I found troublefreepool and the pool math app after I had already gone a month into maintaining our new 27' x 54" AGP using the chemicals purchased from the company that sold us the pool. Even just a month in, the CYA had climbed to above 60. I was still trying to figure out how everything for the pool worked, how the tests worked, and had my friend who works at the pool store advising me to just use the chlorine tabs and shock in the pool + algecide. Then I started reading on here that there are better ways to do it. I got bleach when I could this summer (Covid made bleach scarce for a while) and was alternating using bleach and the tabs/shock to maintain the the pool's chemistry.
I went back to the pool store like they requested with the bottle of water for them to test, and came back one more time loaded down with stuff to put in the pool. More $$ wasted, IMO, but I didn't know that for sure at the time. I was still just getting a feeling for how it was all working out. The pool math app is solid gold, though, so I maintained my pool at as close to the proper levels as I could all summer long. The CYA kept climbing, due to my needing to use both Tabs/Shock due to not being able to get bleach.
I also drained water from the pool at two points this summer and re-filled it - 6" the first time (brought the CYA from 90 down to 65), and 1' of water the second time which I believe was about 1/4 of the pool water and dropped the CYA from 105 or so down to about 80. That last one was in early August I think.
Following the App's recommendations, I had a crystal clear pool all summer long, even when my neighbors were fighting green pools and buying tons of chemicals. Attached is a pic of how it has been all summer, and is still crystal clear now.
So I am about time to close, but CYA is about 110-115 or maybe even a bit higher. My main question is, do I do a drain and re-fill now to try to get the CYA down, or do I just add the closing stuff and deal with it in the spring? Temps are still above freezing overnight, but I don't know how long it will be before we start getting frosts overnight. Not too long, I don't think.
Advice is welcome!
I just did a water test today, and the numbers are as follows:
FC: 10
pH: 7.5
TA: 190 (this jumped from 75 -> 175 when I added the pool-store recommended 25lb Bioguard Balance Pak 100 and has not come down since)
CH: 140
CYA: 115
CSI: -0.35
Temp: 57º
I went back to the pool store like they requested with the bottle of water for them to test, and came back one more time loaded down with stuff to put in the pool. More $$ wasted, IMO, but I didn't know that for sure at the time. I was still just getting a feeling for how it was all working out. The pool math app is solid gold, though, so I maintained my pool at as close to the proper levels as I could all summer long. The CYA kept climbing, due to my needing to use both Tabs/Shock due to not being able to get bleach.
I also drained water from the pool at two points this summer and re-filled it - 6" the first time (brought the CYA from 90 down to 65), and 1' of water the second time which I believe was about 1/4 of the pool water and dropped the CYA from 105 or so down to about 80. That last one was in early August I think.
Following the App's recommendations, I had a crystal clear pool all summer long, even when my neighbors were fighting green pools and buying tons of chemicals. Attached is a pic of how it has been all summer, and is still crystal clear now.
So I am about time to close, but CYA is about 110-115 or maybe even a bit higher. My main question is, do I do a drain and re-fill now to try to get the CYA down, or do I just add the closing stuff and deal with it in the spring? Temps are still above freezing overnight, but I don't know how long it will be before we start getting frosts overnight. Not too long, I don't think.
Advice is welcome!
I just did a water test today, and the numbers are as follows:
FC: 10
pH: 7.5
TA: 190 (this jumped from 75 -> 175 when I added the pool-store recommended 25lb Bioguard Balance Pak 100 and has not come down since)
CH: 140
CYA: 115
CSI: -0.35
Temp: 57º