Drain/Fill and Balance Questions...

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sunnyaz

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Aug 19, 2013
35
As it gets warmer out, I am going to try and drain and refill my pool myself. It is a pebbletec pool in the Phoenix area - Gilbert. Is it still safe to drain my pool with temperatures coming into the 90s?

Do I need to be worried about hydrostatic valves, or can I just rent a pump and start pumping into the clean out? I am not sure about the ground water table levels, but I don't believe they are an issue, anyone know in the area?

After I drain it, do I need to acid wash the pool, or can I refill it right away? If I need to acid wash it, what is involved with this?

There is some algae in a pvc pipe that is vertical that is an umbrella stand underwater. How can I clean this when the pool is drained? Do I want to pour liquid chlorine directly in it and let it sit? I am thinking since the CYA is so high (see below), that I will SLAM it after draining and refilling, is this a good plan or should I SLAM first? Anything to help with the little areas of algae that may come up like on the hose when I drain it? Should I clean this down and with what? When I say algae, it is green and hardly noticeable. The water is crystal clear and otherwise is pretty good, except it is hard to keep the PH neutral due to the hard water. I am testing this a few times a week.

I am draining it because I tested my CYA levels are around 170. As you can imagine, it is difficult to get my FC over 1. There are also a lot of dissolved solids. We moved in last summer and the pool probably hasn't been drained in years.

I kept using trichlor tabs over the winter and used liquid chlorine to shock it. Due to some medical issues, I haven't been able to drain it until now. Should I wait another summer or try draining it now? I am hesitant to wait since I dealt with some algae last summer.

I need to get a FAS - DPD test, any recommendations? I already have the k-2005 kit.

I have read Pool School, but not much info about draining/refilling. After I drain it and refill it, I am assuming I just put my goal numbers into the calculator and start putting in chemicals, correct? Can I use some of my trichlor tabs as a way to add CYA? How much does each tab add? I have diamond pool product 3" jumbo tabs.

One more question for now...Do I turn off the automatic water filler during this process (drain and refill) and how do I go about doing this?

Thanks for your time!
 
Yeah, you are do for a drain....your CH is probably too high, as well.

I would suggest this....

1. Place a siphon hose in the bottom of the deep end of your pool and start it siphoning.

2. Then take your fill hose and place it at the opposite end of the pool very shallow or even a bit out of the water.

3. Match the inflow of the new water with the out flow of your siphon and the water level will never change.

4. Calculate a 50% refill, stop and test, and then balance chemistry as necessary.
 
In Phoenix you do not likely need to worry about ground water. Although you do not want your surface exposed to the hot sun either. See if you can setup a siphon like Dave suggested, if not, you may need to rent or buy a smaller sump pump.

How old is your K-2005? And how was is stored? They do not last forever and certainly not if you kept it outside. You can get the FAS-DPD (or any kit) at tftestkits.net

You can use PoolMath at the bottom to tell you what each 8 oz trichlor tablet will add.
 
Thank you, Dave. When you say to calculate a 50% refill, how will I know when 50% of the water has been replaced? Based on my calculations with my pool calculator, I need to replace ~75% of the water to get the CYA level down. Can you continue with your siphon method after the 50% to continue to 75%? Wouldn't this cycle the water together, although I am assuming at this point the CYA levels will be lower and less drainage will be needed?

How do you start a siphon, do I need tools (pump) and do I need a special hose or will a regular hose work?

Jason, my K-2005 is about 8 months old and was stored indoors in my food pantry...
 
Check the internet to start a siphon, any hose is fine, but you need to be able to get the "dry" end of the hose below water level which is difficult for in ground pools.

Yes you need to replace more than 50% and you can just keep the siphon/exchange for as long as you want. The key is to not be mixing the new water with the old water.

Honestly it is way easier to just rent (Home Depot)/buy (Harbor Freight) a sump pump. You would have the pool drained in a matter of a couple hours and then just start filling it. I have done this on 2 pools down here because we do not have to worry about the ground water. You just may want to drain in the early evening so you can get it mostly filled up over night before the sun beats on it. If you rent from HD after 5PM I think, you can keep if over night for the 4 hour rate.
 
That is what I was thinking of doing, renting a pump or buying one for less than $100 on Amazon. I am assuming a rental will pump it faster than a cheap sump pump. My concern then is do I need to do anything once it is empty, such as acid wash it, or can I refill it right away?
 
Harbor freight has some cheap ones, but are much slower than the rented ones. The smaller ones may be only slightly faster than a couple hoses that you could have refilling at the same time.

If you do the partial drain, just refill immediately and then test again and then SLAM.
 

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No problem, just a little bit of scaling and I heard you should acid wash. Mainly I'm trying to reduce dissolved solids and lower CYA. How much CYA should I add to get around 30? The calculator says either 64 oz by weight or 166 oz liquid. I assuming the first is granules, correct? Since I'm trying to reduce and don't want to have to drain again soon, should I start with less first?
 
Right the first would be the granules.
If you are not doing a 100% drain, then you will need to wait for it to be filled and circulated and then test what your CYA level is.
 
SunnyAZ,

From your replies, I agree with jblizzle to just get a pump and drain your pool as he suggests.

Your getting ahead of yourself on CYA. That can all be accomplished after you get your drain complete4d. You will be above 30 any way.

Slow down a bit and take your issues one at a time. Get your drain completed first. Re-read Pool School.
 
Thank you. I have reviewed the pool school again, but I still have the following question. Once I drain it, which I will likely drain most of it due to the amount of dissolved solids (or should I only do approximately 75%), how much CYA should I add right away? If I am going to be using the BBB system, I am assuming less is more initially, so I would like to not over do it and add more once levels have stabilized.

Thank you.
 
And we say again ... test the CYA after you fill and circulate for at least an hour. There is not HUGE hurry to get the CYA in the water.

When I drained almost all of my water after a 300+ CYA adventure thanks to a service company, I found I was still at almost 30ppm after filling.

I certainly would not add more than 30ppm initially so even if you were at 20ppm, you would not go over 50ppm.
 
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