Hostile takeover

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wilafur

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May 18, 2018
65
San Gabriel Valley, CA
Quick background on our pool, it is an IG plaster pool that is approximately 20x40 and was likely built in the early 80's. We inherited the pool and pool man when we bought the house 5 years ago. We recently replaced the old single speed pump with a Pentair Superflo VS and wow, it sure did make a difference in our electricity bill. Our main cleaner was a Kreepy Krauly that recently died and we are replacing it with a robot (S300i).

I've been reading through the TFP forum for the past month and feel that I am ready to takeover the care of my pool. Well, if you call what my pool man was doing, "caring for my pool". He literally comes and skims the surface, scrubs a little and is on his merry way. On average, he is here for less than 8 minutes. Not knowing any better, I have fed my pool trichlor pucks in a floater for the past 5 years in the same manner the previous owners did before me.

See below for the test results from the local pool supply store that was done this afternoon:

FC: 10 (I added a gallon of 8.25% LC in this morning)
TC: 10
CH: 400
TA: 100
pH: 7.4
Pho: 0
TDS: 1800
CYA: 150

The pool water is clear but the pool man either refuses to, or just doesn't know how to eradicate the the algae that keeps re-appearing by the side of the pool that gets the least sunlight (deep end, by diving board). Based off the past months worth of reading, it sounds like I will need to SLAM the pool after I get the CYA level under control.

I have a TF100 test kit coming and I also ordered a Maytronic S300i from Marina (figured it'l pay for itself in no time w/o pool man costs). Both should arrive late next week and I will post updated test results.

My first two questions before starting the SLAM:

1. I assume I will need to drain a significant amount of my pool water (>50%) once the CYA level is re-verified with the TF100 test kit (I plan on jumping to step 8 of the CYA test directions)?. Is there an easy way of doing this other than pumping out water from the deep end and adding fresh water to the shallow end?
2. Can I use the S300i during the SLAM process to help facilitate the required scrubbing?

Thanks and will continue to post with updates and questions as things progress.

IMG_0638.jpg
 
Welcome to the forum! :handshake:

1. Only other way to exchange water is to drain and then refill. Not sure you want to do that with older plaster.

2. Robot use during SLAM. Seems to be mixed views on that. Of course, the manufacturer says never to be used in pool water with greater than 4 ppm FC. So, that one is out the window as TFP pools are at or above that level. If you decide to use it, I would not leave it in the pool but let it run its course then take out and clean it and rinse with water.
 
Welcome to the TFP pool! :splash:

I guess I have a few questions before I start answering yours.....

Do you have any idea how high the water table is in your area?

Do you have any water restrictions and/or how bad are the water costs in your area?

Have you investigated Reverse Osmosis treatment for your pool?
 
w,

Welcome to TFP... a great place to find all the answer to your "Insurrection Questions"... :shark:

The first thing you need to do is get your CYA down to 30 ppm or so and then do a SLAM...

Your signature says you have a IntelliFlo VS pump, but your post says SuperFlo VS.. which is it???

Good job on getting a great test kit and Robot... In my opinion, Robots are the only way to go!!

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Howdy, Neighbor! :wave:

I'd wager that once you get your own test kit, you'll find that both your CYA and CH are higher than what you just posted. Draining will lower both.

You can try fill cold at the bottom and pump warm off the top, or you could go invest in a huge tarp and lay it on top and start filling it while pumping out from below. Then you just push the end of the tarp in and let the water escape as you haul it out the opposite end. But it's an unnecessary expense.

Just as an aside... you are aware that next week is supposed to be a scorcher, right? WARNING: Massive Deadly Heatwave and Monsoonal Intrusion To Nail Southern California End Next Week Southern California Weather Force

You might want to start draining now.

You have things figured out as far as lower CYA then SLAM and let the robot do the grunt work.
 
Thanks all. I fixed my signature line, oops!

Not sure how high the water table is but I don't want to take any chances with the old plaster so will pump and fill in tandem.

I have investigated R/O and pricing is going to be almost 3x more than pumping/filling, plus my lawn and shrubs could use the water. :p

The tarp idea is intriguing but may not be worth the expense. I think pumping from the upper levels in the deep end and filling from the bottom of the shallow end may work out best during the scorcher this coming week.
 
wilafur said:
Thanks all. I fixed my signature line, oops!

Not sure how high the water table is but I don't want to take any chances with the old plaster so will pump and fill in tandem.

I have investigated R/O and pricing is going to be almost 3x more than pumping/filling, plus my lawn and shrubs could use the water. :p

The tarp idea is intriguing but may not be worth the expense. I think pumping from the upper levels in the deep end and filling from the bottom of the shallow end may work out best during the scorcher this coming week.
Click to expand...
I love it when someone has done their homework and is ready to move forward.

Well, the next step is to locate teh most cost effective source for your chlorine to use for the SLAM Process
 
You can exchange some water without draining.

If you place a low volume sub pump in the deep end and pull water from there while adding water in the shallow end you can do a fairly efficient exchange. That is assuming the water you are filling with is the same temperature or warmer than your pool water. If your fill water is much cooler than your pool water, then switch it. Add the water to the deep end (hose on bottom) and pull water from the top step.

The location of the pump and fill hose may change if you have salt water, high calcium, etc.
In my pool, with saltwater and high calcium when I drain, I put the pump in the deep end and hose in shallow end. The water in the pool weighs more per unit volume than the fill water from the hose.

Be sure to balance the water out and water in so the pool level stays the same. Also be sure your pool pump is disabled during this process. Once started do not stop until you have exchanged the amount of water you wish.
 
TF100 arrived last night and I ran an OCLT. Results below:

6/30 - 930pm
- FC: 16
- CC: 1

7/1 - 550am
- FC: 16.5
- CC: 0.5

I'm really surprised that the FC didn't drop as there is some algae growth on the pool wall (see photo below).

I just finished running a full battery of tests:

7/1 - 235pm
FC: 16
CC: 0
CH: 575
TA: 220
pH: 7.5
CYA: 180

I plan to begin the pump/fill this coming Thu evening (to reduce the CYA and CH) so that I have Fri-Sun to focus on the SLAM.

Based off the FC and CC readings above, should I still continue to add LC to my pool until I begin the SLAM? It's really tripping me up as I expected the FC to drop considerably from last night, and even from this morning to this afternoon. Thanks!

IMG_0650.jpg
 
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Did you brush the pool before you started the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test? Algae can build a biofilm that resists chlorine attack. Brushing it destroys that biofilm.

I would keep you FC elevated so you do not have a greater algae issue when you drain / refill. You will need to SLAM after the refill.
 

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Hi all, brushed extensively last night and added a gallon of bleach. Tested the chlorine levels about 35mins afterwards, test results below:

7/1 - 1015pm
FC 16
CC 0

Tested the chlorine levels this morning, test results below:

7/2 - 8am
FC 19
CC 0

Any thoughts on why the FC levels are not dropping overnight? Thanks!
 
With that much error between tests, either the pool water was not sufficiently mixed one or both times or there is testing error.

As far as no FC drop, that is always possible. No significant organics were consumed over night.
 
Hi all, quick update.

I attempted to drain/fill last week and that was a bust. I pumped from the top step on the shallow end and filled via a hose from the deep end. After pumping nonstop for 5 days (@200g/hr x 24,000 gallons), I retested the CYA and it was 110 or 120 so I decided to toss caution to the wind and drained the pool. Although I was targeting to drain 65% of the pool, I ended up draining over 80% of the water, oops. Once the pool was topped off, the CYA tests came in at 30. Not the end of the world.

I've been SLAMing the pool since Monday and so far so good. The FC drops precipitously during the day (@6 FC) and the OCLT as of last night measured in at a 1.5 FC drop. I guess I am getting close to the end of SLAM. I have ordered some CYA to boost the level up a tad.

I was thinking of taking the CYA level to 40 so that I have leeway to use trichlor pucks when our family goes on vacation for a few days next month. However, should I take the CYA to 50 considering I'm in Southern California and my pool gets direct sunlight for 12 hours a day? Oh, and the temps are averaging low to mid 90s during the day.

Thanks all.
 
Sorry to hear your water exchange did not work well. I suspect your high CH overwhelmed the temperature difference in the waters.

I would keep your CYA at 40 if you are planning to run pucks soon. Calculate how much CYA will be added for the appropriate amount of FC you will need from the pucks when you leave.

Take care.
 
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