What I'm describing here is a problem that's come and gone. A minor problem that didn't even cause us to miss a swim day -- but something that could've grown into much more of a hassle.
Long story short:
- On Friday 6/9/2017, I measured the CYA at 60. Initiated the TFP pool methods in earnest.
- Between 6/9 and 8/2/2017 ... loads and loads of rain. And when it wasn't raining, it was glaring sunlight and daytime temps in the 90s. Nothing but a daily bleach addition throughout all this time (except for one 48 hour period, 7/1-3, where we went out of town, and I 'overchlorinated' beforehand to compensate). Throughout all this time, there were multiple splashout episodes when kids were in the pool ... lowering the level ~3" each time. I counted on rainwater to top it back off later on.
- From late June on, I noticed the pool seeming to need more chlorine in the evenings to stay at the recommended FC/CYA level. I was still dosing as if the pool had a CYA of 60, but I had to go from adding 2 ppm of chlorine in the evening to adding 4 ppm. I chalked it up to sunlight and burnoff.
- 8/3 through 8/17 ... even more rain interspersed with even hotter sunny weather. Anytime it rained, it rained hard and long. No one swam in the pool over these two weeks.
- Friday, 8/18 ... for the first time all summer: cloudiness in the water. Water was crystal-clear all summer long until this date. Raised chlorine to 8 ppm that night.
- Saturday, 8/19 ... swam in the cloudy water, felt the chloramines in my eyes and noticed a chlorine smell. Jumped out later and finally did another CYA test. I was down to a CYA of 30. How long I had been down that low, I have no idea. So, I had confirmation ... my chorine WAS being burned off. At some point, the FC got low enough to give algae (?) just a hint of a foothold -- and they took it.
I immediately added enough liquid stabilizer to raise the CYA to 50. Spent some time stirring it around with a net and keeping it from collecting on the bottom of the pool. Got it good and mixed. I immediately began slamming by adding 7-8 ppm three times during daylight hours and one at nightfall.
Within 24 hours, the pool clarity improved. By yesterday morning, the water looks back to TFP normal -- clear and sparkling. Still keeping the chlorine levels elevated for now, though. Kind of reminds me of taking antibiotics ... gotta keep taking them even after you feel better.
Confession time: There is no skimmer on the pool. I take the net to the pool water all the time and scoop stuff out, big and small. However, I have not once brushed the pool walls or vacuumed the pool. From just about Day One, there has been coffee-ground-sized grit on the bottom of the pool that I can move around, but not really scoop up. Water still looks great, but without a squeaky clean bottom ... the pool can't be called perfect.
...
Oh well. The point of all this was just to post that, depending on temperature, splashing, and rain, CYA levels CAN move down and indirectly cause water issues -- and a lot faster than might commonly be assumed. I loved reading the Pool School articles and learned a ton -- but one of the things I thought I learned was that CYA levels pretty much couldn't go down without significant drainage of a pool. Not so.
Long story short:
- On Friday 6/9/2017, I measured the CYA at 60. Initiated the TFP pool methods in earnest.
- Between 6/9 and 8/2/2017 ... loads and loads of rain. And when it wasn't raining, it was glaring sunlight and daytime temps in the 90s. Nothing but a daily bleach addition throughout all this time (except for one 48 hour period, 7/1-3, where we went out of town, and I 'overchlorinated' beforehand to compensate). Throughout all this time, there were multiple splashout episodes when kids were in the pool ... lowering the level ~3" each time. I counted on rainwater to top it back off later on.
- From late June on, I noticed the pool seeming to need more chlorine in the evenings to stay at the recommended FC/CYA level. I was still dosing as if the pool had a CYA of 60, but I had to go from adding 2 ppm of chlorine in the evening to adding 4 ppm. I chalked it up to sunlight and burnoff.
- 8/3 through 8/17 ... even more rain interspersed with even hotter sunny weather. Anytime it rained, it rained hard and long. No one swam in the pool over these two weeks.
- Friday, 8/18 ... for the first time all summer: cloudiness in the water. Water was crystal-clear all summer long until this date. Raised chlorine to 8 ppm that night.
- Saturday, 8/19 ... swam in the cloudy water, felt the chloramines in my eyes and noticed a chlorine smell. Jumped out later and finally did another CYA test. I was down to a CYA of 30. How long I had been down that low, I have no idea. So, I had confirmation ... my chorine WAS being burned off. At some point, the FC got low enough to give algae (?) just a hint of a foothold -- and they took it.
I immediately added enough liquid stabilizer to raise the CYA to 50. Spent some time stirring it around with a net and keeping it from collecting on the bottom of the pool. Got it good and mixed. I immediately began slamming by adding 7-8 ppm three times during daylight hours and one at nightfall.
Within 24 hours, the pool clarity improved. By yesterday morning, the water looks back to TFP normal -- clear and sparkling. Still keeping the chlorine levels elevated for now, though. Kind of reminds me of taking antibiotics ... gotta keep taking them even after you feel better.
Confession time: There is no skimmer on the pool. I take the net to the pool water all the time and scoop stuff out, big and small. However, I have not once brushed the pool walls or vacuumed the pool. From just about Day One, there has been coffee-ground-sized grit on the bottom of the pool that I can move around, but not really scoop up. Water still looks great, but without a squeaky clean bottom ... the pool can't be called perfect.
...
Oh well. The point of all this was just to post that, depending on temperature, splashing, and rain, CYA levels CAN move down and indirectly cause water issues -- and a lot faster than might commonly be assumed. I loved reading the Pool School articles and learned a ton -- but one of the things I thought I learned was that CYA levels pretty much couldn't go down without significant drainage of a pool. Not so.
