jblizzle said:
I don't remember where I read it for sure since I've been reading so much on the internet recently about pools. I'm pretty positive it wasn't on this site, so maybe I shouldn't really trust it! Thanks!
My New Pool
- Thread starter brajgreg
- Start date
I don't remember where I read it for sure since I've been reading so much on the internet recently about pools. I'm pretty positive it wasn't on this site, so maybe I shouldn't really trust it! Thanks!
Let me expand a bit. Some people actually do dump the CYA granules into the skimmer which are then caught by the filter (any type of filter). You then do not want to clean your filter for a week or so while you are waiting for it to dissolve. Once the CYA has dissolved, the filters will not catch it again.
We typically recommend putting the CYA in a sock and hanging in front of a return jet.
We typically recommend putting the CYA in a sock and hanging in front of a return jet.
I have never heard this, but I guess it is possible that DE does absorb or convert some amount of CYA through a chemical reaction. I have an indoor pool and usually maintain CYA at 20-30 ppm year round, since switching to a DE filter and more carefully tracking chemical levels a few years ago I have seen an unexplainned loss of CYA, that I had been attributing to unseen bacteria conversion in the minimal maintenance winter season. As a general rule this is working out at around 10-15ppm per year of unexplained CYA loss since my primary water loss is due to evaporation, which should leave the CYA behind more concentrated in the pool water.
Ike
Ike
I don't guess it's a big deal for me to lose CYA. If that happens, I'll just throw a couple of pucks in the chlorinator and not worry about buying bleach for a little while!
Isaac - chlorine does very slowly break down CYA so you should expect to lose a little over time. It's not fast enough to be a substitute for draining, but it does happen. DE has nothing to do with it.
I guess it depends on your target levels, etc. for me 10-15 ppm per year drop in CYA is half my target level of 20-30 ppm, so if I overshoot and end up with a high CYA of say 35 or 40 it will self correct within a few months once adding in expected loss from splashout, backwashing, etc.
Ike.
Ike.
I just redid my tests, but I'm not sure if the numbers are right. I put in about 140 oz bleach after I did a chlorine test and got basically 0 for FC. I let the pump run for about 4 hours (it should take between 3-4 hours for my pool to filter all of the water). Here are my results:
FC = 2.4
CC = 0.2
PH = 7.2 (3 drops to get to 7.6)
TA = 100
CH = 180
CYA = 50
I guess I'll continue to let my pump run all night, and then check my levels in the morning. Any input on why you think my FC is still so low would be greatly appreciated, though.
I guess one other thing to note is that before I started draining my pool, the water was clear and a bluish color, but it appeared to be getting a few little green patches on the walls. Now the water has a greenish hue instead of blue after I drained it down over halfway and refilled it with hose water. I don't know what that means exactly, but I just thought I'd share that in case anyone knows anything about this happening or has had it happen to them.
FC = 2.4
CC = 0.2
PH = 7.2 (3 drops to get to 7.6)
TA = 100
CH = 180
CYA = 50
I guess I'll continue to let my pump run all night, and then check my levels in the morning. Any input on why you think my FC is still so low would be greatly appreciated, though.
I guess one other thing to note is that before I started draining my pool, the water was clear and a bluish color, but it appeared to be getting a few little green patches on the walls. Now the water has a greenish hue instead of blue after I drained it down over halfway and refilled it with hose water. I don't know what that means exactly, but I just thought I'd share that in case anyone knows anything about this happening or has had it happen to them.
Nice job on getting the cya level down 
That is a lot of FC drop for that short a period. How does you water look?
That is a lot of FC drop for that short a period. How does you water look?
Thanks! Just a lot of draining and refilling. The water is clear, but it has a slightly green tint to it rather than the blue tint it had before.
Do you have iron in the water you refilled with? That is probably causing the green tint. It may just go away, but if it doesn't you can use a metal sequestrant.
If you continue to use a lot of chlorine, you could bring you pool up to shock level and do an OCLT.
If you continue to use a lot of chlorine, you could bring you pool up to shock level and do an OCLT.
As far as I know, there shouldn't be a lot of iron in the water. I'm not really sure, though. A quick google search got me a water report for my city and it said the levels were like .026 ppm for iron.
The bleach could be old and weak, I just went through that a little while back, thought there was a problem because the bleach was not raising the FC as much as I expected, changed brands of bleach and everything was great. I then looked at the "old" bleach and found it had a 2008 date code on the bottom of the jugs.
Ike
Ike
Interesting. The bottle says sell before 10/8/12. I don't know if that guarantees the strength up until then, though. I retested this morning after letting the pump run all night. I dumped an entire bottle of 6% bleach (182 fl oz) into the pool yesterday. Here are the new test results.
FC = 4.2
CC = 0
PH = 7.4
TA = ~90
CYA = 50 (from last test)
If I'm just going to be using bleach, should I try to raise my TA? From the target FC on the CYA/FC chart, it looks like I should need about 6. I guess I'll go buy some more bleach. I already have some baking soda, so I could use some to raise my TA a bit if necessary. Side note: I also plan on doing the borax treatment sometime in the next week so could I just add a little borax instead to raise it? I see it says that would work on the pool calculator, but I got the feeling that maybe I shouldn't do that from some of the posts in Jason Lion's thread about treating your pool with borates.
Also, my water looks very clear, and I THINK it looks more blueish than it did last night. So that's good. I think.
THANKS!
FC = 4.2
CC = 0
PH = 7.4
TA = ~90
CYA = 50 (from last test)
If I'm just going to be using bleach, should I try to raise my TA? From the target FC on the CYA/FC chart, it looks like I should need about 6. I guess I'll go buy some more bleach. I already have some baking soda, so I could use some to raise my TA a bit if necessary. Side note: I also plan on doing the borax treatment sometime in the next week so could I just add a little borax instead to raise it? I see it says that would work on the pool calculator, but I got the feeling that maybe I shouldn't do that from some of the posts in Jason Lion's thread about treating your pool with borates.
Also, my water looks very clear, and I THINK it looks more blueish than it did last night. So that's good. I think.
THANKS!
I don't think there is a reason to up your TA. Most people seem to try to get theirs down to 90ish so that it does not pull the pH up as much.
Focus on keeping the FC in range.
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
Focus on keeping the FC in range.
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
Oops, I forgot to put up my CH.
CH = 180
I know this is low. Does anybody have a particular product they recommend for this or that I should stay away from? I saw that some places sell it as de-icer, but I don't think there will be much de-icer in Texas this time of year especially. Any recommendations, though?
CH = 180
I know this is low. Does anybody have a particular product they recommend for this or that I should stay away from? I saw that some places sell it as de-icer, but I don't think there will be much de-icer in Texas this time of year especially. Any recommendations, though?
Be a little cautious with adding calcium, since you can add easily but not get rid of other than drain or RO. Do you know what your replacement fill water ch is?
I would shoot for the low end of the recommended level or 250-350 ppm for plaster pools.
From poolschool:
I would shoot for the low end of the recommended level or 250-350 ppm for plaster pools.
From poolschool:
I've had my pump running full time since I refilled it yesterday afternoon. That's enough time for my water to recirculate 6 or 7 times. The CH being around 180 is probably pretty accurate if that's your concern, but we are not adding it all at once for sure. Thanks for the recommendation.
Do you see any problem with going ahead and adding some borate to my pool to raise the PH a tad?
Do you see any problem with going ahead and adding some borate to my pool to raise the PH a tad?
What is your current ph? Your last reported ph of 7.4 is fine. Borax is a good way to raise ph, but it also raises TA a small amount. Another way to raise ph without raising TA is aeration.
Hmmm. I just checked my PH and for the first time it's up around 8. Very close to 8 anyway. We've only put liquid bleach in and some Calcium Chloride today. I'm not sure what would cause it to jump up that far like that?
I have had my jets on some in the hot tub. Would the aeration cause that big of a jump?
I have had my jets on some in the hot tub. Would the aeration cause that big of a jump?