First Test (ever...)

[Hdwainwright]

Ok.

I found the water line that doesn't charge sewage costs!

I have a submersible pump.

I bought a pool thermometer and lots of hose.

There's only a 6 degree difference in my fill water and pool water, so the pump/hose at different temp methods is out. It's south Alabama, pool water is already at 66.

The pool is 20' x 40' with a deep end of at 10'-ish (its a guess, haven't actually been in it yet) so I've looked locally and can't find a tarp big enough to submerge in the entire pool without the water mixing. What would I even need? Like 40' x 60' tarp?

So, it looks like partial drain/refill is what's happening?

BTW - this is all so intimidating and y'all are awesome cheerleaders!

 

[mknauss]

Re-read Post 18. You can still do the exchange if you wish. It may mix a bit, but not any worse than the drain a little, refill, drain a little, repeat.

 

[kimkats]

"bad" water out............good water in. Slow and careful aka don't take too much out at one time. Take out of the deep end, add to the shallow end. This might take a little longer but it is safer for your liner and pool in the long run!

Once you get this out of the way you are not going to believe how easy your pool will be to take care of. The getting there will be a pain but it is kind of easy with us on your side! We got ya!

Kim

 

[splashpad]

I found the water line that doesn't charge sewage costs!

This is a huge positive!

I have a submersible pump.
I bought a pool thermometer and lots of hose.
There's only a 6 degree difference in my fill water and pool water, so the pump/hose at different temp methods is out. It's south Alabama, pool water is already at 66.
The pool is 20' x 40' with a deep end of at 10'-ish (its a guess, haven't actually been in it yet) so I've looked locally and can't find a tarp big enough to submerge in the entire pool without the water mixing. What would I even need? Like 40' x 60' tarp?
So, it looks like partial drain/refill is what's happening?

You can still do the sump pump in the deep end (per Marty's instructions). Make sure there is someone that can supervise the entire exchange, because the sump will likely drain faster than the refill water..... The tarp acts as a "visual" cue, to see where the water levels are at It's not a necessity at all, no worries!
The reason you don't want to completely empty the vinyl liner, is it could shift/detach and you definitely don't want that.

BTW - this is all so intimidating and y'all are awesome cheerleaders!

The forum members here are awesome!

 

[Hdwainwright]

Today is water exchange day! Wish me luck!

 

[Lilypad]

Go get 'em Heather! I had to do two 2/3 drain/refills to get my CYA in line. Mine is inground, but you can
do this. You'll be amazed how easy it becomes to have a gorgeous pool. Let us know how it goes!

 

[kimkats]

Go Heather! GO! You got this!!!

 

[Bvacchiano]

What I’ve noticed works the best with the CH test is to take it INSIDE, turn all the lights on, and open the shades to let some light in. I can see the change from purple to blue MUCH better. I have much more difficulty trying to do this test outside.

 

[Hdwainwright]

Ran the pump & hose about 7 hours yesterday. On the bright side, my pump and hose seem to be draining/refilling at a nearly equal rate, so that wasn't very stressful. I also couldn't visualize how much water was exchanging, so I was a little concerned not much was happening.

The pump (pool pump, not sub pump...) ran overnight, so the new & old should be well mixed. New chem levels this morning:

CYA: High 80's
CH: 290 ish.

PROGRESS! I'll do water exchange a few more hours today to get those levels a little lower and we should be all set! Y'all are awesome!

 

[kimkats]

Heather I can see your smile from here!

 

[mknauss]

If you have a low power (1/4 or 1/3 hp) sub pump your outflow rate was less than 10 gpm. In 7 hours the most you exchanged was 4000 gallons. Typically this process takes 24 hours or more to make a significant impact. If you run your pool pump during it you destroy the ability to exchange the old water with new water.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

You can estimate the amount of water you're exchanging by timing how long it takes to fill a 5-gallon bucket either on the hose side or the discharge side. Convert that time to gallons per hour and multiply by the amount of time of your exchange.

 

[Hdwainwright]

Not sure of the HP on the pump - I borrowed it from my Dad - but he says it empties his 300 gallon hot tub in 15 minutes, so I'm estimating between 850-900 gallons/hr. I estimate we exchanged about 6k gallons on Saturday, or about 18% of the volume. Honestly didn't intend to run the pool pump overnight, but I forgot to turn it off. Tried to think of it as a silver lining so at least I could get a new accurate reading. Did the same process Sunday - ran for 11 hours - so about 9,500 gallons.

SO...an 18% exchange Saturday and a 28% exchange Sunday after mixing overnight should make a total exchange of 40% (-ish). Pool Math told me to aim for 56%.

BUT today:
CH 170 (nice)
CYA 65 (meh)

So I assume I need to do this one more time to get that CYA on down while we're at it.

 

[kimkats]

I would do it one more time to get the CYA down a little more. It will make it easier down the road.

Kim

 

[splashpad]

BUT today:
CH 170 (nice)
CYA 65 (meh)

You can go with it, or get it down to lower your long term chlorine costs (you use more chlorine at a higher CYA level)
You are pretty far south, does the pool seem to get a lot of sun for most of the day?

 

[Hdwainwright]

Did the last water exchange over the weekend and the CYA is just above 40. Everything else is within acceptable limits also, except the chlorine, obviously, because none has been added since we started this process.

FC is zero, so we SLAM, yes? Then swim happily all summer.

 

[kimkats]

A SLAMing you will go!!!! Heather that is an awesome CYA number to work with!! Do you have chlorine in hand??? You can start the SLAM tonight! That is the purrfect time to start a SLAM as the FC does not have to fight the sun while it gets after the algae!

Kim

 

[Hdwainwright]

I only have 3 121 oz bottles on hand. Pool math says start with 9 to get FC up to 16. There’s a lot of debris in the pool too I need to get out first - we had a blast of hard wind night before last that dumped massive amount of oak leaves from the neighbors tree.

AND my husband broke his arm yesterday so it’s been a week! I’ll grab some extra bleach and get it going in a day or two when I can get some more debris out.

How much should I get? Is double the original amount needed to start the SLAM safe or more than that?

 

[kimkats]

It is going to take a lot the first few times you add as it will go fast. How easy is it for you to get on a daily bases or every other day? How much can you carry in your car SAFELY? Then get that and do what you can when you can.

He did WHAT?? Was it a "simple" break or will he need surgery to fix it? Give him a for me! And have a to help YOU relax!

Kim

 

[Hdwainwright]

I can get plain Clorox at the WalMart 15 minutes from home, no problem. I have a minivan, so the amount to be carried is not a concern either.

And nothing is ever simple with him. Lol. Plates and pins go in surgically Friday morning.