Chemicals out of whack -- start by replacing water?

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J

jkpool17

Member
May 8, 2020
11
Newbury Park, CA
I've been managing my own pool poorly for years. TFP has come in like a blinding light shining on my ineptitude. :D No wonder I always get algae! I'm excited to finally learn how to do it right.

Here's my first set of tests:

FC = 0.5
CC = 1.0
PH = 7.3
TA = 120
CH = 700
CYA = 120 or more

It's a plaster pool (pebble tech I believe).

Based on what I'm reading here, I think my first order of business is to cut the CYA way down by emptying about 2/3 of my water and then refilling it. Does that sound right?

Thanks in advance!
 
Correct. Draining will lower your CYA and CH to more manageable levels. Get your CYA down between 30-40.

Note the No Drain Water Exchange in this article that you can use - Draining - Further Reading
 
Yes.

If your plumbing is set up right, you might be able to draw from the floor drain and discharge out the waste line using your pool's pump. If not, you can rent a big pump from Home Depot or the local tool rental place and be done with it in a matter of hours. It would be quite easy to rent the pump in the afternoon, do your business, then drop the hose in to start filling as it gets dark so the plaster doesn't bake in the sun all day. Wake up, shut off the water, start the filter, and let it mix so you can test and adjust. Then attack it with bleach.

Brush the walls as it drains 'til your shoulders scream. Might as well get rid of as much algae mechanically as you can.

And be aware: we love pictures.
 
Thanks Richard! How would I be able to use my pool pump to draw from the floor drain and discharge? Here's my equipment setup.
20200509_142443.jpg

It's a cartridge filter. The setup has backwash capability that I've never used because I don't know why I would. Can I just turn it to backwash and let it drain out that way? Assuming I can ensure it's draining out of the floor drain only.

And here's a picture of my beautiful pond. Just missing a few well placed lily pads.
20200509_142356.jpg
 
I can't see the part I need to see to tell if you can isolate the floor drain. It's that part that's hidden in the upper right. Follow the horizontal pipe out the front of the pump to those valves.

If it's a cartridge filter with a backwash valve, then pull the cartridge out, reassemble the tank, and connect a backwash hose to the port on the bottom. Then lift the backwash valve and let 'er rip. A word of advice: Do not expect the backwash hose to straighten itself out. It won't. It'll pop if there's a kink. It will also flail around wildly unless it's restrained somehow. It will be very much like a firehose.

If you don't own a backwash hose, don't bother. Buying one will cost about as much as renting a big pump
 
Thanks. I'm pretty sure now I can isolate the floor drain with the valves and closing off the skimmer and the robot vacuum. Why do I need a backwash hose? Why can't I let it just flow out of the big PVC opening at the bottom of the backwash valve column -- will bad things happen?
 
You don’t want 15,000 gallons of water flooding your equipment and the side of your house. You need to plan for where that much water will go and not damage anything in the process.
 
The best place for drain effluent is a sewer clean out.

I know you might be able to use your pool pump, but I am wary of using a $1000 pool pump for a job a rental sump pump or a purchased 1/2 hp sump pump can do for $80. Just be ware.
 

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Just to note that if you have never tried to pull 100% from your main drain only you may find it cannot provide enough water flow to keep the pump basket full and primed. So keep an eye on your pump and don’t let it run dry and damage it.
 
Thanks for all the wise advice. Of course I had to try to see if I could do it with just my pool pump and no backwash hose, letting it run into the drain next to my pool equipment. I have a variable speed pump, and the second-lowest speed was way too much water. The lowest speed was really low, pushing maybe 5 gallons a minute, which would take . . . 2 or 3 days to empty as much water as I want. I guess I'll be buying or renting a pump soon.
 
So I bought a sump pump (Superior Pump 91250 Utility Pump, 1/4 HP off Amazon) and proceeded to pump out about 65-70% of my water, then refilled it with tap water. I found out I had overestimated by pool volume and that I'm actually closer to 16,500 gallons. I just tested my chemicals with TF100 and here's what I got:

FC < 0.5 (there was a tiny amount of pink but I'm guessing it's practically zero)
CC < 0.5 (again, a tiny bit of pink but probably practically zero)
pH = 8.2
TA = 100
CH = 275
CYA = 35

The CYA is now down to an acceptable level to start SLAMing, but the pH is really high. Pool Math tells me I need to add some acid, so I'm off to Home Depot to get Muriatic Acid as well as stock up on liquid chlorine for the SLAM. My pool is so green I think it'll eat a lot of chlorine.

The CH is out of ideal range. I'm not too eager to add calcium because I know it'll gradually creep up as I have to add tap water over the summer in response to evaporation. Pool Math tells me the bottom of the ideal range is 350. How important is it to get up to the ideal lower limit sooner than later?

Here's a picture of the draining process. Funny thing, as the water receded, three different family members remarked that it smelled like the ocean tide pools. I guess that's the smell of algae drying out. :D

20200515_190357.jpg
 
Do not worry about the CH. The value you have is in range. You are fine.
Add the acid that Poolmath says and circulate for 30 minutes. Test pH again. If in the low 7's, start the SLAM. Your CYA is 40 ppm
 
I've been SLAMing for a week and the pool is dramatically better, but still a little green and cloudy. I'm going to keep SLAMing until all three criteria are met (no algae, clear water, OCLT).

I just made another late discovery, a real doozy. I didn't realize my filter was a DE filter. (While you're busy laughing, a brief word of explanation. My last house's pool had a cartridge filter, and I learned how to clean the cartridges. Then I bought a new house and took over caring for this pool. When the pressure gauge got high I figured I'd open it up and clean it out. I couldn't believe how filthy those "cartidges" were! Of course I sprayed off all the gunk and put it back together, very proud of myself. I didn't even know what a DE filter was.)

So the DE filter has been running without DE for over two years. I've broken down the filter and washed off the grids probably a dozen times. Given the lack of DE, the filter has cleaned surprisingly well, but obviously not as well as it should have.

Today I've read posts and articles about how you should NEVER run your DE filter without DE because it will ruin your grids. So have I already ruined them and do I need to start over with brand new ones? Or is there a way to tell if they're still okay? Or maybe a way to salvage/revitalize them?
 
Finally checking back in a month later. The SLAM process worked as advertised, and a few days later the pool magically cleared up. Been good since then. Thanks for all the advice! Here's the continuing day by day (I missed one or two days, but it's a good time lapse).
20200517_121345.jpg
20200518_140440.jpg
(I skipped a couple days between the last one and the next one.)
20200521_143600.jpg
20200522_111942.jpg
(Two days later:)
20200524_122243.jpg
 
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