I Need Help..... New Pool Owner..

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All of your numbers look dead on awesome with the exception of the CYA levels. For now stop using ANY form of chlorine except for bleach. The trichlor you've been adding has been sneaking in stabilizer as well.....to the point of around 4PPM per bag. This is a normal test that newer users (I'm still reading high all the time) often get high results on. Let's try this test as per the extended directions.......

If your CYA level is 90 or higher, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows:

Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water.
Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark with tap water.
Shake briefly to mix.
Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark.
Continue the test normally from step 3, but multiply the final result by two.
Click to expand...

Other than that however your numbers are looking good.......but let's make 100% sure we get you great on the CYA results and set you up for a great summer. If you're still looking into a SWG and the results are still around 100ish then it's not a HUGE deal as sometime this April we're bound to get SOME rain giving you the chance to drain some of the water to lower the levels to around 80ish.
 
Ok I am frustrated, when the pool store tested my water they said my CYA was 15 and wanted me to add half a bucket of stabilizer. I have only added about 8 bags of trichlor shock over the last 2 weeks and had 2 pucks in skimmer with the thought that at least some chlorine in the system would be better than none. And if trichlor will add approx 4ppm of CYA then there is no way my level was 15 when they tested it 5 days ago. I had only added 3 bags of shock and 2 pucks since they tested.

Nevertheless, I love my new TFTestkit.. Thanks Dave for an easy to use kit.

I retested the CYA with 50% dilution, as suggested by Leebo, and I came up with a CYA of 70 which means 140 is my real number. Is there no way other than draining to get it down? My liner is about 10 yrs old and I am afraid of damaged to it when draining. I also do not have a floor drain . I will have to use a sump pump. Could I put in sump pump and a garden hose so I can pump from the bottom and fill at the same time?

I retested this morning but I turned off pump last night, which is the first time it has not been running in 3 weeks. I have been keeping the pool clean everyday by brushing sides and running the aquabot.. This morning my results were as follows. Im not sure if the pump not running all night would make a difference.
FC-2.5
CC-1
TC-3.5
TA-80
PH-6.8
CH-120
CYA-140 70 @ 50% dilution

Also I ordered a Circu Pool SWG that will produce 1.35 lbs of chlorine per day. And I will be installing it this week when it arrives.

What to do?
 
Your post is a classic example of the trouble inadequate pool stores get us all into. You need to bite the bullet and reduce your CYA down to around 60-70ppm. Anything else is simply w-a-a-y to hard to manage.

Yes, you can drain from the bottom and fill from the top as much as you like. That's really a good way of doing it if you don't want to uncover any of your liner. I would suggest your fill hose on the surface at the shallow end and the sump on the bottom of the deep end. It'll take a good while to make a difference but you really need to do it.

When you go out today, get a box of 20 mule team borax and bring your pH up to around 7.2.......6.8 is a little low and not good (long term) for the liner, either.

Pump not running should make little difference in your case.

(Thanks for the nice words about the kit! :lol: )
 
I have been adding Washing Soda to raise ph and Have already added 1-55oz box and 1/4 of another box. I was using the washing soda because it says in pool school that it will raise ph and ta .. and both of mine were low. Should I add anymore until i replace some water?
 
Leave the TA alone....it's high enough for your incoming SWG. The borax will raise the pH and have little affect on TA.

Prolonged exposure to a pH of lower than 7.0 is not a good plan. Bump it on up (but not higher than 7.2 as your SWG will raise it once it's installed) . The only reason you would not is if you start the replacement water soon and that replacement water has a pH of say 7.4 or greater.
 
If I need to replace water then I am putting in the pump today.
Even though my cya is high my water has only cleared up a little since i have started 3 weeks ago. Is there any thought as to what is still making it cloudy. When I turn on the pool light you can see the white like tiny particles that are moving in the water due to the circulation. And since I have had a CC of 0 then can it still be algae? Of course the pool store told me it was due to the Phosphates and sold me a bottle of Phosphate remover which i did not use.
I am so frustrated...
 
After 7 years of filtering and managing a pretty clear pool, I still have floaties at night in my pool......so does everyone else, I think. It's normal.

Your biggest issue with getting your pool clear is inadequate chlorine. With your current CYA of 140?? your Shock value for FC is a whopping 50ppm or so....totally unrealistic to carry FC that high so we want you to get it (CYA) down to a manageable 70 which is just about right for your SWG.

Even when you get it down to 70, you must run your FC CONSTANTLY up around 30ppm until your pool clears up. Letting it go down to where it is now is why your pool isn't clearing.
 
Pump is in deep end and I have drained about 8 inches out of pool now i am slowly adding water in the shallow end and going to try to keep water level stable based on fill rate and pump rate. I am afraid my 10 yr old liner is on its last leg and I don't want to fool with that this year if I don't have to.
Thanks for the support. I am going to get this CYA level down and I have already stocked up on all products for the BBB system and starting with only that will make my success rate so much better.
 
Ok pump has been running all day and slowly filling water at same time. I re-tested CYA and now down to 90.. From 140 that is a major improvement in that amount of time. I am hoping by tomorrow morning it will be down to around 60. Then start over. I was heading into town and decided to stop by a different pool store with a sample of water to see if they could test it. I thought they test water everyday and maybe since i have only had my TF 100 test kit for 2 days i could see if they came up with the same results as me. They seemed to have a nice testing setup with auto mixer and first they tested TA and said 110, next they tested PH and said way low 6.8 and then I asked them if they could do a Stabilzer CYA test and they looked at me like I was crazy..LOL It is funny only a week on this forum and I feel like I know more than the people at the pool stores who are helping people with a huge investment. The lady asked another guy if he knew how to test for that and he said he had never done a test for that because it has never been a problem anyone. And I just left. Thanks for everyones knowledge and support.
 

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Are you getting the rain down that way too? It's been an all day rain up here....and we needed it! Are you still planning on installing a SWG??
 
I'm going to make this thought....but please don't take to much to it. Others on this board knows a TON more than do I so I'm guessing I'm 100% of an idiot on this statement.

If your CYA is around 90 at this point and you're going to add on a SWG then maybe it's a good idea to slow down on your drain/refill for a few days. The "suggested levels" of CYA that's listed on the site for a SWG is around 70-80. No need to drain water that's already got the stabilizer in it....only to add it a few days' later.
Unless anybody else gives a reason to do otherwise.....as I've NEVER used a SWG at all and only used chlorine for a short time now. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.





ok....no I didn't.
 
I have read alot of your post in various threads and I am pretty sure after seeing your conversion from Baquacil, you have a pretty good handle on it. I am going to make sure I get it down and bring it up instead of maybe having to drain more. I mean I have a whole bucket of stabilizer that the stupid store sold me and they wouldn't give me a cash refund. I wan to shock it and from what I can tell if your CYA levels are lower you need less chlorine to maintain shock levels. Is that a correct thought?

Hey I am thinking about replacing my faded liner next year and I have a Fiber Optic pool light that I have repaired to like new. Does anyone know if a darker or lighter color liner will make the color changing light look better than the other.
 
You are correct it is easier to shock at the lower CYA levels ... and since you got stuck with the stabilizer I see nothing wrong with your plan to bump it back up later.

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Ok, now I'm making progress. I have drained and refilled enough water to get my CYA down to 55. That is a huge improvement from 140.. Just doing that cleared the water up a great deal.

My new numbers are..

FC-.5
CC-.5
TC-1
TA-120
PH-6.8
CH-120
CYA-55

I have added 2 boxes of borax and I am aerating to try to raise PH to 7.4.
Hopefully tomorrow I can be balanced so I can get my Chlorine levels up. I am going to do an overnight chlorine loss test to see if I even need to shock. If the water is any indication I may not have to. My SWG should be here on Wed and it will get installed and the salt added.

If anyone has any corrections to my plan please let me know..
It is amazing how much you can learn on this site in a small amount of time. Thanks to all of you who have been helping me..
 
You don't want to let your FC drop below 4based on your current CYA levels. Letting it go that low is like leaving the door open for algae to re-group and take over the pool again. Other than that all your other numbers (once you fix the PH) look great....and once the SWG is put in you'll be enjoying the pool rather than working on it. Even if you're not shocking the pool, keep the FC above 4 at a minimum
 
The pH will come up simply with the addition of the borax. There is no need to aerate when you only want to raise pH.

Retest pH (it should be up within an hour or so of the addition of borax) and then, unless your water is crystal clear, be prepared to start the shock process. Please do it exactly according to the article in Pool School and do not use the SWG. Use liquid chlorine.
 
I was only areating because according to the pool calculator I needed 13lbs of borax to get ph from 6.8 to 7.4 and I only had two boxes.. So I added the two I had and checked this morning and I was up to 7.0 ph..

My water is pretty clear.. I think I found one of the major problems with the cloudy water.. I had been running the pump 24 hrs since I opened the pool 3 weeks ago. The previous owners had replace the pump a couple of years ago and when they did the installed the 2 hp super pump from Hayward. The original pump that came with this utopia filter system was a 2 stage which ran on about 1/3 hp for normal filtering and on about 2 hp when you wanted to do cross current swimming. The whole system only has about 7- 8 feet of piping and only 1 skimmer/ filter opening and 1 return all located in the same box at the deep end.. And when the pump is running the flow of water is so strong and so fast that it created very tiny bubbles as it enters the water.

I found this out when I was draining and had the pump off. The water was very clear.. Passing a quarter test in the 5 1/2 ft end. But when I turned the pump back on. The water was starting to get very cloudy again to where you could barely see the bottom in deep end.

So this brings up a few more questions.
Can I regulate the pressure or flow rate somehow?
Will my swg that is coming be able to function properly with that much flow or pressure?
Should I set my pump and filter to a timed cycle?

I would imagine that this pump is turning my 17000 body of water over pretty quickly.

Thanks
 

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