To continue or not....

[isriam]

I have a pool that was built in 2013 that came with ic40 and automation. ive been told by the pool company maintaining it that they are using tablets because the salt cell isnt working. i havent fully tested the water yet, but i know in 2 weeks i've had to clean the cell twice due to build up, which is telling me the water is really really far off. i've got deposits on the side walls, and all around the spa is turning white. on top of that the ic40 is dead, and will not create chlorine. says 40% left on life, but it was set on 100% with 8 hour run time. i'm sure its fully gone at this point.

i'm wondering if i should even bother with the 525 to replace the ic40, or just cut my losses here and go back to liquid chlorine or even tablets. i'm mostly concerned with the pool falling apart because i was told the stone veneer has already fallen off, and doing a brush yesterday i noticed the deposits are really caked on and the veneer is actually starting to disolve underneath. the spa has black tile around the spillover and it is starting to lift also, with water getting under it. seems like a lot of damage for a 3 year old pool. i doubt any of it was sealed before they went salt.

oh also the water softener was disabled, so i'm thinking that might also help now that its repaired.

 

[lightingguy]

That does sound like a lot of damage for a 3 year old pool.

We could guess as to the problems - but it would be much better to start with a full set of water test results - including salt.

How are you testing now?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You've had a pool company caring for your almost new pool and *this* is the condition its in???? I'd say you were paying for a lot of neglect and maybe downright abuse.

Do you have one of the test kits we recommend? WE need a full set of test results-
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Then we can go from there to see how to help you fix this problem(s). My first suggestion would be to FIRE THE POOL GUYS!

Yip

 

[isriam]

yea I was testing after i posted this. i'm not new to TFP just to this pool. closing on the home aug 1st but took prepossession, thats how i knew about the pool company using pucks, ic40 at 100% and dead, and the pool having damage.

tc - 2 to 3
ph - 8.2+
ch - 650-850 (water never turned totally blue at 34 drops)
ta - 200
cya - 100+
salt - 3900 (ic40 results)

fill water from tap is ta-140 and ch-25. i cant afford to drain/refill so it looks like my first step is to start lowing ph and then aerate to lower TA.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Are you in Carrollton TX or Phoenix AZ? Believe it or not it makes a difference... I can't imagine Phoenix having CH of 25?

Looks like a drain is in order based on those results... enough to get your CYA down to about 40 if your need to SLAM. How does the water look?

With a CYA of over 100 the FC is wayyyyyy too low; Your pH is entirely too high especially if your dealing with scale. Keeping the pH on the low normal side helps avoid scale when calcium is so high.

I'd fire the pool service; then take the SWG in to a pool store that can test it. Then decide what you want to do about that CYA.....?

Yippee

 

[Jimrahbe]

If this were my pool, this is what I would do..

1. Order one of the TFP recommended test kits.
2. Turn the SWG off and remove it if you have the adapter.
3. Get your chemistry corrected using the test kit results and Pool School.
a. I'd get the pH under control first
b. Then the CYA
c. Then the rest..
4. After everything is within test limits, then I'd reconnect the SWG and see if it is working or not..
5. At that point decide if the SWG is worth keeping/replacing or not.

Personally I can't envision not having a SWG or Stenner. But.. a SWG is not made to turn bad pool chemistry into good pool chemistry, it is designed to maintain the pool chemistry you have.

Jim R.

 

[isriam]

i have tf100 and tfp method down pat. i'm just wondering if the destruction of the pool is due to the salt, or the high ph. i've added dry acid to get ph down to 7.2 so i can start working on ph and ta. im more concerned with the longevity of the pool at this point, and based on my testing it looks like its due to high ph and not salt.

i can deal with the swg later i think, i just need to get these levels back on track. pool company was fired the day i took over the house, but luckily i got to talk to them to find out some history. thats how i know the pool has already had a major repair to the veneer in just 3 years.

i'll update my profile, i'm in phoenix but i have a water softener which is why my tap ch is so low. i think i do need a drain, but i cannot afford it in anthem. cost me 500 bucks last month in water bills.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Have you tried the dilution method for CYA, to see if you're not closer to 200 than 100?

 

[lightingguy]

Sounds like you have a handle on it. Obviously the PH/TA/CH combo is a mess and explains the scale issues.

Diluting your sample by 50% and retesting CYA will help answer the question of draining - expensive or not.

Hard to say about the other damage. Everything points to mismanagement and neglect.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

IF there is no algae, you can just figure out how to manage the FC between the SWG and bolus doses of liquid chlorine until you can exchange some water.

Use Muriatic Acid instead of dry acid. Dry acid leaves behind sulfites which aren't desirable in a plaster pool. MA is cheaper and works faster too. MA lowers both pH and TA.
If you want to raise your pH you just need to aerate the pool or use its water features.
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity


You need to manage your CH with a lower pH to handle the scale. Pool School - Calcium Scaling

I'm sorry you're having to go thru all this in a new-to-you house When its all spiffed up, we'd all love to see pics of it, ok?

 

[isriam]

well the pool is beautiful its just the scaling and breaking down of equipment/rock that i'm worried about. when i get some time i'll upload some pics. i'm gonna do some reading about high ch and see how i can manage that long term. if i can handle it through the summer, maybe the cya will drop with evaporation and i can manage it easier. its 100% full sun from about 6am-7pm so i imagine im going through a lot of fill water.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

..yeah.. yeah...but... cya doesn't go away via evaporation...darn it! It actually just gets more concentrated in the remaining water. The only way to lower cya is to remove water and replace it with cya-free water.

I know. I know. It stinks.