Emptying and refilling pool

[jorgeL]

Hello,
I am wondering if I need to empty my pool because of my high levels of calcium and CYA. If so how do I go about emptying the pool? Do I need to take any precautions? I am also thinking of cleaning the calcium spots/stains in the process. Any recommendations on how to do that as well?
FC: 8
CC: 0
pH: 7.7
TA: 100
CA: 1250
CYA: 140

 

[mknauss]

If the CA you report above is the Calcium Hardness (CH), then yes, it is time to drain and refill your pool.

Few precautions need to be taken in your area during this time of year. It would be best to rent a sump pump from Home Depot and drain quickly. Then refill. You need to know where your municipality requires you to put your drained water.

Depending on the severity of your scale buildup, you can use a pumice stone, light acid washing, or more likely you need to hire a company that comes and does Kieserite blasting to remove the scale.

 

[jorgeL]

Thanks for the info! Yes, that is CH. Why is it important to drain and refill quickly?
My thought was to drain, have a company clean the scale buildup, and when they are done refill with water, but is that not a good idea?
The municipality requires the water to be drained to the sewer which I have access to.
When I drain the pool with the sump pump should I also get the water out of the sand filter or will that drain by itself because my pool is in ground and the equipment is above that?

 

[mknauss]

Leaving plaster to dry out, even in winter, increases the risk of plaster cracking, de-lamination, and other failures. Quicker the better.
To remove water line scale, the companies are used to doing that with water in the pool. You could have it done and then immediately drain the pool. That would be best.
Your sand filter will drain to your pool. There is little water in it so it will not effect anything.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I had my tile at the waterline blasted a couple years ago. They only needed the water level dropped 12". The company used glass beads. Cost is $4.00 per linear foot in my area. They used a standalone pool vacuum to collect the glass beads afterwards. As Marty suggested, since you need to drop the water level for blasting anyways, drain immediately after. When you fill, if you're unsure of your pool volume, take photos of the water meter before and after the fill to get an accurate volume. Here's a link with some info from TFP members on scale removal:

Waterline Scale Removal

After a recent drain and refill and dialing in my chemistry and CSI, I'm ready to have the waterline calcium scale removed. I now understand how to avoid calcium deposits so I'm ready for a nice clean start. As I start my search of local vendors, I thought I would seek input that may help me...

www.troublefreepool.com

Best of luck!

 

[jorgeL]

Thanks for the advice and the great read!

 

[jorgeL]

An update on this. I called a company and they removed the calcium buildup, they did a good job. They drained the pool though so I didn't have to do it myself. Once the pool was filled they added liquid chlorine and CYA, so now to monitor the chemical levels and adjust as necessary.
Thanks again for the help!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

That's great! Despite maintaining nearly perfect CSI, I'm starting to see hints of scaling at/above the waterline. I believe it's evaporative scaling that is difficult to control. I find that raising my water level every couple months helps to hide it .

Best of luck!