Houston we have a problem

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Slexnuz

Member
May 24, 2019
8
Houston
Greetings from Houston! I’m here because I’m aspiring to be the “pool guy” for my family pool.

I have no prior experience with pool maintenance, so when we moved into a house with a pool, I found someone to maintain the pool..

All was going well until 3 weeks ago. He stopped showing up and the pool developed algae.

I called in three new pool service companies, and one sharp individual commented that my “stabilizer was way too high” - I didn’t know what “stabilizer” meant. The other two people said I just needed to simply shock the pool, and didn’t even mention stabilizer.

I didn’t like getting two different answers so I found TFP.

I read here on the forums that I should test CYA, so I ordered a Pentair cya kit.

Today I tested and CYA is 120.

I pulled out an old Leslie’s report from a year ago and it was 60.

I now realize the pool guy I hired PUCKed our pool, leading to soaring CYA.... Alas, I will taking matters into my own hands.

I’m nervous as heck about doing this myself; but I’m also excited - despite my wife’s pleas to hire out again.

I wouldn’t have the courage to right the ship and learn to do this myself without TFP.

So today I put on gloves and pulled all the pucks out of the chlorinator and skimmers, threw them away.. I ordered a FAS-DPD chlorine kit, went to Home Depot and grabbed a vacuum hose, vacuum head, brush, net, 6 jugs of 10% chlorine... and brought out my ole sump pump.

Tomorrow I will begin the process of exchanging 67% of our water.

Let the games begin.
 
Good plan. You will never let anyone manage your pool again after going TFP! I am starting my 3rd pool season and everyone who sees, smells, and feels my water is envious. I get great compliments all the time. Surprisingly though, those who own their own pools have zero interest in TFP. I think they don't believe me when I tell them I only use bleach in the pool or they think I'm crazy. They just keep buying algeacide and pool shock or pay their pool maintanence company to do the same. Sigh!
 
Only 120 on the CYA? You're lucky. Mine was in the 220-240 range when I took over and we were under strict water restrictions. Luckily, I had no algae.

Houston is pretty damp compared to where I live. You need to be careful you don't float your pool. Look around the neighborhood. Any creeks?Ponds? Lakes? Any idea how far down the groundwater is? See And here what happen with and empty pool and lots of rain
 
Make sure you can test the pH and TA. They are very important for eye and skin comfort.

You got this!! Make sure to run anything by us even if you are worried or unsure. We LOVE to help and teach. The question/concern not addressed is the one that may bite you in the butt!

Kim:kim:
 
Thanks for the feedback! I just got this setup running and want to sanity check it with y’all

Replace 67% of 10,725 gallons
Sump pump / hose: took 68 seconds to fill 5 gallon bucket

67% * 10,725 gallons * (68 seconds / 5 gallons) * (1 min / 60 sec) * (1 hr / 60 min) = 27 hours

27 hours!! Wow is that right?

My water bill is going to be very mad at me.
 
Thank you all for your help. So far so good, the CYA levels dropped a lot over the last 23 hours. only 4 more hours to go!

Its interesting watching the water literally turn green the more it is exchanged. I started my process on the small spa, and once it was fully exchanged, the water turned green pretty quick. I added some HDX 10% chlorine before bed, and when I woke up this morning it was already cleared up. Now my pool keeps turning greener and greener which I guess means the exchange is working.

I suppose I need to shock tonight, but my FAS-DPD chlorine kit arrives Thursday.. Should I just add enough chlorine to get by the next 2 days while I wait for the kit, or try to shock without it (just using PooMath calculator)?

Also, on your advice kimkats I did call my utility this morning. They said they can only offer sewage rate assistance on a brand new pool. Its all on me for refills. Oh well it was worth the try!
 

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Slexnuz said:
I suppose I need to shock tonight, but my FAS-DPD chlorine kit arrives Thursday.. Should I just add enough chlorine to get by the next 2 days while I wait for the kit, or try to shock without it (just using PooMath calculator)?
Click to expand...
Without the test kit, only add enough bleach to hold you over and help to keep things from getting much worse. Should be no problem adding 1 gallon per day for now.
 
Thank you to everyone for your help! I was able to successfully exchange the water without the risk of draining my pool in Houston. As of this morning, I am at:

CYA 45
FC 3.5
pH 7.6
TA 110

I did have a question about the FAS-DPD test. I get the water bright pink as instructed. But while adding the reagent, it doesn't go clear all of a sudden. It goes from bright pink, to lighter pink, then finally to clear. Do I stop the test on the first material change from bright to light pink? or when it finally goes crystal clear? My five pt test kit was showing 2-3ppm FC while the FAS-DPD test was showing 4.0.

And when doing the CC test, I can get it to go crystal clear after 1 drop (at 0.5ppm test). However, as it sits out, after a minute or two, it turns back to light pink! Then if I add 1 drop it goes clear again.... after another minute it goes light pink again! When do I score this test, on the first "clear", or do I keep playing this game with the water until it stops going light pink for good?
 
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