First time pool owner and I want to swim, but...

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I wouldn't worry about the chlorine in the water hurting trees. At 10 ppm, there is not much, and it should get used up on the first organics (ground) it sees long before it get to the roots. I would only worry if you pump it out fast enough that it pools around the base of young trees...and even then I doubt it is a problem.
 
big_g said:
If let the pool sit for a week without adding any more chlorine, would that drop the chlorine levels significantly by next weekend (when my sump pump should come in)?
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Yes, it will drop...a lot (probably close to zero depending on organic load and sun exposure). The danger you run is that algae starts growing. Again, I would think 10 ppm is not a problem for the trees, with the above stipulations I mentioned. With that said, if you water does get an algae outbreak, we can help you deal with that too. If you decide to let it drop, I probably wouldn't swim in due to lack of a sanitizer in the water.
 
linen said:
big_g said:
If let the pool sit for a week without adding any more chlorine, would that drop the chlorine levels significantly by next weekend (when my sump pump should come in)?
Click to expand...
Yes, it will drop...a lot (probably close to zero depending on organic load and sun exposure). The danger you run is that algae starts growing. Again, I would think 10 ppm is not a problem for the trees, with the above stipulations I mentioned. With that said, if you water does get an algae outbreak, we can help you deal with that too. If you decide to let it drop, I probably wouldn't swim in due to lack of a sanitizer in the water.
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I'm not gonna swim in it until I get everything all leveled out. I'm a little paranoid... :)
So what I'll do then is just let it drop some, maybe to like 4-5ppm, and then drain it.
 
big_g said:
linen said:
[quote="big_g":3eklygor]If let the pool sit for a week without adding any more chlorine, would that drop the chlorine levels significantly by next weekend (when my sump pump should come in)?
Click to expand...
Yes, it will drop...a lot (probably close to zero depending on organic load and sun exposure). The danger you run is that algae starts growing. Again, I would think 10 ppm is not a problem for the trees, with the above stipulations I mentioned. With that said, if you water does get an algae outbreak, we can help you deal with that too. If you decide to let it drop, I probably wouldn't swim in due to lack of a sanitizer in the water.
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I'm not gonna swim in it until I get everything all leveled out. I'm a little paranoid... :)
So what I'll do then is just let it drop some, maybe to like 4-5ppm, and then drain it.[/quote:3eklygor]

FYI, the accepted concentration of chlorine in drinking water is 4ppm ... do trees need cleaner water than we do :mrgreen:
 
Ok guys so here is the latest... I let my pool sit for a full week with no Chlorine being added. Got my TF-100 kit today and used it to test the FC levels... Still showing greater than 10ppm!! In fact, the color of the test solution is like an orange. Not even a yellow shade... So that puts it off the charts, so to speak. Now I don't know what to do because I'm not going to dump that on all my plants...! Am I doing something wrong? My other test kit produces the same shade of orange, so...
I'll test the CYA tomorrow to confirm that it is as high as I think it is.
 
big_g said:
Got my TF-100 kit today and used it to test the FC levels... Still showing greater than 10ppm!! In fact, the color of the test solution is like an orange. Not even a yellow shade...
Click to expand...

You should be using the "other" test for cl if you have the tf-100, the one where the water goes from pink to clear, that way you can test accurately to higher levels of cl.
 

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Ok, I just did the FAS-DPD test. Pretty cool stuff, I felt like I was back in school in chemistry class. :-D

I added 36 drops before it turned back to clear, so that means the FC is 18ppm. No CC. That is still way too high for me to dump on my trees. Guess I'll let it sit another week or so without adding any more chlorine...
 
Have you tested cya yet...very interested to see what you get. If you first test shows it is above 100 ppm, then do it again by diluting the pool water 50/50 with tap water (tap water should have no cya) and multiply the result by 2 to get your cya level.
 
linen said:
Have you tested cya yet...very interested to see what you get. If you first test shows it is above 100 ppm, then do it again by diluting the pool water 50/50 with tap water (tap water should have no cya) and multiply the result by 2 to get your cya level.
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Yes I did the CYA test:
Results with 100% pool water: I couldn't see the black dot after less than a quarter of the way to 100.
Results with 50% pool, 50% tap water: I couldn't see the black dot after a little less than halfway to 100.

So I'm going to guess than my CYA is so stinking high that the FC levels are going to drop very slow...? :(
 
Yeah you need to do a drain or RO treatment. You could dilute 4:1 and repeat the test, but I think it is not worth it.

I still do not your trees will have problem at 16 ppm FC since the FC will be used up before it hits the roots...again assuming the water does not pool at the base of the tree.
 
linen said:
big_g, could you put your pool details in your sig. I couldn't remember what kind of pool/liner etc. you have. Pool type and water table have a lot to do with how much you can drain safely.
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I updated my sig. At some point I'll make it less "sentencey"... :)

I live in Tucson, and the water table varies a lot, but is usually pretty deep. At my old house about 10 miles away we had a well and I think it was around 300 feet deep.
http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/publicati ... p3_01.html
 
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