Closed Yesterday and now own 1st Pool! Just a few questions

[dcjmills]

Hello Everyone,

I'm glad to be a part of this forum. We just closed on a house with the below pool in signature. I tried to read everything I could prior to closing from this website and forum. I pre-bought the Taylor 2006 test kit and took it to house after we closed. I got the following numbers:

FC 4.4ppm
CC 0.2ppm
pH 7.2 (Base demand 3 drops)
TA 70ppm
CH 150ppm
CYA ~100ppm (black dot obscured a little above 100 but was completely obscured at 100ppm)

The previous owner used a pool company. There were about 2 almost dissolved trichlor tablets in each of the 3 skimmer baskets. Based on all the knowledge here, it seems that is why the pH is low and CYA is so high. Also, the FC should be a lot higher based on CYA.

Due to heavy rain over the last few days the pool was at the top of the skimmer boxes yesterday. The pool water was definitely a little bit more of a greenish hue compared to last time at the property during home inspection.

My questions are:

1. Should I first work on the CYA by partially draining pool in steps to get it down to the 50ppm level before trying to adjust anything first?
2. Do I keep chlorinating based on the FC/CYA chart?
3. I know draining pool will also decrease CH level even lower but should I just worry about that replacement once I have CYA level down?
4. After this, owning a pool will be well worth it right?!

Again, I definitely appreciate everyone's time and recommendations with this matter. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully will be able to contribute my own experiences to help out in the future.

 

[tim5055]

100 is the limit of the CYA test, so I recomend you do a diluted test. While the full instructions are in the Pool School, here is the short version. Mix 50% pool water with 50% tap water. Use this mixed sample as your test water. If still at a 100 you will need to dilute more. Here is a great chart by JamesW to explain dilution rates and what you multiply the results by to get an approximation of your CYA level.

Pool water......Tap or distilled water.........Multiply result by

....1...................1................................2
....1...................2................................3
....1...................4................................5

Yes, chlorinate using the 100 CYA number until it changes by the diluted test or you drain/refill some water to get it down.

Bleach/liquid chlorine is usually the beverage of choice around here, but in your case you could chlorinate with Cal Hypo (Wal-Mart shock is Cal Hypo I think, check the ingredients) which will both chlorinate the pool and increase your CH at the same time. Just do a cost analysis between chlorinating with bleach and adding CH (CH increaser is also sold at Wal-Mart) vs. the Cal Hypo. Don't be scared with the name "shock", it's just another name for chlorine usually. Use Pool Math to figure how much you need to add each time you test.

The knowledge you need to care for your pool is condensed in the Pool School link at the top of every page. It is a great community here, but we do ask that you read and try to understand the information being taught. Questions are always welcome and folks will try to direct you and teach you the methods.

So, welcome to TFP!!

 

[dcjmills]

Thanks for such a fast response. I'll definitely will try the diluted CYA test and chlorinate with bleach to an appropriate level. Is it worth trying to adjust the pH, TA and calcium hardness now, even though I will be draining water out and diluting it with fresh water?

 

[Charlie_R]

I don't think it's worth chasing a few numbers when you know you will have to drain for CYA and then SLAM for algae. The only one besides CYA/FC that you would really need to worry about is the CH.

Best if you use the 10mL sample size for your FC/CC, uses less reagents.

Since you know you will be SLAMming, you should order the DPD and FAS reagents, so you aren't caught mid SLAM with no way to test.

Test your fill (tap) water for TA and CH. It might surprise you, and you will know what you are filling with.

 

[DogsHouse_MyPool]

I am relatively new to the forum and TFPC method. I too started out with the K-2006. After 3 weeks, I figure I needed the following reagents to get through the year. You may want to do something similar if you are cheap like me and don't want to get dinged for shipping every time.

2 - 0870 DPC powers (10 gr)
2 - 0871 FC reagent (2-oz)
3 - 0003 CYA reagent (2 oz)
1 - 0004 pH reagent (.75 oz)
1 - 0010 calcium buffer (.75 oz)
1 - 0012 hardness reagent (.75 oz)

I find that I can squeeze 2 of the 2oz bottles into the 2006a case, along with a couple extra of the .75 oz bottles.

 

[timerguy]

Whoops missed reading the first post a second time. Sorry about that. A slam IS indicated! But then again a few bottles of bleach may do the trick. It did with mine last year. And mine was a bit more than just a tinge of green.

 

[kimkats]

You are off to a wonderful start! Buying a good test kit BEFORE you even closed? SWEET!

Do the diluted test for CYA.

That will tell you how much you need to drain to start with.

There is nothing wrong with going ahead and adding bleach/chlorine to keep it from getting greener.

We LOVE pics!

The best pic you can do to see your progress is of the steps so we can see the progress.

Kim

Oh if you want to have some fun take your water to a pool store then tell us how much money they want you to spend to "fix" it. LOL

 

[Casey]

I stopped reading at CYA 100.

Do a partial drain/refill and repost your test results and we'll go from there.