Just Getting Started

[brad2by2]

We moved into a home with a pool in the Dallas, TX area in September 2014. Never had a pool or cared for a pool before in my life. The pool was built in 1998 and my guess is all the equipment is original. It is a "play pool," meaning it is 3 feet on the ends and goes to about 5 feet in the middle, in somewhat of a figure 8 shape.

I had Leslie's pool company come out for "pool school." They taught me how to use and check the equipment, including how to back flush. I also had them clean the filter since I wasn't sure when the last time it was cleaned. The filter was dirty, but in good shape. The pool man said some of the screens had been replaced in the past. The filter was good to go.

I paid another pool man to come and care for the pool and add chemicals for these first two months while I was learning from this board. So now, since it's winter, I'm ready to try it myself. I have the Taylor K-2006 testing kit.

We have very hard water so the Calcium level is over 400. The pool guy says that even if we drained it and re-filled it, most likely the Calcium Hardness level would remain that high.

My first "tests" came back:
10.2 ppm Free Chlorine
No combined chlorine present
PH Test was 7.8 to 8. It took two drops of re-agent to bring it down to 7.6, so it said to add 24 ounces of Muratic Acid.
Alkalinity was 150
Cyruinic Acid was 200 ppm or more (it doesn't measure that high). I'm guessing the high CA came from an in-line chlorinator over the years of the age of the pool.

The water still looks beautiful and clear. The pool guy said there's no reason to drain the pool at this time. (He's been at this in our area for over 10 years).

So, where do I go from here? When do I add liquid bleach and how much. (I want to move away from the chlorine tabs).

Thanks so much for any help/advice you can give.

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

The main thing is to get the CYA level down to something more reasonable. You never want CYA at 100, let alone higher. The only practical way to lower CYA is to replace water.

Are you going to be winterizing the pool? That is a good time to replace water.

 

[zethacat]

Howdy neighbor! And welcome to TFP! In order to figure out how much bleach to add, one must know the true CYA reading plus the capacity of your pool in gallons in addition to the strength of liquid bleach being added. Pool Math can help you with that.

 

[brad2by2]

Thanks for the replies. Couple of helps with this board, before we get to the pool. How do I post my "signature"? (I tried it in my profile, but it obviously didn't show up). What I placed in my profile is that we have a 14000 gal approx. pool, white plaster, in ground, with Hayward d.e. filter, 1.5 horsepower motor, and a barracuda mx80 sweep.

JasonLion, I don't know what winterizing is and I don't think we have to do that here. I was thinking about replacing water next Spring. The pool might need re-plastering, and we could do it then. But I'm not sure.

Thanks again.

 

[chem geek]

To edit your signature, under the Pool School button near the upper right click on Settings. Then on the left under My Settings click on Edit Signature.

The Monthly Average Temperatures in Lewisville, Texas shows that you may have freezing temperatures over the winter, but it's unlikely for your pool to freeze over unless your days are also unusually cold. Do you normally need to protect your pipes from freezing over the winter? If so, then you may need to winterize or you could run your pump at night to prevent freezing of water in the pipe.

Since you have precipitation every month, you can use that rain to help dilute the water especially if you have a cover that helps prevent evaporation.