Hello, we are new home owners, as well as new pool owners. We visited Leslies initially to get an idea in regards to basic pool maintanance. We ended up paying for "pool school" which I was not very satisfied to say the least. This covered how to use the pump and skimmers, etc. All my questions regarding chemical balancing - which was the main reason we payed for pool school were answered vaguely. I mentioned that information between Lelies and what I was currently being told conflicted, but still got no justified answers. Leslies has told us that our TDS' were way too high - 4900 for a 20 - 25 thousand gallon pool, and we were to drain at least 3/4ths of it. The pool school guy (who was referred by Leslies) said that was not the case. All we want is to have correct information in regards to maintaining our pool without spending too much for chemicals that we don't need. Thank you for any advice.
Total Dissolved Solids too High, Leslie's says Drain Pool?!
- Thread starter VCJ
- Start date
reebok
0
you're in luck. the best pool school you will ever have is right here and it's free! all your water chemistry questions will be answered and will probably go against what you've already heard or learned, but I can tell you one thing, it's right. here is some info on TDS from JasonLion also.
pool-school/
TDS is essentially useless because it doesn't tell you what is actually in the water. It is completely possible to have a pool with a TDS reading of over 35,000 and have the water be perfectly well behaved, and have another pool with TDS around 1,000 that is completely intractable. TDS alone doesn't tell you anything.
Salt can raise TDS dramatically without causing any problems. An ocean water pool will routinely have TDS numbers over 30,000. Meanwhile, 500 ppm of CYA, or 5 ppm of ammonia, or 500 ppm of TA, or 500 ppm of borates can raise TDS just a little and cause huge problems. It all depends on what, specifically, is actually in the water.
pool-school/
TDS is essentially useless because it doesn't tell you what is actually in the water. It is completely possible to have a pool with a TDS reading of over 35,000 and have the water be perfectly well behaved, and have another pool with TDS around 1,000 that is completely intractable. TDS alone doesn't tell you anything.
Salt can raise TDS dramatically without causing any problems. An ocean water pool will routinely have TDS numbers over 30,000. Meanwhile, 500 ppm of CYA, or 5 ppm of ammonia, or 500 ppm of TA, or 500 ppm of borates can raise TDS just a little and cause huge problems. It all depends on what, specifically, is actually in the water.
Not correct, don't worry about it. 
Your first foray into being Pool Stored. Happened to the best of us...
Your other numbers are more important if you have water clarity issues. We can help you with that if you have any problems.
The best thing you can do right now is read OUR Pool School - and then order one of the recommended test kits.
You won't need MOST of the chemicals the Pool Store sells.
Your first foray into being Pool Stored. Happened to the best of us...Your other numbers are more important if you have water clarity issues. We can help you with that if you have any problems.
The best thing you can do right now is read OUR Pool School - and then order one of the recommended test kits.
You won't need MOST of the chemicals the Pool Store sells.
Thank you! Ironically, when we got the initial readings, they asked us how the water looked, and I said that it looked great - even the pool school guy said the same thing today! We do have some yellowish algae on the sides that I scrub off, but other than that, the water looks crystal clear. I listed the other numbers from the analysis form for some reason they left a few areas blank. I'm about to order one of the test kits you all recommend. I feel much more comfortable learning and testing oursleves as opposed to having to take a sample to Lslies every week. We do have a water softener hooked up to the house - how will that affect the pool when we fill it?
Free Available Chlorine: 0
Total A. Chl: 0
Total Bromine: Not tested
Water PH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 174
Calcium Hardness: Not tested
Cyunaric Acid: 45
Total Dissolved Solids: 4900
Copper/Iron: Not tested
Phosphates: Not tested
Salt: 4.9
the results were based on a 10,000 gallon pool when ours is actually between 20 and 25,000.
Thank you very much for all of the help! We've already learned more from this forum than we have from our handful of trips to Leslie's and pool school!
Free Available Chlorine: 0
Total A. Chl: 0
Total Bromine: Not tested
Water PH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 174
Calcium Hardness: Not tested
Cyunaric Acid: 45
Total Dissolved Solids: 4900
Copper/Iron: Not tested
Phosphates: Not tested
Salt: 4.9
the results were based on a 10,000 gallon pool when ours is actually between 20 and 25,000.
Thank you very much for all of the help! We've already learned more from this forum than we have from our handful of trips to Leslie's and pool school!
reebok
0
you need to start shocking. when you get your kit (the tf100 is a better value) do the overnight fc loss test. how to shock (it's not the pool store way) and the overnight fc loss test are both explained in pool-school/
Hmmm....
Well, you need to get some chlorine in there pronto or you're gonna have trouble.
5,000 gallons is a pretty significant issue when determining how much of each chem to add.
You need to try and determine accurate sizing, perhaps the Pool Calculator can help you figure it out.
You'll need some bleach, at least 4 of the large jugs (182oz) to start with. If you see visible algae and your FC is 0, you'll need to shock your pool.
Instructions for shocking are in pool school.
Well, you need to get some chlorine in there pronto or you're gonna have trouble.
5,000 gallons is a pretty significant issue when determining how much of each chem to add.
You need to try and determine accurate sizing, perhaps the Pool Calculator can help you figure it out.
You'll need some bleach, at least 4 of the large jugs (182oz) to start with. If you see visible algae and your FC is 0, you'll need to shock your pool.
Instructions for shocking are in pool school.