Second season owning a pool and ugh. Last year I installed a puck-fed chlorinator and didn't really do much else. Water stayed clear all summer and all I usually had to do was add some acid. However, my CYA number was already high and I knew it was going to be sky-high come this spring. Other family stuff really slowed down my progress in getting it open, so I'm just now really trying to get it right. When I first tested the CYA a couple weeks ago it was off the charts (well under the marker for 100, couldn't tell exact but didn't really worry since it was so high), and the pool store had it at 200 so I drained and re-filled twice (half and half).
When I was done with that I had my CYA at maybe 10, pool store had it at 40. My Ph was really high, TA low, and obviously I had no chlorine. Also my CH was on the low side (120), but I have not added anything for that as I read somewhere (can't remember, maybe a post here) to not add anything for CH at 120 or higher. So last week I added a bottle of stabilizer, some baking soda, and shocked. The FC reading after that was about 20. That's been 4-5 days and with my pump running 10-12 hrs a day my FC is as below. A couple issues I'm having:
1. Black spots. I can't remember when exactly I first saw them, but it was before the refill. With the shock they nearly went away, but now they are back. The largest one today (2nd pic) actually looks kind of rust colored/brown. Is this algae of some sorts? I can't brush it off, but my FC is still pretty high so I didn't think it would be algae but obviously could be wrong. These pictures are from yesterday and today, as it has grown/expanded/changed some.
2. Last night when I checked the water I had 1.5 CC. Made myself a note to shock the pool this morning, but when I checked this morning the CC was 0.0....this afternoon it's 0.5. I am confused how they went down overnight?
Other than some cloudiness when I add the zappit chlorine (dissolved in pool water) the water has looked great but I just know that something is not right. I had planned on switching to BBB this year but just can't commit myself to that with two kids under 3 at home. Also contemplated a SWG but ugh, didn't want to drop the cash. Figured I would just try to control my CYA with more frequent backwashing and resign myself to the fact that a drain may be in my yearly future until I am able to switch.
My guess is that I didn't keep the shock level up long enough to properly sanitize the pool, but I am not sure how long I need to do that and I have just been so frustrated that I didn't want to do anything else without coming here first. Last summer the ignorance was bliss as I really didn't know any of this and the water stayed clear and we enjoyed the pool. Now that I know more it's not as much fun so far. Sorry, :blah: :blah: :blah: .
Today's numbers:
FC: 11.0
CC: 0.5
Ph: 7.5
TA: 130
CH: 180
CYA: 70
When I was done with that I had my CYA at maybe 10, pool store had it at 40. My Ph was really high, TA low, and obviously I had no chlorine. Also my CH was on the low side (120), but I have not added anything for that as I read somewhere (can't remember, maybe a post here) to not add anything for CH at 120 or higher. So last week I added a bottle of stabilizer, some baking soda, and shocked. The FC reading after that was about 20. That's been 4-5 days and with my pump running 10-12 hrs a day my FC is as below. A couple issues I'm having:
1. Black spots. I can't remember when exactly I first saw them, but it was before the refill. With the shock they nearly went away, but now they are back. The largest one today (2nd pic) actually looks kind of rust colored/brown. Is this algae of some sorts? I can't brush it off, but my FC is still pretty high so I didn't think it would be algae but obviously could be wrong. These pictures are from yesterday and today, as it has grown/expanded/changed some.
2. Last night when I checked the water I had 1.5 CC. Made myself a note to shock the pool this morning, but when I checked this morning the CC was 0.0....this afternoon it's 0.5. I am confused how they went down overnight?
Other than some cloudiness when I add the zappit chlorine (dissolved in pool water) the water has looked great but I just know that something is not right. I had planned on switching to BBB this year but just can't commit myself to that with two kids under 3 at home. Also contemplated a SWG but ugh, didn't want to drop the cash. Figured I would just try to control my CYA with more frequent backwashing and resign myself to the fact that a drain may be in my yearly future until I am able to switch.
My guess is that I didn't keep the shock level up long enough to properly sanitize the pool, but I am not sure how long I need to do that and I have just been so frustrated that I didn't want to do anything else without coming here first. Last summer the ignorance was bliss as I really didn't know any of this and the water stayed clear and we enjoyed the pool. Now that I know more it's not as much fun so far. Sorry, :blah: :blah: :blah: .
Today's numbers:
FC: 11.0
CC: 0.5
Ph: 7.5
TA: 130
CH: 180
CYA: 70
