got my test kit and here are my numbers

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M

my2kidsmom

0
Aug 30, 2008
116
Las Vegas, NV
I think I figured out how to test and did everything correct.

Ph 7.4-7.6 (I have a hard time figuring out the color. It wasn't an exact match to either so I guess Ph is 7.5)
FC 6.5
CC 0
TA 120
CH 130
CYA 100+

From my other post you will see that ps told me I had a CYA reading of 70 and did the test in front of me for a second time. Of course, the ps that lied to me told me it was 40 (well, 80, but wrote it down as 40 since that is ideal) Should I redo my test to see if I get a lower reading?

OK, let me see if I might understand what is going on here. I've lived here for just over 1 month and have been scr**ed by the ps and bought chemicals I didn't need. :hammer: I haven't added much chlorine to the pool, just 2 gallons total last week. Is my FC not dropping to 0 because of the high CYA? Water is still beautiful and blue and the kids have been swimming several times.

I know that water replacement is the only way to lower CYA. Is it best to do it now or wait to spring? If I wait, should I worry about testing the water and balancing the chemicals during the winter? Should I just turn off the pump and ignore the pool until spring? (except keep leaves dipped out and skim the surface every couple of days)--what should I do?

What about the acid demand test and the base demand test? Should I do those?

Thanks!
 
No need to do the demand tests if the pH is ideal already.

If you're going to run the pump during the winter you'll either need a timer (preferably with a thermostat for freeze protection) or to run the pump 24 hrs. If you want to turn the equipment off, you'll need to winterize a few things but it's doable. You can go without a cover if you're willing to keep the thing manually cleaned and restart the equipment early.

I'm an advocate of running through the winter because it's a very satisfying (easy) time to take care of a pool and it doesn't become an eye sore.

I'd wait until spring to do the drain/refill. Just my opinion, but with the water getting below 60 soon you won't have algae to contend with and you might get enough rain over the winter to do some diluting.
 
I think I did this right...I got another sample and put 1/2 of the sample and 1/2 tap water. In other words, the test kit (Taylor) had to put 7 mL in to test the CYA. I put 3.5 of pool water and 3.5 of tap water. This would roughly give me the results of what my CYA would be if I drained 1/2 the pool, right....still over 100! :scratch:

I got the same result on the test strip. I got out a measuring cup and put in 1/2 c of pool water and 3/4 cup of tap water. Dipped a test strip and got a reading of 50. Does this mean, I would need to drain 75% of the pool water?
 
Now would be a good time to review your CYA test technique. If you haven't already, you should look at the pictures Taylor provides (scroll to the bottom) of how the CYA test should look. The black dot should completely disappear. You may be using a different vial, but the sample should look much as it appears in the pictures.

Assuming you are reading the test correctly, your dilution approach is sound. Using dilution reduces the precision of the test, but the result is still useful in this situation.

If the water is already starting to cool down and you are done swimming for the season, I would wait till spring before worrying about lowering the CYA level. If you are still swimming or the water is above 65 degrees it is probably best to work on it now. Really you could go either way, work on it now or wait, in either situation. That is just a suggestion.
 
JasonLion said:
Now would be a good time to review your CYA test technique. If you haven't already, you should look at the pictures Taylor provides (scroll to the bottom) of how the CYA test should look. The black dot should completely disappear. You may be using a different vial, but the sample should look much as it appears in the pictures.

Assuming you are reading the test correctly, your dilution approach is sound. Using dilution reduces the precision of the test, but the result is still useful in this situation.

If the water is already starting to cool down and you are done swimming for the season, I would wait till spring before worrying about lowering the CYA level. If you are still swimming or the water is above 65 degrees it is probably best to work on it now. Really you could go either way, work on it now or wait, in either situation. That is just a suggestion.
Click to expand...

I looked at the pictures and I am certain that I did the test correctly. The CYA level in my pool must be extrememly high. We are definatley done swimming for the season. The weather is getting cooler and there's a couple of cold fronts moving in and we're going to be getting highs in the upper 60's and nighttime lows in the upper 30's/low 40's. Pretty chilly for MS.

By waiting until spring, what should I do over the winter with the pool as far as the chemical levels? Should I still run the pump? (I've been running it about 6 hours each day.) Also, if I'm going to drop 75% of the water out of the pool, is that something I should hire the pool guy to do or is it something I can do myself without messing up the liner/pool? (My landlord should pay for it since it is not the standard daily operation of the pool, but I wanted to gather more information before I talked to him about it.)

Thanks for all your help!
 
It is simple enough to replace water. You can probably do it yourself easily enough. To avoid problems with the liner you should always leave at least one foot of water in the shallow end of the pool. That may mean draining and refilling more than once to get the CYA level down low enough.

If you suspect that you may have high water table issues, or if the liner starts to pull away from the sides of the pool while you are draining water out, you will not be able to drain as much water at one time, and will need to go through more cycles of partial drains and refills.

Given your climate, there are a range of choices on how to deal with the pool over the winter. You can leave the pool open over the winter and reduce the pump run time significantly or you can do a full closing, as people further north do. If you leave the pool open over the winter you want the pump running any time it might go below freezing. This can be done either manually or with a freeze protection circuit.
 
Ideally you want to keep your FC level up around 20. This becomes less important as the water cools. When the water is below 50 degrees you can usually let the FC level come down but best to not allow it to go to zero. Because your CYA level is so high it shouldn't be all that difficult to keep the FC level high once you get it there in the first place. Losses to sunlight will be minimal with a really high CYA level. With a little practice you should be able to add chlorine as little as once every week or perhaps even every other week.
 
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