Hit the Stabilizer Wall - High Stabilizer Levels Won't Let FC Kill Algae

[Tepelus]

I guess it is a question of inertia and a question of preference. People are hesitant to change old habits. Then, some prefer to have a daily routine of adding bleach, measure and so on, while others would like a system that work on its own, and does need intervention only from time to time. I do not think that initial investment is an issue since it is small compared with what a new pool would cost.

 

[Jgrono]

Couldn't help noticing this in the very first post. Kind of amusing.

Honestly, if you were a little more patient and polite with responses that you don't think are on target, and just refocus your question, if necessary, you'll get a lot more useful feedback from the experts who freely volunteer their time on this site.

I thought about that. By trying to give a lot of information and my thought process, it could have been summed up A LOT better and probably gotten more focused responses which is what I was hoping for. My point is that is doesn't help to tell somebody what they should have done.

It found lots of info on lowering CYA but it didn't seem to be compiled all together quickly, so to make this thread useful to other people in the future:

The CYA has to be removed by changing the water, either by draining the pool or reverse osmosis.

Some people think lye will remove CYA. No.

RO is probably too expensive unless you live in an area where water is expensive and there aren't a lot of restrictions on pool draining.

If you pay for water, depending on what you are charged it may only cost $30 to $60 for 15,000 gallons. If you have very hard water, you may have to change out your pool water once in awhile anyway.

Draining an entire pool fully isn't a good idea:

Vinyl it can mess up the liner.
You could float (lift concrete) the pool if there is groundwater present.

So doing partial drain and refills still is the best option for me.

Other places on the net recommend draining from the bottom of the pool, since CYA has a higher specific gravity than water. Wether or not this will actually get rid of more CYA per partial drain I am not convinced of.

If you can find a way to separate the newly added water from the existing pool water with a barrier seems like a good idea. Others recommended tarps or plastic that stretch over the sides of the pool where the newly added water stays on top of the barrier while you drain. Think of rainwater that stays on top of a pool cover where the water just stays on top of the cover. This seems like a good idea depending on how much you want to invest in trying to rig something up that will segregate the water enough.

Also, in my particular case, besides worrying about floating my pool, I would never drain my pool all at once because I live on a hill and know that a neighbor at the bottom of the hill has had foundation problems, (probably sinkhole). Even if it is a remote possibility, I wouldn't want to anyway contribute to that problem for somebody else.

Something else I figured out is that I can actually drain my pool to waste without running the pump. My waste line has a long, downhill stretch which started siphoning out to waste before I had a chance to start the pump. With storms here, there are lots of rain, and without electricity somebody could do this to keep up with rain.

The pool actually looks good now, and after doing a bunch of partial drains and refills only about 7% of the water has probably been changed. It looks like my bandaid worked. I have until next spring when I pressure wash the pool deck again to get my CYA down, but will probably get it done a lot faster.

Since I see a lot of testing in my future, here is a free basic iOS app that saves pool chem levels over time: Pool Time

 

[JasonLion]

Once CYA is fully dissolved, it is spread uniformly through the pool. It makes no difference if you drain from the top or bottom (unless you are trying to minimize mixing while doing simultaneous water addition).

 

[Topher55]

Thanks for the app suggestion. It's pretty basic but better than the pencil and notebook sitting on the patio table. Kinda wish it had the ability to note chemical additions. Maybe I'll make a suggestion on the App Store..

Anyway it looks like you have a plan for your pool. I experienced pretty much the same thing when I bought my house a year ago. 250+ CYA and ever present Algae. I fought the good fight for the last month or so of the summer dumping probably $200 worth of bleach in it trying to keep A 30+ CL slam level. I would pass all the slam criteria let the FC drop swim for a few days then see some green and back to slamming.... Anyway finally got fed up and did what everyone here had been telling me to do and did about 75%-80% drain. Since then I haven't had a single problem. Bought a Stenner a few months ago and now I spend 10 mins a week and the pool is perfect. So in hind sight I would have saved my $200 in bleach and drained first thing. I just kept thinking I could get it clear while it was still swim season. The funny thing is we spent way more time out of the pool while I was slamming than the two days it took to complete the drain/refill.... So anyway not trying to push my opinion just sharing my experience.


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[Patrick_B]

To the OP...it is this simple:

Get the Cya down, get a Test kit that allows the proper testing. Keep FC, Cya, and pH in Check. No problems. It is purely that simple. Being here two years you should know what we suggest and you cannot manage a pool properly without doing the above.