First time poster...long time lurker who is ready to take control of his pool!

[smcgael3]

For starters, this is the most fantastic place full of truly caring people who are willing to help strangers all day everyday I've noticed. I've been scared to fire my pool guy, even though my wife and I literally complain about him every other day for all the money we spend and the fact he does nothing or just the bare minimum. First time pool owners and we bought the house with the pool this past September.

Spent the past 2 weeks playing on my own with chemicals, doing a SLAM and using the TFP Pool Math App to try and keep my pool in line (Literally watched my pool guy do a strip test and drop a puck in the holder for 2 weeks straight (Thank you RING cameras), so all these numbers are all me as I've seen huge changes in them. (Also algae started to grow on our walls 2 weeks ago, that was the line drawer for me when I was like "what am I paying you for if I'm still getting algae")

FC-8
CC-0
pH-7.2 (dropped it from 7.7 2 days ago with a gallon of MA to drop my TA and aerated for the past few days to get it up from 6.8)
TA-140 (Was 280 2 days ago)
CH-350
CYA-65
Pool temp fluctuates between 75-85 degrees for the Summer here in Central California.

So I guess my questions are how do my numbers look? Should I wait until my pH naturally gets back up to 7.6 to 7.8 to drop it again to get my TA to around 70 (that's what the pool app said it should be)? And should I take the floating puck out of my pool so my CYA doesn't raise quickly? Lastly, should I fire the pool guy?

I'm nervous but excited to finally be participating in this forum, and look forward to all your answers and advice!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
Looks good except your CYA is getting very high for a non-SWCG pool. Do not use any more trichlor or dichlor. Liquid chlorine only.
You best fire the pool guy or they will continue to use trichlor, and most likely dichlor 'shock'.
You pH is fine. Your TA cannot drop 140 ppm in two days. I suspect you had a testing error.
Did you fully complete the SLAM Process and pass all three criteria?
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

 

[markfwelsch]

I am in your boat. Paying people to still have algae is frustrating. I need to start studying and do it on my own. Any tips or places to start?? Thank you!!!!

 

[smcgael3]

@mknauss I did complete the SLAM and took the FC up to 24 and did pass all 3 criteria a little over a week ago when we scrubbed the algae off the walls, it wasn't alot but noticeable and obviously the beginning of the bloom. I think you're correct with my TA mistake. I didn't wipe the tip of the bottle with a damp cloth so probably got the first one higher than normal. Added the gallon of the 31.45% MA and when I checked it again the next time, actually did do the wiping of the bottle to get 140, so came down, but I'm assuming as you said not that much. My CYA was even higher over the past year, pool guy mentioned it last October but offered no solutions nor did I know what he was talking about at the time. We had a slow leak behind our light (adding an inch of water 2 days a week), which got fixed this week finally, so probably got it down a decent amount with all the new water I was putting in over the past 6 months. So question is, not using the trichlor or dichlor anymore, is it possible to not do a drain and fill until after Summer is over?

@markfwelsch best advice, GET THE TF-100 with SPEEDSTIR! Swallow the cost of it and realize, no offense to pool guys everywhere, nobody wants to take better care of your pool THAN YOU, especially if you're spending time on this forum! With the help of EVERYTHING on this forum, you will figure it out. And if you have a pool guy now it means you're starting in a close to perfect spot anyway, so if you follow the rules and advice you're probably not going to mess it up. And heck if you do, then have a pro come fix it back for you. Like I told my wife, I'll take a shot at it and promise not to break it beyond repair

 

[mknauss]

So question is, not using the trichlor or dichlor anymore, is it possible to not do a drain and fill until after Summer is over?

It is. Follow the FC/CYA Levels. Test your CYA each month as it will fall slowly over the summer. I doubt you will need to drain at all for CYA.

Take care.