Need Help with Opening Pool

[dbabz31]

So where do you think my cya is coming from if it is that high? I cannot believe there would be that much of a difference between a cold sample of water would read less than 30 and then a room temp sample would read 90-100. When I looked at cya chart and the amount needed to shock the pool and plugged that into the calculator, FC is to get up to 39. That is based off of the amount of water when we have it at the level we normally have it at. Our pool is filled higher than normal with all the rain we got over the last week. I understand that the 10 gallons is more than the 8 suggested by the pool calulator, but I figure with the extra water more would be needed. Also, I am not able to recheck it tonight so rather than dump an amount in and not have it reach shock level I just figured dump what I got on hand and let it work the best overnight. I am going to have to get more bleach tomorrow. I hope it doesn't ruin anything. But I am not sure the exact amount of water we have. I am going to try to figure it out to a more accurate amount using calculator.
What would a high FC do to a pool anyways? I know it can thin liner but what else?

PS redid my amount of water calculation and it came to 33900.

So does that make my 10 gallons a little more reasonable?

 

[linen]

PS redid my amount of water calculation and it came to 33900.

So does that make my 10 gallons a little more reasonable?

No that would still raise you pool ~ 39 ppm FC or up to 44 ppm FC if you started at 5 ppm. That is too much.

What would a high FC do to a pool anyways?

Kept at that high for too long, it could start to bleach out the liner.

So where do you think my cya is coming from if it is that high?

I am not sure, have you reviewed the "advanced instructions" I linked to above? It is unusual for the cya reagent to go bad...but if nothing in those instructions triggers something, then I would probably get new reagents.

 

[dbabz31]

If 39 is too high to get the FC, why does the cya chart say to get it that high if my cya is 90-100? I used the same reagent for both times that I tested cya. Hoping to take a sample of water to see store cya and maybe that will help clarify things. Will have to wait til tomorrow to retest water and get new results.

 

[linen]

If 39 is too high to get the FC, why does the cya chart say to get it that high if my cya is 90-100?

Good point...sorry about that I was using poolcalculator.com for the shock FC level (25 ppm at 100 ppm cya), I forgot that the poolschool chart is quite a bit higher at the high cya levels. Bottom line either level will work, with the chart being more aggresive...so you should be fine up to 39 ppm (if your cya is truly 100 ppm).

Hoping to take a sample of water to see store cya and maybe that will help clarify things.

I kind of doubt it, since cya is typically messed up by pool stores more than any of the tests. If you do, make sure you see how they are doing the test so you can at least judge the technique and method.

 

[dbabz31]

so was able to retest fc at this time.
FC=29
CC=1.5
looks like i got a lot of shocking to do.
pool looks quite dirty still even after vaccuming to waste prior to dumping in chlorine yesterday.
will repost numbers later tonight.
thanks

 

[dbabz31]

Ok I am completely confused as to how our cya is so high. Last year we used no sticks or pucks or powder chlorine. We only used liquid chlorine. So why is it that our cya is so high after ddraining it and having refill over the winter? Any reasons? I am starting to wonder if there is anything that we used to close the pool could have a by product of cya. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening to us again? I took a sample to the pool store and they came up with a higher cya than I got when I did the test at home. I have made sure to get the temp of the water up before testing and consistently get 90-100 each of the 7 times I tested the cya. right now the water is a milky green/white in the shallow end and completely green in the deep end. prior to us adding chlorine on Monday, we vaccumed to waste. At this point I have chlorine that is off the charts at 46. How long does it take before I will see a difference in the water? Should I add some aglaecide? We only used liquid chlorine last year. We just wonder why we continue to have this problelm every year. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Leebo]

Let me double check....
1. You did a total drain/refill over the winter?
2. You didn't use any pucks, stabilizer, or powdered shock this year?
3. CYA level is around 100 from both your and pool stores test?

Are these correct??

 

[dbabz31]

Two years ago we realized we had high cya when we found this website. we partial drained and refilled 2 times that year. When we opened the pool last year, we still had a high level but it was manageble. We didn't use anything but liquid chlorine last year. No pucks no sticks, nothing that would add more cya to the pool. Last winter we closed the pool. Now this year with the refill of snow and rain the cya is still high. I am at a loss as to how this can be. Does antifreeze have a byproduct of cya? Is there liquid chlorine that could have cya in it and we don't it? I cannot wrap my brain around how it could be high when it should be lower than last years after the rain and snow. pool store actually got a cya of 150, but i tested the same sample at home and got a FC of 20 and they got 5. pretty sure the guy didnt know what he was doing because he took a long time and had to read the directions. regardless the cya is still high. this is so frustrating it makes me just want to fill my pool in with dirt. I guess if the chlorine I added today doesn't help its a drain that is my only other option. What is your take on algaecide at this point? could it help?

 

[linen]

Does antifreeze have a byproduct of cya?

No (assuming you are talking about polypropylene glycol).

Is there liquid chlorine that could have cya in it and we don't it?

I am fairly certain there are no products like this.

What is your take on algaecide at this point? could it help?

No. Algaecide can help prevent algae, but is not good a getting rid of it.

Since a independent test seemed to confirm you own high cya readings, I think I would do a partial drain/refill (but don't refill with dirt) at this point and get your cya down to a more manageable level and then continue the shocking process.

I do not have a good theory on why your cya is high

 

[dbabz31]

What is the most chlorine that any of you have needed to shock your pool? Also, is it possible that when adding a lot of chlorine to the pool that it can make it look salty? How long should I give my filter to filter water before I say "screw it" and replace water? We had flooding here 4 days prior to opening pool. With large amounts of rain, can it take longer to see some change? I feel like my filter is doing the job well because the pressure hasn't gone up but 1 or 2 while trying to shock. Any suggestions? just trying to avoid refill of pool.

 

[linen]

I feel like my filter is doing the job well because the pressure hasn't gone up but 1 or 2 while trying to shock.

Your statement is backwards I think. If you are killing stuff that needs to be filtered out then your pressure should be going up regularly and causing you to backwash frequently.

What pressure are you seeing and what is your clean filter pressure?

 

[dbabz31]

20 is my pressure after backwashing. it has only gone up to 21 0r 22 since opening.

 

[dbabz31]

how often should we change our sand? It really seems at though the pressure doesnt change much after backwashing. shouldnt it be going up a lot during the shocking process?

 

[linen]

Yes, the pressure should be going up. Sand shouldn't need changing. You might want to try this: http://www.troublefreepool.com/my-sand-is-channeled-how-to-fix-it-t7626.html.

 

[jblizzle]

You should never need to replace sand.

You could open up the top and inspect it and gently run a hose down through the sand bed and let all the gunk that may be in there overflow out the top ... good idea to do this once a year anyway. If you find it very hard and clumpy, then there could be a problem.

 

[dbabz31]

My husband and I were just talking about how he did something like that last year. We will try that and hopefully it works. Thanks.

 

[dbabz31]

So today my pool looks much better but we still haven't washed out the filter yet. It looks milky white. I just tested my water
FC=50
CC=0.5
PH=7.2
I am concerned because I know that high levels of FC are said to give false high readings of PH. Mine is LOW!
So I am aerating the pool also. Does "PH INCREASE" contain cya? want to make sure before I add some to the pool.

 

[dbabz31]

Why do I hear conflicting ideas about changing sand in the filters? Do we do it or not? Why do some say yes and some say no?

 

[jblizzle]

No one here says you need to change it on a regular basis.

There are very few cases where it is needed. Massive calcium buildup or if you used some chemical that resulted in a gooey mess sucked into the filter are a couple reasons I can think of.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

 

[Smykowski]

Best argument I've heard : it was around for millions of years before it was taken to the hardware store. A few years in your filter isn't going to make a difference.