4 yr old pool, taking it over from pool guy

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

sbranding

Member
Oct 6, 2023
6
Austin, TX
Hi all, thanks in advance for any insights you can offer. As stated, my pool is 4 years old. It has been solely maintained by a pool professional and there has been a blue floating chlorinator in it the whole time. It's never been drained. I got one of the Taylor test kits and my numbers are...
pH: 8
Alkalinity: 130
CH: 500
CYA: 200+
FC: 2
CC: 0
Pool size is about 11k gallons. In-ground. Pebbletec. I have a Dolphin Nautilus CC Pro robot that does my cleaning. DE filter. Location is Austin, TX.
I've read a TON of articles/information about pool chemistry, both here and all over the internet, and believe I understand enough to be successful with it. The biggest question I have is, with CYA that high, how is it that my pool is clear and algae free and seemingly in perfect health? There's nothing uncomfortable about swimming it in and it looks crystal clear. On a weekly basis my pool guy would add tabs to the floater and either add liquid chlorine or shock. That's it, every week, over and over.
I plan on draining it to get CYA and CH down to acceptable levels but I have one more question... I don't have a SWCG and would prefer not to spend the money and getting any pool company to respond about anything here is almost impossible (my fancy lights gave out 2+ years ago and nobody will come out to replace them) and I would prefer a professional do the installation if I did get one. So my question is... it seems way easier to just keep doing what my pool guy was doing (after draining and balancing the pool) and just drain half of it every year when pool season is over. I know that's not "the way" but I'm looking for the most convenient option of maintaining the pool for the roughly 7 months a year that we swim in it.
Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you!
 
sbranding said:
Hi all, thanks in advance for any insights you can offer. As stated, my pool is 4 years old. It has been solely maintained by a pool professional and there has been a blue floating chlorinator in it the whole time. It's never been drained. I got one of the Taylor test kits and my numbers are...
pH: 8
Alkalinity: 130
CH: 500
CYA: 200+
FC: 2
CC: 0
Pool size is about 11k gallons. In-ground. Pebbletec. I have a Dolphin Nautilus CC Pro robot that does my cleaning. DE filter. Location is Austin, TX.
I've read a TON of articles/information about pool chemistry, both here and all over the internet, and believe I understand enough to be successful with it. The biggest question I have is, with CYA that high, how is it that my pool is clear and algae free and seemingly in perfect health? There's nothing uncomfortable about swimming it in and it looks crystal clear. On a weekly basis my pool guy would add tabs to the floater and either add liquid chlorine or shock. That's it, every week, over and over.
I plan on draining it to get CYA and CH down to acceptable levels but I have one more question... I don't have a SWCG and would prefer not to spend the money and getting any pool company to respond about anything here is almost impossible (my fancy lights gave out 2+ years ago and nobody will come out to replace them) and I would prefer a professional do the installation if I did get one. So my question is... it seems way easier to just keep doing what my pool guy was doing (after draining and balancing the pool) and just drain half of it every year when pool season is over. I know that's not "the way" but I'm looking for the most convenient option of maintaining the pool for the roughly 7 months a year that we swim in it.
Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you!
Click to expand...
Hey welcome!

Obviously it’s your pool so you can do whatever you want. You’ll need to drain at least 80% of the water to get the CYA down depending on how far above 200 it is, maybe all of it. Depending on where you are located and your pool surface, draining the water can cause problems with the pool finish, liners shifting, etc so it’s not a totally safe thing to do all the time, though maybe fine for short periods. If you have lots of cheap water though it’s certainly possible to do it that way every couple years.

The issue is really how often and how well it’s being maintained. Having someone come out once a week and just throwing stuff in can keep it just clear enough to not notice anything wrong, but over time the pebble/plaster can be damaged or stained, or maybe nothing bad happens. No way to predict.

Something to think about though, a salt water chlorinator and regular testing by the homeowner is the easiest way to maintain a pool hands down, doesn’t require ever draining the pool, and is cheaper than using a weekly service person, and you know for sure the pool is being maintained in a way that won’t lead to its early failure.
 
Bperry said:
Hey welcome!

Obviously it’s your pool so you can do whatever you want. You’ll need to drain at least 80% of the water to get the CYA down depending on how far above 200 it is, maybe all of it. Depending on where you are located and your pool surface, draining the water can cause problems with the pool finish, liners shifting, etc so it’s not a totally safe thing to do all the time, though maybe fine for short periods. If you have lots of cheap water though it’s certainly possible to do it that way every couple years.

The issue is really how often and how well it’s being maintained. Having someone come out once a week and just throwing stuff in can keep it just clear enough to not notice anything wrong, but over time the pebble/plaster can be damaged or stained, or maybe nothing bad happens. No way to predict.

Something to think about though, a salt water chlorinator and regular testing by the homeowner is the easiest way to maintain a pool hands down, doesn’t require ever draining the pool, and is cheaper than using a weekly service person, and you know for sure the pool is being maintained in a way that won’t lead to its early failure.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
Welcome to the forum.
One thing to consider. A FC of 2 with a CYA of 200+ means the pool water is not sanitary. The kill time for any bacteria or virus is very, very slow and thus human to human transfer is possible. May not be a big concern, but something to understand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bperry
mknauss said:
Welcome to the forum.
One thing to consider. A FC of 2 with a CYA of 200+ means the pool water is not sanitary. The kill time for any bacteria or virus is very, very slow and thus human to human transfer is possible. May not be a big concern, but something to understand.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I do understand that piece of it which is why I recognize the need to drain it. So basically I’m at a high risk of dangerous things not being killed off and thus far I’ve just been lucky to not have had any issues like that?
 
Correct. A large group of children or elderly could cause issues quickly. If just you swimming, likely not much of an issue.
 
The ear infection thing is legit. I had one that seemed to occur after swimming in the pool before I discovered TFP. Took a year of doctor visits to clear up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply