Need some advice

[stanton]

I'm not to to owning a pool...just new to doing it right as far as checking this and that. My test reflects my neglect and lack of knowledge on pool care. I just switched to a Chem-less copper ionizer need a plan to get this right.




23750 gals vinyl liner and sand filter.
ph 7.4
FC 1.5
TC 1.5
CC .1
Calc 30
TA 70
CYA 95
TDS 500



I know I have to drain my pool to get the cya levels down. I see it would be cost effective to do that first before trying to add all the other stuff just to have it pumped out. After getting the cya down what would be the next move and so on?

 

[duraleigh]

Stanton,

You will not get much positive reinforcement on your copper system. By far, most folks here use chlorine as their sole source of sanitization.

While you can use the copper sytem, you will not get adequate sanitation without the use of chlorine.

 

[stanton]

My owners manual states that bleach or non chlorine shock will have to be used to keep my pool sanitized. No big deal to me. I'm aware (now after reading) that this site doesn't really like or support these forms of pool care. I'm not here to defend or bash either system. I posted here because there seems to be alot of knowledge here. I wasn't asking for help with the copper system but asking for advice on the best way to get my neglected pool back up to par. Thanks for any advice.

 

[JasonLion]

Your numbers look fairly good. You need to get the CYA down, but other than that I don't see any real problems. Once you replace water to get the CYA down you may well need to adjust things a little, as other numbers will change as well (depending on your fill water).

With copper systems it is important to not let the PH get too high as that will tend to cause metal stains.

The "problem" with copper systems is that you have to have some chlorine to be safe and need to be careful to avoid metal stains. As long as you are doing chlorine anyway why not go chlorine only and eliminate the risk of metal stains. Also, depending on the system, it can sometimes be difficult to keep the copper at the right level, too low and you get algae, too high and you get stains.

 

[stanton]

As long as you are doing chlorine anyway why not go chlorine only and eliminate the risk of metal stains.

Well to be honest...after reading all the info here I kinda feel I might have jumped off the chlorine bandwagon a little too early. I got tired of the increasing prices of tablets, the smell, and sinus problems. This ionizer seemed to be the way to go. Plus, my friend has one and loves it. I wasted money doing more stupid things so I'll just have suck it up if this turns out to be more trouble than it's worth. It sounded so good on paper though.lol

I plan on getting the CYA down this weekend. After that ...what is the most important to get under control?

 

[Buggsw]

Hi and welcome.

No problem if you use the copper system. Maybe there is a good one and over a year or two, you can let us know how it works for you.

This is still a good place to learn about the chemistry of pool care.

Your free chlorine is low, even if your CYA was in the recommended range. There are a few charts on this board that list the recommended FC for each range of CYA levels.

Your TA seems a bit low, too.

 

[JasonLion]

PH and sanitizer levels are always the first two things to check. Just about anything else can wait a day while you figure it out.

The true chlorine allergy is very very rare. Most people object to the smell and have a bad reaction to combined chlorine. Fortunatly if you pay a little bit of attention to the pool every day you can almost always avoid having any combined chlorine.