I'm a new pool owner, and new to this forum. So please forgive me for asking any questions that have probably been asked and answered here in the past.
Just bought a home which already has an inground pool. The previous owners didn't offer any advice for pool maintenance as they had a pool service to take care of the pool. I'm hoping to do my own pool maintenance, but to be honest....it terrifies me! I don't want to mess it up, and especially don't want to cause any safety problems for potential swimmers.
As well as we can calculate, the pool is approximately 20,000. (My husband is the math wiz, but the pool is irregular shaped, so I'm just trusting his calculations.) It's filled (when needed) from our well water - not city water. We're using an inline chlorinator and the 3" trichlor tabs, which we add about 3 a week. So far, the pool has been clear except for one bout of mustard algae. We treated that by shocking and algaecide about two months ago and it seems to have taken care of the problem. The algae hasn't come back.
So my question is this. The FC reading (using test strips) has been consistenly around 10, and the CYA reading stays high -- maybe around 150. Is this something that needs to be fixed? As I said, the water is clear and I hardly ever have to brush the pool. I do it once in awhile just because I feel like I should. From my online research, I get the idea that this CYA level is too high and diminishes the effects of the free chlorine. So, should I be worried about my chlorine level and sanitation, even though my free chlorine reading is so high?
I'm stumped. I want to be able to trust that the chlorine is doing its job so that I don't have to worry about any bacteria or other organisms in my pool!
Thanks!!!
Just bought a home which already has an inground pool. The previous owners didn't offer any advice for pool maintenance as they had a pool service to take care of the pool. I'm hoping to do my own pool maintenance, but to be honest....it terrifies me! I don't want to mess it up, and especially don't want to cause any safety problems for potential swimmers.
As well as we can calculate, the pool is approximately 20,000. (My husband is the math wiz, but the pool is irregular shaped, so I'm just trusting his calculations.) It's filled (when needed) from our well water - not city water. We're using an inline chlorinator and the 3" trichlor tabs, which we add about 3 a week. So far, the pool has been clear except for one bout of mustard algae. We treated that by shocking and algaecide about two months ago and it seems to have taken care of the problem. The algae hasn't come back.
So my question is this. The FC reading (using test strips) has been consistenly around 10, and the CYA reading stays high -- maybe around 150. Is this something that needs to be fixed? As I said, the water is clear and I hardly ever have to brush the pool. I do it once in awhile just because I feel like I should. From my online research, I get the idea that this CYA level is too high and diminishes the effects of the free chlorine. So, should I be worried about my chlorine level and sanitation, even though my free chlorine reading is so high?
I'm stumped. I want to be able to trust that the chlorine is doing its job so that I don't have to worry about any bacteria or other organisms in my pool!
Thanks!!!