Hi everyone, an update : I finally arrived home so I can test the water my self using Taylork2600 for the first time. I'd love to have some advice on what chemical to add before going ahead to do it myself for reassurance. Here are the results in ppm: FC 11, CC 0, pH 8, TA 80, Calc Hardness 140, CYA below 30 (I had to fill up the water sample right up to the top of Taylor tube to make the black dot invisible), Saline 1800, Temp 19 degrees Celcius. (CSI -0.13). Thank you in advance.
Need help to start newly filled retiled old pool
- Thread starter minidolphin
- Start date
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Salt seems extremely low, I actually surprised that your SWG is not complaining. You should bring that up to 4000 with a Viron. Maybe in step 1 shoot for 3000 and then retest before adding more.
CYA doesn't have to be very high in winter, but I'd bring it above 30, maybe 40 for now. Since you don't exactly know how far below 30 you are, add 10ppm portions and retest before adding more.
See how pH looks after that, adding CYA should bring pH down a bit.
I would increase CH a bit. Haven't you added some calcium increaser already? Can't remember...
CYA doesn't have to be very high in winter, but I'd bring it above 30, maybe 40 for now. Since you don't exactly know how far below 30 you are, add 10ppm portions and retest before adding more.
See how pH looks after that, adding CYA should bring pH down a bit.
I would increase CH a bit. Haven't you added some calcium increaser already? Can't remember...
Thanks for the advice mgftp. Will do that and update. We haven't added Calcium so we'll increase that a bit too.
Hi everyone, first of all thank you for kindly and patienly guiding me to achieve pool chemicals balanced. I've got the hang of it now, I think.
I managed to maintain a balance pool chemicals for a couple weeks until continuous heavy rains hit & the pool water needed to be pumped out. Current Taylor test result shows: FC 6, CC 0, pH 7.8, TA 75, CH 90, CYA Low <30, Salt 3200 (all in ppm). The only chemicals that were affected by water replacement are CH from 250 to 90, CYA from 35 to low <30. As it is the CSI result is not good: -2.26 how long can I keep the chemicals as they are? The reason I asked was because we may need to pump out water below the return pipe to fix a leak that we just found. If we add chemical we'll waste them again. We're guessing the leak comes from the return pipe outside the pool due to its location. (Water comes up through a hairline crack on concrete slab which surrounds the pool. The leak is directly above the extension of the return pipe). The time would not allow us to fix it before we go to interstate next week. We'll be away for a month. So worse comes to worse we'll have to leave the pool with CSI -2.26 for a month. Bad idea?
I managed to maintain a balance pool chemicals for a couple weeks until continuous heavy rains hit & the pool water needed to be pumped out. Current Taylor test result shows: FC 6, CC 0, pH 7.8, TA 75, CH 90, CYA Low <30, Salt 3200 (all in ppm). The only chemicals that were affected by water replacement are CH from 250 to 90, CYA from 35 to low <30. As it is the CSI result is not good: -2.26 how long can I keep the chemicals as they are? The reason I asked was because we may need to pump out water below the return pipe to fix a leak that we just found. If we add chemical we'll waste them again. We're guessing the leak comes from the return pipe outside the pool due to its location. (Water comes up through a hairline crack on concrete slab which surrounds the pool. The leak is directly above the extension of the return pipe). The time would not allow us to fix it before we go to interstate next week. We'll be away for a month. So worse comes to worse we'll have to leave the pool with CSI -2.26 for a month. Bad idea?
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Are you entering proper temperature values for the calculation? This smells like 0° Fahrenheit or something like that.
Oops...You're right mgtfp....Thanks for pointing that out. CSI is now -0.66. Is it safe to leave it like that for a month or two?
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
I don't think it would cause a huge issue. On the other hand: 4kg of calcium chloride at Bunnings are like 25 bucks.
Are you turning everything off while you're away?
Are you turning everything off while you're away?
Yes mgtfp. I was about to ask for advise on this topic. I thought I had to start this question in separate post but haven't found out how to / if I could run 2 posts at the same time. I read from other people' posts on this topic instead where Dive Dave said to increase the FC to SLAM level (CYA 30, FC 16?) But still have unanswered question on how to deal with getting rid of rain water while I am away. Any thoughts?
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- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Keep it all in one thread, then all relevant information is together.
Yes, I would bring CYA back up to 30 or 40 and bring FC to SLAM.
If you turn off the SWG, then don't worry about salt for now, but 3200 is getting a bit borderline for an Astral.
Make sure to check your FC after adding calcium chloride, we have seen a few cases where FC has dropped afterwards. Not sure if all those 8kg are needed, I think 4 should do, that'll bring you close to -0.4.
Do you have someone checking in on the house, could you explain to them how to drain some water, and when that would be required?
Yes, I would bring CYA back up to 30 or 40 and bring FC to SLAM.
If you turn off the SWG, then don't worry about salt for now, but 3200 is getting a bit borderline for an Astral.
Make sure to check your FC after adding calcium chloride, we have seen a few cases where FC has dropped afterwards. Not sure if all those 8kg are needed, I think 4 should do, that'll bring you close to -0.4.
Do you have someone checking in on the house, could you explain to them how to drain some water, and when that would be required?
Good idea
16ppm? or double it? (heard from some discussions in TFP )
Ok, I am also curious how the SWG alert low salt? I have never seen / noticed any alert even when the salt level is 2000
Thanks mgftp. I will do that.
I couldn't think of anyone at the moment. Will cover the pool with an oversize tarp work? Our pool coping is about 450mm higher than the ground level, the water is more or less at ground level. I planned to lay the tarp over the surface and coping and drop to the ground. So if there are a lot of rain, the rain water will fill up to the coping level and then overflow over the tarp.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Just remembered that you recently retiled, with newish grout I wouldn't take a risk and bring CH above 200. Just not sure how critical that actually is for epoxy grout, if that still contains cement. Maybe @onBalance can advise here?
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
No, I wouldn't double it.
The alarm goes off when the unit can't increase the voltage anymore to get to the required current for the chlorine setting. This happens sooner in cold water, so in winter you sometimes can't get up to the higher chlorine outputs. The Astrals need a minimum salt of 3000, I'm surprised you're still worked at 2000.
Not sure about that. Won't the collecting water just push the tarp down into the pool?
You could pre- drain a bit. Install a camera with remote access so you can see if the water level is about to get high, and then call someone to drain some.
Thank you. I'll wait for advise then. About getting rid of rainwater....I had an idea to bring the water level really down below skimmer perhaps (since the pump will not run anyway whilst we are away). In this way we won't worry about overflowing if it's going to have heavy continuous rains.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Yes, I thought about that too, we must have been typing in parallel.
Just that with your pump you will not be able to drain below the skimmer. Or do you have a separate suction port where you can can pump from without pulling water from the skimmer?
Be very careful, don't go away or get distracted when doing that. Set timers. Make sure the pump doesn't run dry.
Ideal for draining are sump pumps, so you don't risk running your expensive pool pump dry.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Thanks, @onBalance. What wasn't clear to me is if low CSI is an issue for a tiled pool with epoxy grout. You are saying that low CSI should be avoided in this case, too?
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
This doesn't really make sense. I had got distracted at first by the wrong CSI, and didn't really notice this.
Firstly, CH going down from 250 to 90 is a huge change, you'd probably have to replace 2/3 of the pool volume to get that change, with inbetween mixing of the water even more. That's just impossible with rain over a few weeks.
Secondly, your salt would have seen the same change then. You would have needed a salt level of nearly 9000 to come down with the same dilution factor as CH to 3200.
I suspect a testing error. Have you maybe used a 10ml sample and then multiplied the drop count with 10 instead of 25?
Or the latest rain hadn't been mixed in yet properly, and you have tested mainly rain water sitting on top of the pool (rain water has lower density than salty pool water and floats until mixed in). Make sure that the pump has run for a couple of hours before testing after rain.
And just a hint:
For the CH test it's generally sufficient to do the test with a 10ml sample and multiply drop count with 25.
Only the TA test I would do with a 25ml sample and multiply drop count with 10.
@mgtfp You are correct about epoxy cement, but I am taking the position that I don't know for sure that the grout is epoxy and not regular tile grout. Of course, tile, vinyl, and fibreglass pools are not affected by aggressive water. But I have to admit, I am never comfortable with the water being aggressive.
Thanks for elaborating that mgftp, I will take another test on Monday and pay close attention to that. the weather is unpredictable today and tommorow.