Hi there! Been creeping around here for a while now and finally decided to join. Metro PHX area, 13k gal pebbletec pool. Had it for about 2.5 years, but used a pool guy for the first year and a half. Decided to fire him last summer after we had 2 algae outbreaks in 2 months after just having paid him to drain/refill the pool and have been taking care of it myself since.
Learned a lot of stuff the hard way, like how much pucks can affect your CYA in the long term, calcium hardness causing buildup at the water level and waiting too late after the weather heats up to ramp up my maintenance routine can cause me to be playing from behind most of the summer. I’m now looking at draining/refilling my pool AGAIN because my CYA is already well over 200 and it’s taking an unmanageable amount of chlorine to keep the pool even sort of attractive.
Anyways, what does everyone do to maintain a manageable CYA level? Does nobody use pucks for chlorine? Or only in small amounts for periodic maintenance? If so, do most use liquid chlorine or granular shock for regular maintenance instead?
Is it okay to drain when it’s as hot as it is right now (roughly 108F high today)? My understanding is that Pebbletec can handle it as long as it isn’t left drained for too long (draining and refilling will take me about a day and a half). Do I need to do anything while the pool’s drained to prevent algae from recontaminating after I refill (chlorine wash?) and do I need to rinse the walls while it’s drained (I’ve heard CYA can leach in at high concentrations and raise your levels again after you refill)?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, I just feel like there’s so much I still don’t understand even after taking care of our pool for over a year now! Appreciate this community and any pointers y’all can give. Thanks!
Learned a lot of stuff the hard way, like how much pucks can affect your CYA in the long term, calcium hardness causing buildup at the water level and waiting too late after the weather heats up to ramp up my maintenance routine can cause me to be playing from behind most of the summer. I’m now looking at draining/refilling my pool AGAIN because my CYA is already well over 200 and it’s taking an unmanageable amount of chlorine to keep the pool even sort of attractive.
Anyways, what does everyone do to maintain a manageable CYA level? Does nobody use pucks for chlorine? Or only in small amounts for periodic maintenance? If so, do most use liquid chlorine or granular shock for regular maintenance instead?
Is it okay to drain when it’s as hot as it is right now (roughly 108F high today)? My understanding is that Pebbletec can handle it as long as it isn’t left drained for too long (draining and refilling will take me about a day and a half). Do I need to do anything while the pool’s drained to prevent algae from recontaminating after I refill (chlorine wash?) and do I need to rinse the walls while it’s drained (I’ve heard CYA can leach in at high concentrations and raise your levels again after you refill)?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, I just feel like there’s so much I still don’t understand even after taking care of our pool for over a year now! Appreciate this community and any pointers y’all can give. Thanks!
