Another...To Drain or Not to Drain

[wall]

Our pool had to battle a lot of leaves and grass falling into it over the past year. I've worked hard to fix this by downing the tree closest to the pool and by adding a larger rock barrier between the pool and the grass. However, I'm stuck with the aftermath of all the debris and what it has done to the pool water. At the moment, the pool water is crystal clear, but the numbers are all wrong. The latest test from Leslie's is attached. With CYA and phosphates being as high as they are, should I do a partial drain or can I salvage the water? I was using Leslie's Chlor Brite product, which I feel is a big reason I have CYA that has built up. I've switched to Power Powder Plus, mainly because it doesn't raise CYA and getting my hands on liquid chlorine is near impossible in south Texas.

 

[Flying Tivo]

Welcome! You would guess draining is important because of CYA? Partially right, but copper readings are through the roof. Which by the way is the only testing we half trust from the poolstore. You need to get yourself a reliable Test Kits Compared and start reading up on Pool Care Basics which will enlighten you on the TFP ways. At first it will probably give you a slight headache, but we all were in your shoes at some point.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[wall]

Thanks - I'll order one of the kits today. Should I test with a home kit before doing anything else? I just put brand new cartridge filters in, so the flow is great right now. The pool store has been pushing me to drain and/or use a phosphate reducer. With the phosphate being as high as it is, I don't imagine their reading would be so far off. So, can I get my current pool water to a good state without draining? Because of how hot it is in my area, swimmers jumping in the pool, and the pool has zero shade, the water line naturally drops about 3 inches every 1.5 weeks. Can topping the pool off at that rate get me back to good numbers with me switching over to Power Powder Plus?

 

[duraleigh]

Should I test with a home kit before doing anything else?

Absolutely, yes! TFP will teach you to always trust your own testing.

Please stay out of the pool store as you learn that.....
1, phosphates are irrelevant to your water management. Don't worry about removing them
2. Power Powder plus is not the LONG-term best way to get chlorine into your pool. It adds a LOT of calcium which can lead to several issues
3. I know you said LQ is hard to get but it is hands down the finest way to chlorinat your pool.
4. If you don't start using LQ, consider a Salt Water Generator as your chlorine source.......folks here swear by it.
5. The pucks add CYA not a good chlorine solution either
6. Once you post your test results, let's see where your CYA really is
7. Topping off the pool won't help with CYA or copper but let's get YOUR test results before you take any action

 

[Mdragger88]

Replacing water lost through Evaporation doesn’t lower cya, copper, or calcium.
Your calcium hardness is getting up there too if those #’s are anywhere accurate. The cal hypo use is only adding to this problem. Here’s what each pound of it does to your water

The liquid diet “liquid chlorine” is the answer - in the meantime & after you exchange water. Follow the FC/CYA Levels

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.google.com

Phosphates (algae food) are mostly irrelevant in a properly chlorinated pool - u can’t feed whats not alive to eat.

 

[wall]

Awesome - thanks for all the help. I ordered the TF-Pro with the SmartStir and pH meter. I've only ever bought supplies from Leslie's (LC or powder options). They never have LC these days, but I can still manage to get a pH reducer from them when it is needed. Are places like Home Depot safe to get LC from? I've read about LC sitting around too long in warehouses before it hits the local store, which reduces its effectiveness.

 

[duraleigh]

Fresh LQ is fairly important but Home Depot and Lowes turn over their inventory fairly well at most stores Here in Florida, many Pool Stores (I know we just told you to avoid them) will carry LQ at a good price. The best resource I ever found was a Pressure Cleaner Supply place that sold all types of pressure cleaners and supplies, including LQ. It was SUPER fresh and a good price.

Good choice on the TFP Pro. It is a kit designed with our procedures in mind. You will love the SmartStir and how neatly everything is packaged. Ask questions if you don't understand the testing procedure. We will all pitch in and help you take control of your pool.

It is even possible we could turn you into a pool nerd.........that's the highest compliment we give out!

 

[Lilypad]

You have Pinch A Penny locations on Bulverde and also up north on Blanco. They sell 12.5% liquid
chlorine in 2.5 gallon carboys. You pay for the carboy and they refill at a lower price, free refill after
you buy a certain # of refills. Ace, HD, Lowe's & Walmart are also good. Look for HDX or Pool
Essentials for example.

Just be aware that heat and sun affect/deteriorate chlorine so watch how they are stored. There is
a printed date on every bottle/box that will give it's age. Looks like this:

 

[wall]

Thanks - I did manage to score 16 gallons of LC this morning from the pool store. I do have a pentair test kit I got with the pool that I can test chlorine, acid, and alkalinity while I wait for TFP Pro kit to come in. The chlorine level is .3-.5 atm. Based on that and Leslie's readings, should I be adding LC now? I'm trying to avoid wasting LC, if I'm going to be told to drain water fairly soon. Might just be my noob thinking, but any thoughts on if I should add now or wait would be great.

 

[wall]

To help with timing, the new test kit will arrive on Saturday. That is quick, which is great, but still 3 days from now. Is it better to focus on getting my FC up even knowing that when Saturday comes around I likely need to start doing a partial draining of the pool?

 

[IceShadow]

If your pool looks clear I'd add 3ppm of LC daily until the kit is in. If it's green/cloudy/etc. I'd do 5ppm.

 

[duraleigh]

Yes, I think about 1/2 gallon of FC daily (put it in in the evening) will sustain your pool just fine until the kit gets to you.

How hot will the weather be? What does your water look like now?

 

[duraleigh]

I like ice shadow's idea better than mine !

 

[DuaeGuttae]

You’ve gotten great advice from the real experts, so I’ll just chime in with some South Central Texas sympathy.

It’s hot! Phew! In the middle of the afternoon with the sun beating down, it’s even too hot to swim in my opinion!

My neighbors are in the process of slamming their pool, and the only place they could find liquid chlorine was at Leslie’s because supplies were so limited, but they could only get one box at each store, and so they had to drive from store to store. Recently, however, they were able to pick some up at Walmart, and they happened to be at Home Depot when a fresh shipment came in, and they got seven 4 packs. That price was far better than Leslie’s and even beat out Walmart.

When you get your test kit, test the pH, total alkalinity, and calcium hardness of your fill water. With the drought I’ve noticed those rising in our area (though maybe it doesn’t have to do with the drought). Giving those numbers to the experts will help them advise you better about draining. Fill water will have no CYA so that’s good news.

In this heat, CYA does break down a little. Once your test kit comes in you’ll have a much more accurate idea if it’s really up as high as 150. I hope not.

 

[Mdragger88]

@Texas Splash where do u source your liquid chlorine?

 

[wall]

Awesome, thanks everyone. The water looks great for the moment. Crystal clear because I shocked it heavily last week and then put new filter cartridges in too. I get in the water every other day and look around for any algae and brush it away. Not always the easiest to detect when not in the water with a mask IMO. I’ll add 3ppm tonight, which from Googling it, should be 63 oz of LC. So 1/2 a gallon would be correct like you said also @duraleigh

 

[Texas Splash]

@Texas Splash where do u source your liquid chlorine?

When I used to be a jug-dumper, it was Home Depot. Seems like they're always out now. Walmart gets their Pool Essentials from time to time, just hit & miss catching them on the shelf.

 

[Katygreys]

Awesome, thanks everyone. The water looks great for the moment. Crystal clear because I shocked it heavily last week and then put new filter cartridges in too. I get in the water every other day and look around for any algae and brush it away. Not always the easiest to detect when not in the water with a mask IMO. I’ll add 3ppm tonight, which from Googling it, should be 63 oz of LC. So 1/2 a gallon would be correct like you said also @duraleigh

The Pool Math app will also tell you how much of what concentration LC will get you a specific FC increase. Best pool app available.

 

[wall]

The Pool Math app will also tell you how much of what concentration LC will get you a specific FC increase. Best pool app available.

Awesome stuff, thanks for telling me about it. I'll download it asap.

 

[wall]

Just a quick update. The new test kit is coming in tomorrow. I've been adding 1/2 gal of LC each night. The pool water looks great, but when I test the FC each morning using my current test kit, it is reading at <=0.3 FC. I know the new kit will be better, but if the water looks great is there anything wrong with the FC dropping to that level?