First test results

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Familyman2018

Familyman2018

Active member
Nov 1, 2024
31
Roseville, CA
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi, I just took over taking care of my pool. Purchased the home this summer and let the pool guy handle it. He let me know the issues with the high cya and recommended I drain half the pool.

So I tested my water a few times today to get the feel for it and make sure everything was reading correctly. Here’s the results. Haven’t added anything yet, but I wanted to get folks opinion on what to do with this since it’s winter time and I have the time to fix the issues. I have liquid chlorine and pucks available.
 

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Hi there. So your CYA is still at/about 130? If so, you'll want to exchange a bit more water to bring the CYA down to something like 70 or so. Have you tried the diluted CYA test yet? See below starting at Step #8.

www.troublefreepool.com

CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test

Cyanuric acid (CYA) is the chemical name for the product commonly called “pool water stabilizer” … Read more…
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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I see the water level near the bottom of your viewer which confirms an elevated CYA. Keep in mind the measurement of the CYA, especially over 100, is not logarithmic, in other words we can't really guess it should be 130 based on the previous markings above. The spacing gets different as the CYA goes higher. So if you do the diluted CYA test as linked above (start at step 8), your CYA reading should be about 60-70 (times 2). Does that make sense? After doing the diluted CYA test, you may find the actual CYA to be even higher than you initially believed.
 
So yeah, that’s higher than I thought. I’ve got some algae on the walls, but the pool isn’t green or anything. I’ve got some hard black spots that I’ve been scrubbing with a puck. The small spots seem to get removed, but the bigger spots are just destroying the puck so I can’t get them off. Pool is about 50 degrees so I’m not hopping in to scrub those spots. Should I just drain this pool now or should I shock it and then drain it. Wondering what the first move should be.
 
So you have a couple issues - the elevated CYA and algae. I would first exchange a bit more water. Easy CYA math - if you exchange 50% of your water, it lowers the CYA in half. So that would lower your CYA down to about 90. Still a bit high though, so you might try to exchange 60-70% of the water if you can handle it based on any water/sewer/city restrictions (if any).

Once the CYA is down to about 50-60 "ish", then you can begin going after the algae via the SLAM Process. You'll use strictly liquid chlorine to maintain the proper elevated FC level for the SLAM as noted on the FC/CYA Levels. I'll post an easy to read chart below shortly. But if you follow the SLAM Process properly until completing all 3 criteria, you'll kill and remove the algae.

It also sounds like you might have some black algae spots. If so, those are more deeply rooted into the plaster and can take longer. We can come back to those as you go through the SLAM Process.

Questions?
 
Here is an easy to read chart about the proper FC level for the SLAM Process based on your CYA. So after you exchange a bit more water, take your new CYA number and go to this chart. Then maintain that corresponding FC level until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria. Follow the SLAM page carefully. :goodjob:

full
 
Ok, so I probably want to take as much water as possible out of this pool and then start refilling. After that I can start getting all my levels correct and then I can proceed with slamming the pool. I was told this pool was replastered in 2017, so this’ll probably be the first time this maintenance has been done in awhile. Thanks for the recommendations. Do you have any suggestions for a decent pump to get all this water out?
 

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Ok, so I accomplished draining and refilling. Below is a picture of my new water test. I got my CYA down to below 50. I haven’t added any chemicals or anything. My next concern is the algae or discoloration on the plaster around the pool. I’m assuming it’s algae causing it. I’ve tried scrubbing with just a brush and that does nothing too it, so I think I need to ‘shock’ the pool, but I want to get everyone’s opinion first. The PH level is a little high and it took 8 drops of the reagent to get the color to match around 7.4-7.6. Per the book and the size of my pool (15,000 gal), it says to add 3 quarts of muriatic acid? So, just want to make sure I’m doing all this correctly and in the right order. Thanks for any help.
 

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Can you post pictures of the discoloration?

I would not add three quarts of acid. 16oz should lower your pH by .3. With a TA of 60, I would not lower your pH below 7.8 (unless you have to SLAM (see below)). Add the 16oz with pump running and retest pH after 30 minutes of pump running.

If you have algae, follow the SLAM process to clear the algae...Link-->SLAM Process
 
Thanks for your response. Below are some photos of the pool plaster. This discoloration wasn’t really present prior to me removing some giant redwood trees that stood over the pool and had the moss cleaned off my roof. Which is what’s leading me to thinking it’s algae related.
 

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Use our stain identification guide to figure out what it is...

www.troublefreepool.com

Stains in Your Pool

The stained pool is beyond embarrassing. Our in-depth Guide to remove stains in your pool will help you to remove the stains and prevent them in the future.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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Ok, I put a trichlor puck on some of the stains on the step. Not sure how long to leave it there for to see if the staining is organic or not. If that test doesn’t work, then I’m not sure how to figure out if the stains are iron or copper. Just reading the link you sent makes me think it might be copper stains, but I’m trying to figure out how to determine that.
 

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