Greetings all - so happy I found this website! I am the proud new owner of a Florida pool home in Clearwater/St. Pete. Details re. the pool and equipment are in my signature. I took ownership of the home 2 weeks ago and we are just now moving in so I am focusing on getting the pool into shape for what I hope will be a great summer season in our new spot!
This home sat vacant for several months while it was on the market with the pool maintained by some pool company. From what I can tell, they stopped by every now and then to empty baskets and dump in some stuff, reportedly algaecide of unknown variety, but the PRIMARY source of chlorine for the past several months has been 3" tabs (trichloro-s-triazinetrione). There is no automatic chlorine dispenser in the system.
I am waiting for my Taylor K-2006 test kit to arrive in the next couple of days so I can start doing my own testing. Up to now I've been taking water samples into our local Pinch-a-Penny every 4 or 5 days to keep an eye on things, supplementing that information with simple OTO chlorine and pH readings. My OTO chlorine readings seem to be matching the store's data pretty closely.
Biggest issue I seem to have is elevated CYA level, around 100 ppm according to 3 separate pool store tests conducted about 5 days apart. First pool-store test, about 14 days ago, showed chlorine at 10 ppm. At their suggestion, I removed the floating chlorine dispenser and tabs from the pool and bought some 10.5% liquid chlorine. I've been watching the chlorine levels slowly drop. The pH has remained fairly steady.
Here's my latest set of data from pool store:
FC 5.0
CC not tested
pH 7.5
TA 100
CH 400
CYA 100
TDS 1300
They are encouraging me to shock the pool weekly with 1.1 gallons of their 10.5% chlorine, then wait 24 hours and add 4 oz of "All in One Algaecide". Between weekly shocks, I'm advised to maintain chlorine levels at around 4 or 5 ppm using liquid chlorine additions.
When I asked whether to drain and replace some portion of the pool water to reduce CYA, they said it wasn't a big deal and it would slowly drop via evaporation, splash-out, and rainwater dilution over the summer. I also asked if I should be running my chlorine at a higher level due to high CYA and they said "no."
so I'm perplexed - I have read here on the forum that I should run with higher FC if my CYA levels are high, but then I think the forum does not advise weekly shock treatments - perhaps these two approaches offset? In other words: does running with high CYA, lower FC AND a weekly "shock" yield similar results to lower CYA, lower FC and NO weekely shock?
Any advice appreciated and welcome as I begin routine management of this pool. For what it's worth, the water is crystal clear at the moment after a thorough brushing and vacuuming a couple of days ago.
This home sat vacant for several months while it was on the market with the pool maintained by some pool company. From what I can tell, they stopped by every now and then to empty baskets and dump in some stuff, reportedly algaecide of unknown variety, but the PRIMARY source of chlorine for the past several months has been 3" tabs (trichloro-s-triazinetrione). There is no automatic chlorine dispenser in the system.
I am waiting for my Taylor K-2006 test kit to arrive in the next couple of days so I can start doing my own testing. Up to now I've been taking water samples into our local Pinch-a-Penny every 4 or 5 days to keep an eye on things, supplementing that information with simple OTO chlorine and pH readings. My OTO chlorine readings seem to be matching the store's data pretty closely.
Biggest issue I seem to have is elevated CYA level, around 100 ppm according to 3 separate pool store tests conducted about 5 days apart. First pool-store test, about 14 days ago, showed chlorine at 10 ppm. At their suggestion, I removed the floating chlorine dispenser and tabs from the pool and bought some 10.5% liquid chlorine. I've been watching the chlorine levels slowly drop. The pH has remained fairly steady.
Here's my latest set of data from pool store:
FC 5.0
CC not tested
pH 7.5
TA 100
CH 400
CYA 100
TDS 1300
They are encouraging me to shock the pool weekly with 1.1 gallons of their 10.5% chlorine, then wait 24 hours and add 4 oz of "All in One Algaecide". Between weekly shocks, I'm advised to maintain chlorine levels at around 4 or 5 ppm using liquid chlorine additions.
When I asked whether to drain and replace some portion of the pool water to reduce CYA, they said it wasn't a big deal and it would slowly drop via evaporation, splash-out, and rainwater dilution over the summer. I also asked if I should be running my chlorine at a higher level due to high CYA and they said "no."
so I'm perplexed - I have read here on the forum that I should run with higher FC if my CYA levels are high, but then I think the forum does not advise weekly shock treatments - perhaps these two approaches offset? In other words: does running with high CYA, lower FC AND a weekly "shock" yield similar results to lower CYA, lower FC and NO weekely shock?
Any advice appreciated and welcome as I begin routine management of this pool. For what it's worth, the water is crystal clear at the moment after a thorough brushing and vacuuming a couple of days ago.