First Time Testing! Taking over from crrook pool guy. CYA high...

[bankingdom]

Hi guys,

Bought new house in January. Used old owners pool guy, charged me $175 a month and didn't do much. Finally he lied to me and charged me $100 to clean my filters and never did. I let him go and I found this site!

Other members have been helpful in getting a new heater and pump. Now I just bought the TF-100 kit and tested my water for the first time.

FC: 7
CYA: 90 or so (the whole black dot thing is still a little tough for me to get, but its at least 90 or even 100)
PH: 7.8 ish (is the only way matching the colors? It seems tough for me to get it exactly right)
TA: 90

My question is why is my CYA so high? Is it because the pool guy only came once a week and could only add chemicals once a week? Do I need to drain water? If so, how? Some type of pump?

Thanks!

 

[Patrick_B]

Hello there again Bankingdom,

The Cya became high with the Chlorinating products he used. Many Commercial ones have Cya in them so they give it to the pool as a side effect. Many service people unfortunately don't watch the buildup of it, and some don't even realize the threat. The only practical way to reduce it is dilution. You can do this by renting a submersible sump pump from Home Depot and draining the water off. Where to put it may be a question. Do you live in the city?

The pH test is usually not a problem unless you have some color blindness and it's not unheard of. If not, it just takes a little learning. There are meters, but I don't encourage the cheaper ones although some are quite satisfied with them. I come from a place where I used the best pH meters on the planet daily, but I eventually made myself get used to that color block test. I'm extremely good with it now, and if I can get used to it, anyone can. Keep trying with it and it will get easier. It isn't a laser precise test, but it is amply accurate for running a pool. Do your best, and it will be fine.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Ben,

You did not say, but I was under the impression that you are/were using a 3" Chlorine Tablet Dispenser.

If so this is the main reason your CYA is so high. CYA is used to help hold the Chlorine gas into the tablet form.

Every time you use one, you add both FC and CYA to your water. The FC gets used up, but the CYA stays forever and continues to build up.

Last time we talked, I thought you were going to go with a saltwater pool??? Maybe not.. Is that still your plan?

Jim R.

 

[bankingdom]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Jim, Yes, I was going for the saltwater pool but "you guys" on here told me to wait till the intellicenter comes out. Maybe a bad idea, but I returned the easytouch I already had in my garage and that I paid $100 to return because people on the forum were telling me the easytouch would be obsolete and the $1700 I just spent would be worthless. So I'm patiently waiting for the intellicenter to come out and when it does I will convert to salt. Any idea when it will be available?

Yes, the pool guy (crook) was using chlorine tablets. We have the little blue thing floating in the pool, but now its empty and I've been adding liquid chlorine when the FC goes down. So with my CYA so high, can I just wait till the water evaporates and just keep adding more fresh water slowly, or you think I really need to drain? How are the water prices in Southlake? Probably cost a significant amount to refill half the pool, right?

So I need to have my FC at 7, right? I think that is what the pool math calculator was telling me. Is it ok if I just check once a week and add Chlorine to keep it at 7?

Patrick, I just bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YBUH4RC?tag=slickdeals&ascsubtag=c223684826aa11e79efcba0f56d62a6e0INT
I know its cheap and probably not that accurate, but man, I just can't tell jack from matching those colors. I will probably do both for now until I get the hang of the colors. Its only $10 after coupon.

 

[Mr Bruce]

You will need to drain water to lower your CYA, it will not go away with evaporation. Being in TX, you don't need to shoot very low, somewhere around 50 would be great.

You will need to test and add more than once a week, more like every 1-2 days.

I am not an expert on electronic ph testers, but I believe they have to be stored specially and calibrated every so often. I sometimes struggle with the PH test as well. I hold it at arms length against something very white, like a paper towel roll. Sometimes it also helps to block out each section, so you aren't comparing against the whole strip, just one block at a time, if that makes sense.