First Time Pool Owner and Results of Test Scary...WHAT DO WE DO?

[Figmentor]

To all that can help shed some light on my pool that came with our new house near Boston (place given incase weather matters).

We have never had a pool but the pool is an above ground pool that is 4' by 18-20' circle.

We have only run the filter without shocking or adding any chemicals since we took the cover off and filled it to the remaining fullness.

What we find scary is the results but are unsure what to do, and have tested twice (once by my wife and once by me from different locations around the pool) roughly resulting what I feel as the same.

Here they are:

Pool testing with Taylor K-2006

PH: 7.0
11 drops to get to 7.5 PH

Total alkalinity
10 drops equals 100ppm as calcium carbonate

Calcium hardness
50ppm calcium carbonate

Cyanuric Acid
Too low to read just where the black line is

Chlorine
15ppm free chlorine
.4ppm combined chlorine



Test 2:
PH 7, 10 drops of r-006 to get to 7.5

Total alkalinity
9 drops equals 90ppm calcium carbonate

Calcium hardness
40ppm

Cyanuric acid
Just below black mark way below last number

Chlorine:
Free chlorine is present
13.8ppm
Combined chlorine is present
.6 ppm


Question being is how should we proceed, any insight would be splendid...

 

[Richard320]

Welcome

Well... the pH test is somewhat unreliable with FC above 10. But if it's reading right, you're a bit low. That's pretty easy to fix. The CYA is low, that's also easy to fix. The FC is a bit high for everyday, but if you're green or cloudy, you're only a tad high. It'll go down with sunlight quick enough. What does the water look like?

Before you can fix anything, you need to figure out the pool's volume, which means you need to be more accurate about the diameter. Also stick a tape in and see how deep the water is, not the sidewall.

Knowing the dimensions, we can get a close approximation of the volume and let poolmath crunch the numbers and calculate the doses you need you fix things.

So... measure the pool and report back and tell us what the water looks like as well.

As an aside, you can use 10 ml of water when doing the FC-CC tests. Each drop counts as .5, which is high enough resolution for us. Also, you only need enough powder so that you have a few crystals undissolved before you start. Taylor encourages you to use a whole bunch.... the same way the coffee sellers recommend you use their product!

 

[lindz18]

Richard, they said their cya was way below the numbers... I'm confused. Doesn't that mean it is high?

 

[Richard320]

Richard, they said their cya was way below the numbers... I'm confused. Doesn't that mean it is high?

Good catch! We'll need some clarification on that!

 

[Figmentor]

If I were to guess 150-200 since there are no numbers below the 100 mark (meaning there is very little liquid in the small container). Does this mean we need to drain the entire pool or are there alternative solutions or another test we should run before considering this?

 

[peterdaly]

I'm important to have a good understanding of the CYA number. Is it really low (like 10), or really high, like 100+? It's not clear from what you say.

This is important to know, because IF your CYA is really high, the advice here will be to lower your CYA through draining and replacing water...if you need to do that, it's best to do that first. CYA can get super high if the previous owner used chlorine pucks.

 

[Figmentor]

The CYA is definitely way over 100 because there is very little water while doing that test. They only list the numbers from 30 being near the top of the tube to 100 being about halfway down and we only have maybe 1/8th of it full.

- - - Updated - - -

Is there something else we should try before draining? Like do the 10ml test for a third test just to confirm or buy another testing kit?

 

[Richard320]

The CYA is definitely way over 100 because there is very little water while doing that test. They only list the numbers from 30 being near the top of the tube to 100 being about halfway down and we only have maybe 1/8th of it full.

- - - Updated - - -

Is there something else we should try before draining? Like do the 10ml test for a third test just to confirm or buy another testing kit?

You could try the dilution test to get a ballpark idea just how high the CYA really is, so you can guesstimate how much water you'll need to drain. Post 8, Step 9

If the pool is vinyl lined, you have to leave a foot or so in it so the liner doesn't shift por wrinkle.

 

[lindz18]

I feel your pain on the cya!!! Just completed three drains and refills over a period of three days. My cya was showing just below 100 on the diluted test AFTER a large refill.

Just below meaning in physical location in the vial... CYA was higher than 100.

 

[Figmentor]

So we drained the whole pool, and refilled...After running a brand new cartridge for 36+ hours straight here are the test results:

Test 1 all new water 5/27

Chlorine:
10ml sample
-After adding R-0870 sample turned ever so slight pink
-2 drops of r-0871 to turn clear
- .5*2 drops is 1ppm free chlorine
- after adding 5 drops of r-0003 almost not present pink
- 1 drop of r-0871 x .5 = .5ppm combined chlorine

PH test:
7.75
Acid demand test took 1 drop to bring to 7.4

Total Alkalinity:
-took 8 Drops of r-0009 to turn red
-8 drops x 10 = 80ppm total alkalinity as calcium carbonate

Calcium Hardness:
-after adding 5 drops sample turned pink
-after adding 4 drops sample turned blue
-4 drops x 10 = 40ppm calcium hardness as calcium carbonate

Cyanuric Acid:
40ish held over iPhone light

42" deep
15' diameter
4.6k gallons of water


So where to start? What to adjust first?

I used the pool calculator but seems as you adjust one test the others will change. So is there a first then test for the other again?
Best,
~Allen

Hudson, MA

 

[Figmentor]

Also I attached but haven't used a Hayward CL200 Automatic Pool Chemical Feeder. What setting do I set that to after adding the pucks?

 

[TomBorg]

The CYA test is best done in sunlight, with your back to the sun. So the test vial will get lots of bright, but indirect light.

If your CYA really is 40, you don't want to use your Hayward CL200, because the pucks will continually add more CYA, and you'll be back where you started. Best to use liquid chlorine (aka "bleach").