CYA Lowering in "Winter"

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NAOtis

NAOtis

0
Dec 15, 2017
8
Charlotte, NC
I'm going to do my best *not* to sound like I'm freaking out but...I am :)

Current levels:

FC- 6.6
CC- 0
PH- Below 7 (30 drops of R6 required to bring it up to the proper level)
TA- 40
CH- 310
CYA- 150

Needless to say, the CYA is out of control and due to that, we have algae that is insane. I've accepted that we need to replace 73% of the water (according to the Pool Calculator. If I've got this wrong, please correct me!!)

My idea is this and I need some help to determine if I'm crazy or not. We need to replace water but because it's cold here, we can't leave the vinyl liner unprotected for any period of time without risking it's integrity.

Idea:

1. Turn on backwash for about an hour and drain as much as we can.
2. Turn on the hoses until it refills immediately
3. Test to see where we are (ordered another test kit for this purpose that will give us 6 tests.)
4. Repeat as necessary

Apologies in advance if this seems fragmented. I'm beyond anxious about fixing this because our liner is only 1 year old and with this much algae, I'm afraid of permanent staining. Truth be told, I'm more afraid of having to replace a $3k liner again....

TYA for your help
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: You have the right concept - exchange water to lower the CYA. That has to be step #1. I don't see however where exchanging water will hurt the liner as long as you don't go to low or leave it exposed for a long time. Since you appear to have a multiport valve and can backwash to waste fairly quickly, then yes, remove a good hunk of water and start re-filling. While 73% may be a good estimate by the calculator, your weather conditions may dictate exchanging water in a slightly less efficient manner - maybe about 40-50% first then refill. Test levels and do another partial exchange. Doing the exchange in one large swap is always more efficient, but with cold weather, elevated water table, and other conditions there, you might chose to do a couple smaller exchanges. Either way, get that CYA back down to earth so you can do a SLAM. Lastly, if you read the ideal CYA for a SLAM (to remove algae) is 30, that's correct (uses less bleach). But if you get the CYA down to about 50 or so, you can still work with that. I'd say at the very least, get the CYA under 60 and anything lower closer to 30 is bonus points.

Hope that helps.
 
The standing recommendation for vinyl liners is to leave at least 1 foot of water in the shallow end of the pool then refill. Though that needs to be predicated by what is your water table? If higher than that, then you need to drain less.

You may need to get a sump pump to achieve the larger drains. If you have a main drain that is plumbed separately to your pump you can use that with your pool pump.

You will need quite a bit of FAS-DPD testing reagents if you are going to SLAM Process. TFTestkits.net has refills.

Take care.
 
Re: CYA Lowering in "Winter"

Hi there! I purchased the single CYA testing kit that's available since my Taylor kit is still relatively full. I figured that was the most economical solution at this point.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't have a bottom drain, unfortunately. My husband turned on the backwash, full tilt and also threw in the sump pump. We did about 1/4th of it yesterday and refilled. The CYA hasn't changed yet. We're doing another 1/4th today. If it wasn't green like a crayon, I'd be leaving this till spring. :-/
 
Update- drained 60% of the pool and took the water to get tested today at Leslie's. I ran out of the reagent and my shipment hasn't come in yet. They said it's just over 100. I'm sort of at a loss at this point. The CYA must have been even higher than my initial test. We even got in trouble from the county for draining water the other day :( They thought there was a water main break and came knocking on our door. I guess we're going to have to do this a tiny bit at a time over the next several weeks. Thankfully the algae isn't staining and I was able to brush a lot of it off. This will eventually be resolved if I keep at it, right? :-(
 
They said it's just over 100. I'm sort of at a loss at this point. The CYA must have been even higher than my initial test.
Click to expand...
Very common when learning the CYA testing process. Of course we generally never accept the local pool store's test numbers as accurate, so once you get your own supply of reagents, you may still be surprised what your CYA is even after a significant water exchange. I know people who get into trouble with their local HOA or city officials for heavy water drains, so just do the best you can. Perhaps wear a ski mask and do the water drains at 2:00 AM? Bwwaaahaaaa!
 
Just a note, I think the initial concern for the OP regarding lowering water levels in her pool is that it is winter and she is in an area that can freeze. So keeping the water down would prohibit her from running the pump through all lines while it could be well below freezing out.

Yes, you will love managing your pool once all levels are proper!
 

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