First time pool owner

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jasonb81

Active member
Jul 23, 2020
27
Germantown, TN
Hi Everyone,

We moved into our new home a month ago which has a 30k gallon, manually chlorinated gunite pool with elevated spa above the pool that has an overflow into the pool. The pool is 15 years old and was maintained by the same pool company for 15 years without interuption. Since this is my first pool I decided to keep the weekly pool service until we got settled in. I found this amazing website and have read the pool school and browsed this forum. I would like to eliminate the pool service and take on the maintenance myself but have a few concerns:

I bought the TF-100 test kit and my results are:
PH 7.2
FC 5 (it has been 1 week since pool service has added pucks)
CC .5
TC 5.5
CH 325
TA 80
CYA 140 (used the dilution testing method)

Overall the pool numbers are in good shape with exception of the CYA. I understand the most effective way to lower CYA is to drain and refill the pool. Am I understanding correctly that the pool isn't safe to swim in with FC 5 and CYA 140? The water looks clear and i don't see any algae growing in the pool. We do have algae that is growing on the side of the spa above the pool. I've asked the pool service to take care of it this week.

I'm annoyed that the pool service has allowed my CYA to get so out of control that I now need to drain and refill or look at expensive and possibly ineffective CYA reducing solutions. I was planning to ask them to pay for this. Am I expecting too much from the pool company that they should have been able to prevent this?

What would you do after firing the pool company? Drain and refill now or wait until the swimming season concludes and then do it? My kids use the pool daily and its been their savior during these socially distant times.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Experts will chime in soon but yes the only way to lower CYA is through water exchange.
Doubt you will have any luck getting reimbursement. They don’t recognize the Chlorine/CYA relationship.
Difficult choice on drain now or later, but algae will most likely force your hand. Huge amounts of chlorine to kill at that CYA level.
Good luck on your mission!
 
I sympathize with you. I am also in process of moving away from pucks and monitoring my CYA several times a week. I am testing almost daily and using liquid chlorine now. Your CYA is quite high so draining may be the only solution. There is a link on the forum (you can search) for Options to Drain a pool. Once option is a water exchange and other is just a drain and replace. I am concerned about the heat down in Texas so I am holding off till Fall, but my CYA is lower than yours and I am managing it with a little higher FC per the CYA/FC chart. Chlorine / CYA Chart - Trouble Free Pool
 
I'd rather not drain the pool until the fall, especially if that could create structural issues with the hot/humid Memphis summer. Is that a legit concern? At 140 CYA what should my FC be? Its off the CYA/Chlorine chart...

I could add liquid chlorine in mass quantity to maintain the correct level until the fall or drain it.

Looking for advice from seasoned pool owners.

Thanks!
 
Check out the ABC link above, especially the part about the relationship between CYA and FC, and the chart linked there. In short as CYA goes up, your FC needs to increase. This is why so many pool owners encounter algae problems. With high CYA, FC becomes ineffective unless increased.
 
jasonb81 said:
The pool service convinced me to use CYA reducer. If it doesn’t work they will refund me. We will see how it goes.
Click to expand...
Make sure you agree on what is expected. Also how you are testing the CYA. Past experience on this forum is they do not work.
 
I haven’t heard of CYA reducer actually working, but hopefully you’ll have better luck. Sorry but I see a water drain in your future.

Long term, you have to decide how you want to chlorinate your pool. Tablets, like you’ve been using, drive up your CYA, which means you’ll have to periodically drain your pool. A lot of folks here use liquid chlorine, but that means daily additions of chlorine. And the final and best, IMO, is a salt water chlorine generator. The SWCG makes chlorine for you continuously without any CYA increase.
 

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