Oh man. You're right. I did it in the wrong order. Ok, so what in the world is going on? Was this dangerous to be swimming in or something? Was pool guy just using a high CYA chlorine tab, and because he refreshed it once a week, it just climbed higher and higher? Is there any long term damage/effect I need to be worried about?
First test kit arrives tomorrow - what chemicals do I need to have on hand?
- Thread starter yubbie2
- Start date
Oh man. You're right. I did it in the wrong order. Ok, so what in the world is going on? Was this dangerous to be swimming in or something? Was pool guy just using a high CYA chlorine tab, and because he refreshed it once a week, it just climbed higher and higher? Is there any long term damage/effect I need to be worried about?
Sorry, didn't mean to spook anyone, but I've never heard of a CYA level that high. I don't think it's dangerous from a toxicity stand point (probably others on the forum know better than me), but seems very clear you won't get anything resembling sanitized water at that CYA level.
If the CYA level (300+) is correct, then you'll need to replace 80-90% of your water to get it down to a reasonable level (~60). Probably a couple partial drains and refills to get there...
Best of luck.
If the CYA level (300+) is correct, then you'll need to replace 80-90% of your water to get it down to a reasonable level (~60). Probably a couple partial drains and refills to get there...
Best of luck.
Alright, pool has been totally drained except for ~4" in the deep end. Use the opportunity to scrub off a few calcified "drips" (bird poop?), a few rusty spots from when the roofers let some nails fall in, and vacuumed up a bunch of DE and dirt. Shop vac-ing an empty pool is a weird feeling, FYI. Also pulled out the pool light to replace the bulb. Any other maintenance I should do while it's empty? I've started refilling but I've got plenty of time if something else should be done.
Get water back in there ASAP, balance the chem levels when full... best to undershoot to get to the proper levels than overshoot... especially with CYA (aim for level of 30 for CYA initially).
Depending on your water table, it's not recommended to take the water level down that low. Which is why I said you should do it in a couple partial drains, but you seemed to have survived it. Stay away from the dichlor and trichlor in the future and all should be roses.
Best of luck.
Depending on your water table, it's not recommended to take the water level down that low. Which is why I said you should do it in a couple partial drains, but you seemed to have survived it. Stay away from the dichlor and trichlor in the future and all should be roses.
Best of luck.
Pool is almost full. Nice and green, but at least it's not cloudy.
Going to buy a couple of containers of bleach on the way home - what else should I pick up to have on hand? Or do I need to post green water test results first?
Going to buy a couple of containers of bleach on the way home - what else should I pick up to have on hand? Or do I need to post green water test results first?
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,951
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Generally it's good to see numbers first so you don't waste money. But generally speaking, when you fill a pool it usually needs stabilizer, bleach, and perhaps some muriatic acid if the fill pH is elevated. There's time though.
You will definitely need to get some stabilizer in there ASAP. You will likely be burning through chlorine really fast in the beginning, so the sooner you get your CYA level up to at least 30 the better you will be.
I thought he did a full drain? If he did leave water in, then absolutely test water before adding it. If it was full drain, then he knows it's at 0.
Sorry for my confusion.
I just read the entire thread & noticed a few things.
1 - You can use 10 ml of water instead of 25 ml when doing the FC test. Divide the drops by 2 for FC reading. This is done to save on both your R-0870 powder ( use 1 heaping scoop) & R-0871 solution.
2 - Your diluted CYA test was all messed up. You diluted the water 3 to 1 but also used half as much R-0013 as required. You should have filled to the bottom of the label with pool water, to the top of label with tap water & then mix & dump half the water before adding R-0013.
3 - For the mods - I believe the instructions in Pool School for the diluted test have a typo. Shouldn't step 8e take you back to step 2?
1 - You can use 10 ml of water instead of 25 ml when doing the FC test. Divide the drops by 2 for FC reading. This is done to save on both your R-0870 powder ( use 1 heaping scoop) & R-0871 solution.
2 - Your diluted CYA test was all messed up. You diluted the water 3 to 1 but also used half as much R-0013 as required. You should have filled to the bottom of the label with pool water, to the top of label with tap water & then mix & dump half the water before adding R-0013.
3 - For the mods - I believe the instructions in Pool School for the diluted test have a typo. Shouldn't step 8e take you back to step 2?
Ok, just tested. Regardless of how I did or didn't mess up the CYA results in those prior readings, it's now zero however you read it. Finally! Only took a few hundred dollar water bill. Thanks City of Houston :-(
Test results at 7pm, 5/30/17:
FC = 0 ppm
pH = 8.0. Acid demand test: 2 drops of R0005 brought pH reading to 7.3/7.4ish.
TA = 110 ppm
CH = 120 ppm
CYA = Big giant wonderful zip zero zilch nada 0
I have 3 or 4 gallons of 8.25% bleach in the pantry. Nothing else, but I can run to the store or order online whatever else I need. I'm going to go play with the Pool Calculator, but some expert advice (as well as what I can expect over the next few days) would be super helpful.
Test results at 7pm, 5/30/17:
FC = 0 ppm
pH = 8.0. Acid demand test: 2 drops of R0005 brought pH reading to 7.3/7.4ish.
TA = 110 ppm
CH = 120 ppm
CYA = Big giant wonderful zip zero zilch nada 0
I have 3 or 4 gallons of 8.25% bleach in the pantry. Nothing else, but I can run to the store or order online whatever else I need. I'm going to go play with the Pool Calculator, but some expert advice (as well as what I can expect over the next few days) would be super helpful.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,951
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Looks like a good catch Mike.
yubbie2, you'll want to do the following:
- Add stabilizer for a CYA goal of only 30 if you feel there's ANY chance of residual algae or anything in the plumbing. If not, then you can easily take CYA up to 40.
- If you had to SLAM to clear-out any residual junk, SLAM at an FC of 12. If not, then increase FC with bleach this evening only to about 2-3 ppm since you have no stabilizer in there yet. As soon as you get the sock soaking though, take the FC up to your normal range of about 5-7 and never below 3; that's based on the CYA of 40. Once everything gets settled, you will probably take CYA up to 50 as our TX sun gets quite intense at this latitude. I run my CYA around 60 from Jun - Sep.
As for CH, you are a bit under your minimum of 250. You could increase it now, but I suspect your fill water is probably hard and will increase it over the summer. So until then, you could simply run your pH (and perhaps TA) on the slightly higher end of the scale to compensate for your low CH which will allow for a balanced CSI reading. If you're not sure what I mean, enter all your numbers a look down at the CSI row on the Poolmath calculator.
Hope that helps.
Thanks. I think I'm confused though. I did not SLAM yet - I have only drained, refilled with tap, and tested. Since the pool is a little green, do I need to SLAM? If yes, do I need to lower the pH from ~8 to ~7.4 first?
Sorry for the repeated questions. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I'm playing with the pool calculator, so I think I can figure out how much of bleach, stabilizer, or muriatic acid to add, I'm just getting lost in what to add when and in what order.
Sorry for the repeated questions. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I'm playing with the pool calculator, so I think I can figure out how much of bleach, stabilizer, or muriatic acid to add, I'm just getting lost in what to add when and in what order.
Reading a bit more about it...
Can't do anything without some stabilizer in the pool, otherwise adding chlorine won't do anything during the SLAM, right? Here's what I'm thinking I need to do:
1) Need to raise CYA from 0 to 30 by: Add 92oz by weight or 96oz by volume of stabilizer
2) Run pump 12-24 hours to circulate, lots of robot cleaning, etc
3) Raise FC from 0 to 3 by: Add 102oz of 8.25 % bleach.
4) Circulate 12-24 hours, test to ensure CYA 30 and FC 3
5) If successful, SLAM by adding enough bleach to bring FC up to 12 (306oz 8.25% bleach)
6) Keep adding bleach as often as needed (at least 2x/day) to keep FC>12 until pool starts to clear up
7) Do the OCLT test
Am I on the right track?
Can't do anything without some stabilizer in the pool, otherwise adding chlorine won't do anything during the SLAM, right? Here's what I'm thinking I need to do:
1) Need to raise CYA from 0 to 30 by: Add 92oz by weight or 96oz by volume of stabilizer
2) Run pump 12-24 hours to circulate, lots of robot cleaning, etc
3) Raise FC from 0 to 3 by: Add 102oz of 8.25 % bleach.
4) Circulate 12-24 hours, test to ensure CYA 30 and FC 3
5) If successful, SLAM by adding enough bleach to bring FC up to 12 (306oz 8.25% bleach)
6) Keep adding bleach as often as needed (at least 2x/day) to keep FC>12 until pool starts to clear up
7) Do the OCLT test
Am I on the right track?
jeffbrig
0
- Sep 24, 2014
- 154
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Chlorine works just fine without stabilizer. You'll just find that you can't keep any chlorine in the pool because sunlight kills it. Think of stabilizer as sunscreen for your chlorine. That's why the recommendation is min 30 for outdoor pools.
Put dry stabilizer in a tube sick (or three), tie it off, and hang it in a high flow area. If you work the sock regularly (with your hand) you can dissolve the stabilizer in a few hours. Go ahead and raise FC then.
Put dry stabilizer in a tube sick (or three), tie it off, and hang it in a high flow area. If you work the sock regularly (with your hand) you can dissolve the stabilizer in a few hours. Go ahead and raise FC then.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,951
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
yubbie2, your thoughts in post #34 are basically correct, except you don't need to wait so long between steps. That's a pool store myth. But yes, ANY green is cause to SLAM, and even though you changed the water, algae would still be in the plumbing system and filter requiring the SLAM. It might be faster, but you still need it. So to confirm:
- Lower pH first to about 7.2; validate
- Get the sock soaking with stabilizer for a goal of 30 ppm; protects the FC from the sun AND protects swimmers/equipment from harsh effects of chlorine.
- Increase FC to 12 and maintain until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria. Try to stay steady. Too low you lose progress. Too high is a waste of bleach.
- Don't bother with the OCLT until the very end after the water is crystal clear. Follow all the instructions on the SLAM page and you'll do fine.
Good luck!
- Lower pH first to about 7.2; validate
- Get the sock soaking with stabilizer for a goal of 30 ppm; protects the FC from the sun AND protects swimmers/equipment from harsh effects of chlorine.
- Increase FC to 12 and maintain until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria. Try to stay steady. Too low you lose progress. Too high is a waste of bleach.
- Don't bother with the OCLT until the very end after the water is crystal clear. Follow all the instructions on the SLAM page and you'll do fine.
Good luck!
Brilliant. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks Texas Splash! I'm off on my lunch break to buy Muriatic Acid at HomeDepot (Leslie's only carries dry acid), a bunch of CYA stabilizer (PoolMath says to get from 0 to 30 I need 92oz by volume, so I'll buy double that), and a TON more bleach (0 to 30 FC requires 391oz, I'm guessing I'm going to need 3x-4x that amount at a minimum). To HomeDepot, Leslies, and HEB I go!
Reading other threads, it really looks like I need to find several straight hours where I can babysit the pool after starting to add the bleach and just constantly test. Shoot, I can't remember which test agents I'll need refills of....
Just a point on buying MA, the stuff at Home Depot is usually half the strength for pretty much same price as full strength. Some say that they can find stronger stuff in paint section, but I have never seen it at mine. At Leslie's, did you ask an employee if they carry MA or just couldn't find it while browsing? My Leslie's keeps it in the back, so you have to ask for it. The price is very reasonable and 31.45%.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,951
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
I was going to say the same thing. Maybe give them a call before wasting gas just to confirm.- - - Updated - - -
If you do go to Home Depot, maybe you'll find this (full strength):
- - - Updated - - -
If you do go to Home Depot, maybe you'll find this (full strength):
Just bought some today.. 2 gallons for 11 dollars at Home Depot. Full strength..