New Here - need advice to get rid of pool service!

[ralphsyv]

2nd test - the day after the pool guy was here - I believe he added 2.5 gallons of chlorine. He didn't test pH.

FC= 5
CC= 0.5
pH = 7.8
TA = 120
CH = 250 (I did a 10ml sample this time so maybe not as accurate) it was 270 last week.
CYA - (I did not test - I'm assuming still the same) = 30

 

[ralphsyv]

Read about Calcium nodules - Calcium Nodules in pools

I think it does not look like like calcium nodules.

We have a palm tree in that area that drops a lot of kernels and they can cause some purple staining if they are there too long. The paramount in-floor cleaning system was not working for a long time so there might have been some debris that accumulated. The pool guy was supposed to be vacuuming it weekly.

I'm going to try to get a better photo of it.

 

[mknauss]

2nd test - the day after the pool guy was here - I believe he added 2.5 gallons of chlorine. He didn't test pH.

FC= 5
CC= 0.5
pH = 7.8
TA = 120
CH = 250 (I did a 10ml sample this time so maybe not as accurate) it was 270 last week.
CYA - (I did not test - I'm assuming still the same) = 30

If they added the bleach as 10%, they added 12.5 ppm FC. If you are down to 5 ppm the next day, you have an issue.

 

[ralphsyv]

If they added the bleach as 10%, they added 12.5 ppm FC. If you are down to 5 ppm the next day, you have an issue.

Maybe I'm measuring/reporting incorrectly. I'm new to this so I could be doing something wrong. I tested with the Taylor kit so I came up with 5 - it looks right to me, so I'm not sure we are talking about the same unit of measurement.
FC was 2 the last test.
I think the guy added 2.5 gallons chlorine.
FC looks like it's at 5 now. Tested today. 1 day after he added chlorine.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Sounds like you are getting the hang of testing... any closer to pulling the trigger and firing them? BTW, if they are letting your FC get down to 2, that is the bare minimum and you are risking algae.

 

[ralphsyv]

Sounds like you are getting the hang of testing... any closer to pulling the trigger and firing them? BTW, if they are letting your FC get down to 2, that is the bare minimum and you are risking algae.

Yeah, I'm ready to fire them. I looked at the records they shared with me. Sometimes free chlorine was down to 0 or up to 1, back to 0. That's only what they shared with me. I noticed the dude does not actually test pH. He just writes in 7.6 every time. So I can't trust them.

 

[ralphsyv]

If they added the bleach as 10%, they added 12.5 ppm FC. If you are down to 5 ppm the next day, you have an issue.

I don't know what the guy added - he adds 1 or 2 jugs---> 2.5 or 5 gallons liquid chlorine every week. I don't know the concentration.

 

[mknauss]

Regardless, if the FC dropped that much in 1 day, you have an organics issue. I would suggest you do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test and take control of the pool water chemistry.

 

[ralphsyv]

Thanks! It's starting to make more sense. I'm going to do the overnight chlorine loss test.

I think he's been usually adding 2.5 gallons chlorine once a week. He arrives around 2:00 pm in full sun, so maybe a lot of the chlorine he just added is getting burned off that same day? I think the overnight test should give me the answer to that.

 

[ralphsyv]

False alarm. I don't know the actual amount of chlorine they added because they don't share that info with us. There's no chlorine loss overnight. 5 -> it's still at 5.

 

[ralphsyv]

Where to buy liquid chlorine or any other supplies now? We have Pinch a Penny and Leslies close to us.

 

[markayash]

Where to buy liquid chlorine or any other supplies now? We have Pinch a Penny and Leslies close to us.

Have a Home Depot of Lowe’s? Look online for liquid chlorine?

 

[ralphsyv]

Just from a money perspective - we're paying the pool service $95/month to maintain the pool. They're not really doing any significant cleaning or maintenance and they're doing some half-assed testing. I'm basically just paying them to maintain the chlorine level. How much should chlorine cost if I'm doing it myself?

 

[skimmerswimmer]

I pay $3 per gallon of 12.5% strength liquid chlorine. I use about 2 gallons per week.

https://www.oceanstatejoblot.com/liquid-pool-shock-1-gal/product/97194

 

[ralphsyv]

Have a Home Depot of Lowe’s? Look online for liquid chlorine?

We have Home Depot and Lowes near us, but as far as I can see they only have trichlor pucks.

 

[markayash]

Just from a money perspective - we're paying the pool service $95/month to maintain the pool. They're not really doing any significant cleaning or maintenance and they're doing some half-assed testing. I'm basically just paying them to maintain the chlorine level. How much should chlorine cost if I'm doing it myself?

A gallon of 12% liquid is around $3 a gallon..IF you use a gallon a week which seems a lot of me in Atl that's $12 a month.
Now think about this, your paying them a little less $1200 a year and can buy a SWG for around $1000 and never have to deal with chlorine again for many years

 

[ralphsyv]

I pay $3 per gallon of 12.5% strength liquid chlorine. I use about 2 gallons per week.

https://www.oceanstatejoblot.com/liquid-pool-shock-1-gal/product/97194

That's weird. Your pool is basically twice the volume of ours. Our pool service puts in 2.5-5 gallons of chlorine every week.

A gallon of 12% liquid is around $3 a gallon..IF you use a gallon a week which seems a lot of me in Atl that's $12 a month.
Now think about this, your paying them a little less $1200 a year and can buy a SWG for around $1000 and never have to deal with chlorine again for many years

Thanks, Mark. So, for some reason they're using around 12-15 gal of chlorine every month.

 

[skimmerswimmer]

That's weird. Your pool is basically twice the volume of ours. Our pool service puts in 2.5-5 gallons of chlorine every week.

Thanks, Mark. So, for some reason they're using around 12 gal of chlorine every month.

You may get more sun than us here in NY. I keep my CYA around 50, so this saves on the FC burnoff from the sun. The Stenner pump runs 15 minutes x 3 times/day. With the #2 tubing, it delivers about 0.9 oz per minute, so 40 ounces per day. I keep my pool super clean, with robot running just about every day.

If I were you, I'd call the pool service company and cancel. Maintaining a pool is easy and inexpensive if you follow the TFP system and advice. Just takes a little testing, reading and some trial and error with your own pool and you'll be a confident expert in no time.

 

[markayash]

Maybe some fellow Florida folks can chime in.

 

[ralphsyv]

Ok, I'm an idiot. He added some trichlor pucks in the chlorine feeder - so I guess that's what they meant about adding cyanuric acid. I didn't test CYA last time.

In other news, I went out today and saw air coming out of a return jet. The pump lost prime and it was super hot and steaming!!!
I let it cool off and cleaned out the basket, checked for any obstructions, primed it and started again. After it blew all of the air out it was working great again. Then I'm walking back to the house and notice the basket I forgot to put back in... I'm moving up from idiot to whatever the next level is.