is a minimum of 3 ppm, and the water is clear. Have fun!