New and very confused

[Stevemaddison1]

Totally new to this- I have 17,000 gallon pool which is maintained by local pool company weekly. Never seen them sample water always 3 x 3 inch chlorine tabs left in skimmer weekly. Decided to test today with a Taylor K-2006C test kit. Followed instructions exactly and this is what I found:
1. FC 19 PPM (yes 19 not 1.9)
2. CC 0
3. PH 7.5
TA 150
CH 575
CYA off the scale 100 ++ used probably 2mL of suggested 14 mL of solution and black dot disappeared at base of tube.
Not sure what I need to do ??? To get chemical balance back? Is it safe to swim? We have been and no burning or bad feelings whatsoeverAny advice appreciated. Thank you!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Steve, welcome to TFP. If you read here much you'll read this story again and again.

Pool Care Techs don't have time to slow down and test each pool they see in a day, or they'd never see enough to earn a living. Its in-and-out in the least time possible. So they do a quick pass and drop some chlorine pucks in the skimmer and move on.

The pucks contain almost as much stabilizer (CYA) as chlorine and it builds up rapidly. So your CYA is high, and the only way to keep your pool clear and algae free is to keep your FC level also astronomically high. Then one day....that FC isn't high enough and the algae take over.....The Pool Care Tech will tell you the pool has "chlorine lock" or some other story and it requires a drain and refill to start the cycle all over again.

Good call getting a good test kit. Now you have to decide whatcha want to do about it?? Let them continue to manage your pool or you take over management?

A drain and refill *is* in order....but with a fresh fill you can avoid this becoming a regular event if you take over. Or if you still want them to do some of the work, you tell them what chemicals and when it should be added.

Maddie

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Additionally... run that CYA test again but doing it this way:
Take equal parts of pool water and tap water (which never contains CYA) and use that as your pool water sample and test again. Then double the results. This will help decide how much water you need to drain to bring the CYA level down to a workable amount.

Let us know the result.

Maddie

 

[Stevemaddison1]

Hi Maddie, firstly thank you very much for the reply, it is really appreciated! Retested with 50% tap water as you mentioned and got further up the tube before the black dot disappeared but still short of the first 100 reading on the test tube. Used a pool test strip (please see attached) and it looks somewhere between 200 - 250 so ridiculously high. Thinking about draining 50% of the pool and refilling and retesting to see if that works......any advice welcome. Definitely considering taking this over myself as I would have hoped the pool company would have told me about this. Thanks Steve

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Before you go doing any draining, can you please fill out a signature line (found under settings) describing your pool, its equipment, etc. This helps us answer you better.

How do you plan on doing the drain? Do you know where the drained water will go?

Maddie

 

[Stevemaddison1]

Hi Maddie, I think I have filled it out. We have a 17,000 gallon pool, with an earth filter. I think pretty standard set up....I have attached some pictures. I am going to ask the pool guy to drain, I would hope he follows all the necessary requirements.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

How do you plan on doing the drain? 50% is a good amount- hows the ground water in your neighborhood? We don't want to have any surprises with ground water problems pushing up the pool.

 

[mknauss]

I doubt 50% will be enough. What is the cost of your water? If you do 50%, you most likely will have to do it twice.
Read Draining - Further Reading for some information and various methods of replacing your pool water with fresh water.

 

[ajw22]

Use the dilution ratios below to ballpark your CYA level...

For CYA > 90ppm, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows:

1. Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water.
2. Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark with tap water.
3. Shake briefly to mix.
4. Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark.
5. Continue the test normally from adding R-0013, but multiply the final result by two.

If you need to dilute the pool water further then apply these ratios:

Pool water	Tap or distilled water	Multiply result by
1	1	2
1	2	3
1	4	5

Note that when doing a diluted test not only do you multiply the range of the test you multiply the error rate of the test, so results are a ballpark - not an absolute.

 

[Stevemaddison1]

Thank you that is very helpful, I have decided I am going to do a simultaneous fill and empty using colder fresh water to the deep end floor and pump from the shallow end 2nd step. I will attempt to balance input and output and go for a 2/3 exchange and then re-sample to see what the chemistry looks like mainly the Free chlorine and the CYA which is the current problem. Fingers crossed totally newbie at this so will write up what happens

 

[Stevemaddison1]

I doubt 50% will be enough. What is the cost of your water? If you do 50%, you most likely will have to do it twice.
Read Draining - Further Reading for some information and various methods of replacing your pool water with fresh water.

Thank you!

 

[HermanTX]

In the pictures it shows an inline chlorinator so why is the pool guy putting pucks in your skimmer? It is never good to put chlorine directly into your skimmer. Once you do the drain/refill suggest you stop the pucks and go to Liquid Chlorine. Go to the pool store (suggest Pinch a Penny or Leslie's) or Home depot (if they stock it in your area) to buy it.

Also, suggest you test your fill water now so you know what you can expect with regard to Alkalinity and Calcium levels.

 

[Stevemaddison1]

In the pictures it shows an inline chlorinator so why is the pool guy putting pucks in your skimmer? It is never good to put chlorine directly into your skimmer. Once you do the drain/refill suggest you stop the pucks and go to Liquid Chlorine. Go to the pool store (suggest Pinch a Penny or Leslie's) or Home depot (if they stock it in your area) to buy it.

Also, suggest you test your fill water now so you know what you can expect with regard to Alkalinity and Calcium levels.

Not sure...…...but anyway going to go to Liquid chlorine as you suggest and great suggestion I am going to test the refill water to see what I might be contending with as going for a 2/3 refill/exchange. Thanks for your comments. teve

 

[Stevemaddison1]

Use the dilution ratios below to ballpark your CYA level...

For CYA > 90ppm, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows:

1. Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water.
2. Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark with tap water.
3. Shake briefly to mix.
4. Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark.
5. Continue the test normally from adding R-0013, but multiply the final result by two.

If you need to dilute the pool water further then apply these ratios:

Pool water	Tap or distilled water	Multiply result by
1	1	2
1	2	3
1	4	5

Note that when doing a diluted test not only do you multiply the range of the test you multiply the error rate of the test, so results are a ballpark - not an absolute.

Thank you that is very useful!

 

[HermanTX]

Steve,
Though you listed some of your equipment in your original post and gave some pictures, it is best to Create Your Signature to help us understand what your current setup is. Thanks.

 

[setsailsoon]

Steve,

The best price for liquid chlorine by far is using refillable containers at a HASA or Napco facility. It's often half the price or better than purchases by the gallon. Napco (NW Houston) sells the jugs and I'm pretty sure HASA does as well.

Chris

 

[HermanTX]

Steve,

The best price for liquid chlorine by far is using refillable containers at a HASA or Napco facility. It's often half the price or better than purchases by the gallon. Napco (NW Houston) sells the jugs and I'm pretty sure HASA does as well.

Chris

Every HASA dealer I call state they only sell to retail stores or pool companies. I called 3 in the Katy,TX area with all the same response. I have not called NAPCO yet but they are quite a distance from me. If someone knows of a HASA dealer selling to public in Houston area, that would be helpful.

Update - called Napco in Spring TX. They sell 12.5% LC for $1.85/gal plus a $2 govt. fee. If you buy a 5gal container with LC it is $29.23 first time. Then just pay for refills. They only sell to public on Mon, Wed & Fri from 8am to 12pm

 

[setsailsoon]

Every HASA dealer I call state they only sell to retail stores or pool companies. I called 3 in the Katy,TX area with all the same response. I have not called NAPCO yet but they are quite a distance from me. If someone knows of a HASA dealer selling to public in Houston area, that would be helpful.

Update - called Napco in Spring TX. They sell 12.5% LC for $1.85/gal plus a $2 govt. fee. If you buy a 5gal container with LC it is $29.23 first time. Then just pay for refills. They only sell to public on Mon, Wed & Fri from 8am to 12pm

Steve,

Thanks for the update, I haven't lived in Houston for years so it looks like things have changed. I do have a friend that still buys from Napco.

Chris

 

[Stevemaddison1]

Steve,

The best price for liquid chlorine by far is using refillable containers at a HASA or Napco facility. It's often half the price or better than purchases by the gallon. Napco (NW Houston) sells the jugs and I'm pretty sure HASA does as well.

Chris

Thanks Chris info really appreciated I will try them out. Take care Steve

 

[Stevemaddison1]

Thanks Chris info really appreciated I will try them out. Take care Steve

Just put Napco into google maps and 20 minutes from my house