Another Slow Slammer

[Travis Murray]

@Texas Splash - I forgot to answer one of your questions - no, I did not close the pool over the winter.

 

[Texas Splash]

I'm thinking a partial water exchange is my best option at this point, as that would address both the CYA and the copper (if there is any). Do you guys agree?

Absolutely! At least half or slightly more would be a good start. Not too low beyond that though so your liner doesn't shift. Then re-test CYA and assess overall water condition from that point forward. Good thing you checked that CYA!

 

[Travis Murray]

@Texas Splash - Thanks for the info! Time to start draining!

 

[Flying Tivo]

Bingo, the cya test was the problem.
You can do the diluted test for cya. 50% pool 50% with tap water and multiply your result by 2. This will give you a better idea of how much to drain. The CYA scale is logarithmic, so you can not extrapolate. We always round up to the higher 10.

 

[Travis Murray]

@Flying Tivo Thanks for the tip on the diluted CYA test. The diluted test showed a CYA just under 60, so I guess we're calling it 120. Which I believe means the suggestion to drain the pool halfway or slightly more is on target, correct?

 

[cowboycasey]

Half will bring CYA close to 60

 

[newdude]

I did a CYA test and it was off the charts. My test kit only has lines up to a CYA of 100, but I would guess it's in the 120-130 range

You can’t guess over 100. The scale doesn’t work that way as much as it seems to. You need to do a dilution test with half tap water and half pool/CYA mix. If the result is under 100, multiple X 2. If it’s still 100+, Use 2 parts tap and multiply X3. And so on.

I'm thinking a partial water exchange is my best option at this point, as that would address both the CYA and the copper (if there is any). Do you guys agree? And if so, how much

To remove anything, CYA / metals / Calcium etc, it’s an even percentage if done in one shot. 50% drain lowers the level by half, and so on. If you do partial drains each subsequent drain loses some value because you are also draining some fresh water on the second drain. The more partial drains you do the less efficient it is. A 10% drain with 100 CYa will get you to 90. Another 10% drain will remove 9 and leave you 81. It’s not a bad loss if you are only draining to remove, say 20 % but if you were partial draining to remove 80% it would add up. The higher the initial CYA (etc) is, The more loss is seen with each subsequent drain.

With drainage issues (nowhere safe/legal for the water to go in large batches) or a high water table worrying about the liner/shell, it still may be the best way. Just helping you understand.

 

[UKjames]

I’m no expert but you mentioned a bromine reading.

I think this may mean your chlorine is being used up on that and so you have a bromine pool regardless of how much chlorine you add. I guess it might mess with your FC readings too.
Drain is the way to get rid of it I believe so you need to keep an eye on it’s level so as to eliminate the bromine.

An expert will be along as soon to tell you I’m talking gibberish or to confirm if this could be part of your problem

 

[newdude]

An expert will be along as soon to tell you I’m talking gibberish or to confirm if this could be part of your problem

Not an expert either, but GREAT catch James !!

And you are absolutely correct that once you have a bromine pool it will eat the FC and the only way to not have a bromine pool is a full drain.

But. Way more often than not, a newbie lists it as part of their testing because it’s on the shaker block. Hopefully that’s the case here.

 

[cowboycasey]

I was thinking it was just listed also...

 

[Travis Murray]

But. Way more often than not, a newbie lists it as part of their testing because it’s on the shaker block. Hopefully that’s the case here.

Yes, that's definitely the case here. Just did all the measurements on the inside of the box, not realizing it was either/or. Did a bit more reading up, and won't make that mistake again.

 

[newdude]

Did a bit more reading up, and won't make that mistake again.

Trust me. If you’re gonna screw *anything* up...... adding a bogus test value is the way to GO !!!!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Travis- how much would it cost you to empty that pool down to just 2 feet or so and then refill? As I see it you have so much in that water now that its almost chemical soup. I worry that the pool is filled with that $2800 of chemicals still that the pool store sold you.

Also, I don't like Zeo, feeling that sand is *nature's filter*.

Maddie

 

[Travis Murray]

@YippeeSkippy, a full drain and refill would cost me a heck of a lot less than the pool store has been costing me these last few years! That said, I drained my pool a *lot* today, but not quite down to two feet remaining (but honestly, not far from it). It’s filling back up now, so we’ll see where we stand tomorrow and progress from there. Thanks for the input!

 

[CraigChing]

I just changed out zeo for sand this year, I had no idea I had zeo since this was the first year I opened the filter in the two years since we bought our house. It’s hard to quantify objectively, but the pool seems clearer than it has ever been, especially at this time of year where we aren’t yet in full swim mode.

EDIT: Oh! And now I’m excited to try a little DE this year to see how clear I can get it! I’m glad I didn’t try it before discovering the zeo

 

[Travis Murray]

@CraigChing - what you describe is the same experience I had when I switched from sand to zeo. It was the clearest my pool had ever been, and I was immediately a fan. But the more I read here, the more I think I'll just switch back to sand next time. My current zeo was put in the filter in 2019, so I'll probably change it next year and switch back to sand.

 

[Travis Murray]

The pool is refilling right now. This is a painfully slow process - much less satisfying than draining it. It's been filling for 12 hours, and I'm guessing I still have about 24 hours to go. More updates when the water gets to mid-skimmer level and I can test everything out again. Thanks again everybody for all the help.

 

[CraigChing]

I don’t know if zeo can be deep cleaned or if it breaks down and has to be replaced, but both cases could be just the change. Going forward, I’ll definitely be deep cleaning the sand once/year. I think just the ability to consult the experience here on sand makes that change worth it.

 

[Flying Tivo]

As long as you are backwashing and not using Floc, sand and zeo will last a lifetime.

 

[Travis Murray]

Refilling my pool is really testing my Pool Owner Patience, but we're almost there. I'm about 36 hours into refilling and the water is up to the bottom of my skimmer. A few more hours and it will be where I want it. Is there any benefit to going ahead and taking some measurements now, or should I wait to get it back to full volume before doing anything? I'm itching to get the SLAM going again!