Newbie, opening issues/questions

[smith622]

Hi!

I'm a fairly new pool owner, purchased the house towards the end of the summer last year. Just had the pool opened Mon and I was googling some things after the pool people left and found this site. After reading through the pool school info and some forum posts, I decided to post a few questions. First, I'll give a little back info- sorry if it's so long but hoping to get as much pointers from everyone as I can!

Quickly learned that the old owners were not good with upkeep on anything at this house. Apparently a few years after install a portion of the pool did come out of the ground and the installers had to come back out and put it back in the ground and re-pour the concrete surround. I don't know much about what happened, only heard stories from my neighbors. Before closing, we were informed that the pool heater is not working. No further explanation, so I will have to look into getting someone out to look at it. The pool cover and pump they left us turned out to be an old thin tarp with tons of holes, a bunch of cinderblocks and an empty pump box. Needless to say, it didn't work well and I'm going to be in search for a cover (pool company told me it would be $5k!, hoping to find something a bit cheaper). The old owners met with us to go over how to take care of the pool before closing. Basically, it was to fill the strainer with chlorine tabs. Then they instructed us to contact a local pool service company who has handled the pool since installation and follow their advice. When said company came out last fall for closing, that is when we found out that we had an off-line chlorinator. We were excited to find this out, but during opening on Mon we were told there was a leak in the chlorinator. Water is pouring out the side towards the bottom. I disconnected it and used one of the flex pipes to connect the two holes as a temp fix. We were quoted $100 for a new one and I tried to google a better price when I found this website- thankfully! Now I am thinking I would like to do a Liquidator instead. Would this be good for my pool? And the big question- can I use the two holes that were used by the chlorinator? I will post pics below. The chlorinator is not connected, so the two holes just have the one black pipe to help you find what I am talking about.

Since we had a makeshift cover, it ended up in the pool towards the bottom (with one of the cinderblocks). So, the pool was green when we opened it. There was also a family of 6 incredibly large frogs living in it. When the pool people opened it, after turning it on there was then 4 gallons of liquid pool shock added, chlorine tabs in the strainer and then 5-7 lbs of Spectrum Alkalinity Rise powder. The water has turned blue already, it got a little cloudy once the alkalinity was added but it's much better than before. Pump is running 24/7. I only had test strips that the pool people sold us, so this morning I ordered the TF100 kit. In the meantime, I stopped by the pool company and here is their analysis:
FC 9.24
TC 9.24
CC 0
pH 6.8
CH 27
TA 94
CYA 136
Copper & Iron .1
Saturation Index -1.87

So, what should my next step be? I feel like I should get the tabs out but I don't want to do anything wrong (those frogs are probably watching waiting for their chance to take back their home!) I've been able to sweep the pool bottom several times, just the center has leaves in a few areas that need to be scooped out tomorrow. The filter was cleaned out once, but is pretty clear since then. Pump pressure started out at 20, and tonight it was at 25.

That's all I can think of now. Any input is greatly appreciated!!

 

[JasonLion]

The next two projects are to get all of the leaves out you possibly can and replace water to get the CYA level down to something more reasonable, preferably something around 50.

You don't want to leave the PH that low for very long. If you can't get around to the water replacement soon you should raise the PH while you are waiting. If you can replace water soon, raise the PH after replacing water.

 

[JohnN]

You also really should get your own test kit. Link is in my signature I think. You are going to have to follow the shock process (also in my signature). If the Pool store readings are right (they may not be) your pH is low, CYA very high, and CH very low. Are you sure CH is 27, and not 270? Since you will need to replace at least 50% of your water, you CH will probably increase.

 

[smith622]

Thanks for your responses! We did get the remainder of the leaves out today (for now at least!). I have a call out to a few local co's that deliver water for pools, etc to get pricing. Figure my hose will take longer and might be pricier. I cannot drain without filling at same time, it will pop out so I will address pH for the interim.

I ordered the test kit from TF test kits yesterday morning. I took the sample to the pool co just to get some kind of a reading until it arrives. They do have CH at 27 then have a recommendation for some kind of chemical they sell, but I wanted to come here for advice first. They felt my CYA was normal, as soon as they said that (and told me tabs are the best bet ever) I knew it was best to start my post.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Looks like you are on your way

I will just add that we generally recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure goes up 20-25% of the clean pressure ... for you that is now. This may be required a lot as you are trying to clear everything out of the pool.

 

[smith622]

I am at the store now buying bleach. How many gallons should I pour in tonight do you think?

We were going to open the filter up, we were talking about figuring out how to open it. Will there be a place to see how much the DE amount is?

 

[jblizzle]

Are you going to replace a bunch of water to lower the CYA first?

With the high CYA, you would need probably around 3 gallons just to reach the shock level.

You can check the manual for the filter online to see how much DE you will need to add (likely around 5-7 lbs, but need to verify).

EDIT: Brochure online says 7.2 lbs on a clean fill. Are you able to backwash that filter? Usually after just a backwash I would suggest only 80% of the total.

 

[smith622]

I am going to shock it before doing the water fill as it will probably be at least a day or two so I don't want it to sit.

Thank you for looking up the filter info! We did backwash it this afternoon. We'll get it open in the am and go from there.