Test results

[SallyA1013]

We live in Indiana and opened our pool May 15 in the hopes of getting it ready for company this weekend. We bought the house with the pool already installed. We have no idea what we are doing so we have been going to Leslie's and following their directions. Last year the water was never clear and had a brown film on the bottom that we were constantly vacuuming and brushing. I found this forum and have decided to use the BBB method. I ordered the K-2006 test kit but it won't be here until next Tuesday. When we took the cover off the pool was very green. We changed the sand in the filter and dumped in a lot of bleach. We also filled the chlorinator with 3" tabs we left over from last year. The water cleared up but it's extremely cloudy. We can barely see the bottom on the 3' end and nothing on the 8' end.

We took a water sample to Leslie's tonight and got these results:

FC: 5
TC: 5
pH: 7.3
TA: 130
CYA: 300
CH: 220
TDS: 1000
Phosphates: 900

Leslie's recommendation was to add 2 - 12 oz. bottles of Ultra bright water clarifier and 35 oz. of commercial strength Phosfree.

According to the trouble free calculator I need to add 30 oz. of soda ash and replace 87% of the water.

Any suggestions? other than draining the pool? where we live the water is ridiculously expensive.

BTW, we have a 16' x 32" rectangle with 3' on the shallow end and a 7' diving well... a sand filter and a vinyl liner. We have a heater but have never used it.

 

[Isaac-1]

If CYA is really 300 you need to do a near complete water replacement, having said that we don't tend to trust pool store testing around here I my advise is to wait until you get your own test and can confirm that CYA number. Also sand almost never needs to be replaced within the practical lifetime of the filter.

 

[BoDarville]

SallyA1013:

Welcome to TFP!

Since you have ordered the K-2006 test kit, I would wait until that arrives within the next few days and run a full series of tests using that before doing anything drastic. My experience with in-pool-store testing is that their CYA results are twice what my test results are. This is most likely due to lighting along with the fact that the CYA test is somewhat subjective. Proper (bright) lighting is the key to getting the most accurate results on the CYA test. Therefore this test should be done outdoors, ideally in midday sun.

where we live the water is ridiculously expensive.

This is one way that having your own test kit could begin paying back some of its cost. For now, let's say your CYA test results vs. the pool store mirror my experiences. If that turned out to be the case, your CYA would be 150, not 300. That's still high and would require a partial drain & refill, but a smaller one. That will save on water costs.

Leslie's recommendation was to add 2 - 12 oz. bottles of Ultra bright water clarifier and 35 oz. of commercial strength Phosfree.

Neither product is needed. From the looks of things, you may still need to shock. Your K-2006 will help you confirm this. When done properly, the Shock Process (using liquid bleach as the chlorine source) will kill the organics without the use of any other chemicals.

TDS: 1000
Phosphates: 900

You can ignore these two tests. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids and is meaningless as it includes several elements, including many that we test for individually such as CYA, CH, and salt. Without knowing the levels of the individual components that comprise the TDS number, it is not a useful metric. Phosphates are not something to be concerned with in a properly chlorinated pool. If you keep your pool chlorinated at the recommended levels for your CYA and keep your water balanced, phosphates are a non-issue. Chlorine alone is more than capable of preventing algae without spending big $ on phosphate removal products .

We also filled the chlorinator with 3" tabs we left over from last year.

These tabs are very likely trichlor tabs and their continued use is contributing to your high CYA. I would discontinue using them.

BTW, we have a 16' x 32" rectangle with 3' on the shallow end and a 7' diving well... a sand filter and a vinyl liner. We have a heater but have never used it.

I suggest adding this information to your signature so it automatically appears on all your posts. Here's how to do it: http://www.troublefreepool.com/what-we-need-to-know-to-answer-your-questions-t10341.html

While you are waiting for your K-2006, I would read the Pool School articles.