Is there anything proactive to do for new pool owner in Tx (pool never closed) as weather warms up?

[ciaka]

Just wondering if there is anything I should be paying attention to as weather starts to get warmer, so I dont get surprised with pool water or equipment issues.
I have been testing the water every 2 or 3 days, keep the FC in the 5-6ppm range, pH in the mid to high 7s, cya is at about 40 now, planning to rise to about 45, maybe 50 in summer (not sure how I would know how high to take it though).
So if you have brief advice to be proactive on something/anything, or things to watch out for, I will greatly appreciate. Thank you.

 

[Texas Splash]

You're already doing it. Keeping a good eye on the FC and pH is priority right now. You appear to have a non-salt pool, so your CYA is fine right now. In Jun - Sep a CYA of perhaps 50-60 might be better if your pool gets full sun. If you have any other questions, let us know.

 

[scdaren]

Sounds like you are doing it... how's your filter? Cleaning the cartridges is on my to-do list as spring starts to approach.

I like starting the season with a CYA of around 40, then I have a little room to throw in some tablets if I go out of town for more than a few days over the course of the summer.

 

[ciaka]

My filter is clean. Just did a clean out 2 or 3 weeks ago. Pool is new build, finished in November, but due to all the new construction material, wanted to clean filters sooner than 6 months after build (what PB said).
My pool will be getting whole lot of sun. Shade cover only in the morning. After about 11a, sun until sun set. No trees to obstruct. No debris that goes into pool either. Over last week or so, I will be lucky to have a small leaf in a skimmer, plus maybe 1 or 2 floating.
Yes, using trichlor tabs to keep FC up and slowly bring up CYA too. My goal is CYA 45, maybe increase to 50 by summer (I assume I will know if I need more if my FC lowers quick???).
Other than that, have no other plans for equipment.

 

[Newdude]

(I assume I will know if I need more if my FC lowers quick???)

You’ll know when your daily doses aren’t keeping up. It can be a gradual slide or also falling off a cliff. You will do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out an algae bloom if the drop happens and then raise CYA accordingly providing you passed the OCLT

 

[scdaren]

You really don't want to be using trichlor tabs for regular chlorination, or your CYA is going to go up very quickly and become unmanageable. You want to be using liquid chlorine almost all the time to maintain your CYA at an appropriate level.

 

[HermanTX]

@ciaka you will want to keep CYA in 40-60 range for non-SWCG pool For southern Texas. Remember that we measure CYA in 10’s rounding to high side.
There are several things will affect the FC level and consumption. First is CYA level and amount of sun hitting your pool. Second is the true strength of the chlorine you use. Chlorine will degrade over time and especially affected by heat. Also your pool volume in Pool Math must be fairly accurate. So if Pool Math states to add 24 ozs and your FC does not raise to the calcuted level either your volume is off or your chlorine % is not equal to what your bottles states. So I tell you this not to frustrate you but to be aware of the variables and adjust accordingly as the weather warms. FWIW, I still think we have at least 1 more cold snap coming down through Austin and to Houston in February. Hope not but there always seems to be one in February.

 

[ciaka]

My pool volume is very accurate, as I measured via water meter readings at time of fill.
So far, what I added, reflected perfectly in how the change in chemical took place. I am confident that for now at least, what I expect to see is exactly what I observe. Thanks for pointing out the details, I am tracking them to see if they do diverge. Then first thing I would suspect would be weakened chemical. That is something I can deal with easy though.

As to cold spells, get ready for one in about a week. I have been tracking it for couple days, supposed to drop our temps in Austin area, into mid 20s for a couple days. From the 10th on for several days I expect arctic temps (well, arctic coming from someone living in TX).
For those of you not living in area, temps like that are almost guaranteed school closure, if we were not in covid times.
After that, I hope we dont have any more cold...grass here is starting to turn green, besides, I will have landscaping coming end of February to do sod, flower beds, etc. Then I plan to do some planting. Sure hope nature wont try to spoil it all.

For now still have trichlor in chlorinator, so I can bring my CYA (which is at 40 now), to about 45, maybe 50 max. However I do plan to use only liquid chlorine for normal maintenance, once CYA levels are achieved.
Maybe you can tell me what can make CYA levels drop as I have been reading in some threads (other than replacing water in pool)? Does it get 'used up'? Want better understanding for future. Thanks.

@ciaka you will want to keep CYA in 40-60 range for non-SWCG pool For southern Texas. Remember that we measure CYA in 10’s rounding to high side.
There are several things will affect the FC level and consumption. First is CYA level and amount of sun hitting your pool. Second is the true strength of the chlorine you use. Chlorine will degrade over time and especially affected by heat. Also your pool volume in Pool Math must be fairly accurate. So if Pool Math states to add 24 ozs and your FC does not raise to the calcuted level either your volume is off or your chlorine % is not equal to what your bottles states. So I tell you this not to frustrate you but to be aware of the variables and adjust accordingly as the weather warms. FWIW, I still think we have at least 1 more cold snap coming down through Austin and to Houston in February. Hope not but there always seems to be one in February.

 

[Teald024]

Yes, using trichlor tabs to keep FC up and slowly bring up CYA too. My goal is CYA 45, maybe increase to 50 by summer (I assume I will know if I need more if my FC lowers quick???).

If you are solely using trichlor tabs for chlorination, your CYA will go up WAY quicker than that. For every 10ppm of chlorine you add with trichlor, you are also adding 6ppm of CYA. Your CYA will go up fast, not slow. Keep in mind that your pool will use around 3ppm a day of chlorine once the season starts.

Maybe you can tell me what can make CYA levels drop as I have been reading in some threads (other than replacing water in pool)? Does it get 'used up'? Want better understanding for future. Thanks.

Mainly water exchange to drop CYA. 25% water replacement is 25% CYA drop. In high heat areas, you could loose a couple ppm of CYA per month, but not enough to consider really.

 

[ciaka]

Understand. Using trichlor only temporarily.
About cya, some write about cya dropping over winter, etc. So I was just wondering what else, aside water exchange. Can drop cya, as evaporation shouldnt do much. That's all.

 

[HermanTX]

Understand. Using trichlor only temporarily.
About cya, some write about cya dropping over winter, etc. So I was just wondering what else, aside water exchange. Can drop cya, as evaporation shouldnt do much. That's all.

Water dilution or water replacement are the main methods to reduce CYA. Fall/Winter brings rains which does help dilute, especially if you drain water prior to any substantial rainfall. If you need to drop CYA significantly then people require to drain 25%, 50%, etc. as stated by others for replacement.

 

[scdaren]

Understand. Using trichlor only temporarily.
About cya, some write about cya dropping over winter, etc. So I was just wondering what else, aside water exchange. Can drop cya, as evaporation shouldnt do much. That's all.

I normally see it drop over the winter due to dumping water from the pool either before or after rain, so basically water replacement. It does degrade a bit due to sun and heat, but that's pretty slow.

 

[Dtkokay]

CYA will drop due to heat, either from the sun and/or hot water temperature. If this helps, I'm in Houston and my pool gets full sun from morning until around 4. Last summer, my CYA dropped by 10 around every 2 months, so it's a pretty slow loss.

But here's an interesting thing: I used tablets when my pool was new and then periodically to raise my CYA. My CYA did not increase nearly as much as the Pool Math app said it would with each tablet.

In any event, if you stick with tablets, just monitor your CYA level and adjust your chlorine level accordingly. And be prepared to drain your pool if your CYA gets to 100 or higher. You'll eventually learn how your pool responds to chemical additions.

 

[ciaka]

I plan to use the tablets only for CYA control. For FC and CC I use liquid chlorine.
Interesting to find your CYA drops by about 5ppm a month (eyeballing here).
I will have to keep an eye out during the summer. This summer will be my first summer with a pool. Have not been in it yet at all.

On the flip side, here in central TX we are about to get slammed with arctic weather (as low as 7°F lowest, and over next week average of 24°F). Then we will be back to better temps.
So I wonder, in addition to making sure freeze protection works, what else is good to do (if anything).
I have my freeze protect set to init at 35°F, and is enabled for the pool, spa and water features. So in this cold, spa will cycle on/off every half hour or so, water features will be on and pool pump will be on. I have not closed my pool, so just wondering the opposite of what I initially asked (since the end of the World is coming to TX now).
Thanks.

 

[MCF50]

The only thing I plan on doing is slowly start increasing CYA from around 40ppm to 70ppm and keep chlorine around 5ppm