Re: cya level
joedeb said:
If my CYA level is 90 why do you think my pool company never mentioned it when I had my water tested? Seems like a glaring problem at that level. I sure don't trust them.
Do you think I should be adding like 12 bottles of Clorox at a time and then more and more all day? It got cloudier and more algae after our guests left. They tried to make me put in Muriatic acid, soda ash, etc. thinking they were pool experts. I knew better. I guess I will have to drain it and resurface it.
It has been two weeks now and 30 bottles of clorox...I'm going to Lowes to get the strong pool stuff. They just started selling it here.
Deb, first let me apologize for not following this thread closer
It looked like the others had you on the right track, but I would have suggested pouring straight bleach down the walls while the pool water was down - this would have 'nuked' any algae living in the porous above water sides and also given you a lethal dose of cl in the pool water to attack the rest of the sides and bottom. )
If your bottom is as trashed as you say, extra chlorine isn't going to hurt it - and with such a high cya level, will still be safe to swim in - though I'd wear an old swimsuit and shower right after getting out. Once you get to 'shock dose' ie, 20-25 ppm of cl, you can hook the vac up to a return, plug 1 or more of the other returns (to build up pressure coming OUT of the vac ) and ~'pressure wash' the surfaces with the high cl water, to really get the killing chlorine into the 'nooks and cranies'. I offer this method because brushing doesn't seem to be getting deep enough into the rough plaster.
If you go for the resurfacing, try to schedule it at the most likely time of the year for the 'swamp' water to be at it's ebb, given where the pool is located, the original builders may have left a 'well point' (a pipe that sticks up out of the ground to attach a pump to that has it's bottom lower than the pool) the use of which could make the difference between floating the pool and having it stay in the ground. They may sandblast the surface, they should acid wash it and sound it for hollow spots and chip out certain areas to get a good bond between the old surface and the new - while they are doing this pour bleach on every bit of the surface to fully kill any residual algae (using a watering bucket - like for watering potted plants, will will save a few gallons of bleach, as you'll get better dispersal)
One last thing, as for them not going "
" when they saw your high cya - forgive them, for they know not what they're doing! They have the mind-set that under 30 ppm cya is bad anything over 30 is good. They think that if a little is good, lots is better, not realizing that too much cya reduces the efficacy of the cl. (they've probably also realised that a higher cya leads to more chem sales - in their minds: how can they loose?)
