New Pool Owner in Central Florida!

[manfacro]

Hi All!

First time pool owner here and soaking up (pun intended) everything I can read about pools at the moment. Coming here for advice and other guidance. I have read the Pool School as well as another site, Swim University cover to cover. I have included my pool info in my signature.


My struggle is with the pool store saying my levels were good, but then reading online learning about CYA and how it interacts with the effectiveness of how the chlorine works. To get things started, as of today...

CC		No Test Yet Target: < 0.5
PH	7.6​	12 hours ago Target: 7.2 - 7.8
TA	110​	12 hours ago Target: 70-90+
CH		No Test Yet Target: 250-350
CYA	100​	11 days ago Target: 50
Temp	87°​	12 hours ago

(Poollogger.com Format)


I have omitted FC because I do not have a good way to test it. My current test only goes up to 7, which is too low for me with the CYA that high... I do have test strips and the FC tab shows 10ppm so I know I am high up there, where exactly, I do not know. I did order a K-2006 so on Wednesday I should have a pretty good FC reading. But between the test strips, and the other test showing over 7, I have a good feeling that I am in the "Good Enough" range right now. Water is clear.


We have a DX4 Dolphin, when we bought the house, it wouldn't power on. Did a little soldering and "The Kraken" is now up and running.

Now for all my issues and questions that I came here for, if things don't get answered here, I plan to ask in the respected categories in the forum in time...


1) Air leak, I know I am pulling in air through the suction side, when the Jandy valve is pulling from the Main Drain, one of the returns spits out air. Turn it to the Skimmer, and the bubbles go away (after I bleed air from filter dome)
2) I don't think the pump has enough power to push water to the roof. There is a 3-way Jandy valve that sends water to the roof or bypasses the heater. If I send everything up to the roof, it pushes all the air out and it works just fine. (Got the pool up to 95F) However, if I do half bypass and half to the roof, when the pump shuts off, it won't send water up on start up. I have to close the bypass completely, let it travel up, then crack the bypass if I want to go half. Is this correct? I do understand things in motion tend to take the easy way, so that would be the bypass.
3) Skimmer doesn't have a weir. So when pump shuts off, things just tend to float out. Looking at it, I can't see where one would attach to?
4) When is a pool considered unsafe? When is chlorine too high for swimmers? PH too low? Alkalinity? At what point if the test results are way off the mark do you stop swimming until its fixed?
5) Some stains on the wall. I know it's not organic because I tried the rub a tablet on it, and it didn't budge. I feel it's rust or some other kind of metal. It's not bad, I plan to work on this in the Winter months.
6) Not a problem, but our Lab LOVES the pool! Only catch is her fur loves it too.


Yes, I use tablets now, I understand that CYA is going to continue to be a problem but I do have a plan (I think)...

1) Use up my supply of tablets, I can't justify letting them go to waste.
2) Take care of the water swap... if its splash and fill or let Florida rain storms just fill up and me pumping it back down.
3) Switch to Salt or liquid chlorine

As much as I would love to start working on it now, I just hate wasting what I have.


I have attached a couple images below, the first one is a really bad job at photoshopping two images, in real life the pool doesn't have a seam in it.



Sorry for the lengthy intro post, just wanted to say hi and I look forward to learning all I can!


--Dan

 

[zea3]

Hi All!

First time pool owner here and soaking up (pun intended) everything I can read about pools at the moment. Coming here for advice and other guidance. I have read the Pool School as well as another site, Swim University cover to cover. I have included my pool info in my signature.


My struggle is with the pool store saying my levels were good, but then reading online learning about CYA and how it interacts with the effectiveness of how the chlorine works. To get things started, as of today...

CC		No Test Yet Target: < 0.5
PH	7.6​	12 hours ago Target: 7.2 - 7.8
TA	110​	12 hours ago Target: 70-90+
CH		No Test Yet Target: 250-350
CYA	100 ​	11 days ago Target: 50
Temp	87°​	12 hours ago

(Poollogger.com Format)

I have omitted FC because I do not have a good way to test it. My current test only goes up to 7, which is too low for me with the CYA that high... I do have test strips and the FC tab shows 10ppm so I know I am high up there, where exactly, I do not know. I did order a K-2006 so on Wednesday I should have a pretty good FC reading. But between the test strips, and the other test showing over 7, I have a good feeling that I am in the "Good Enough" range right now. Water is clear.


We have a DX4 Dolphin, when we bought the house, it wouldn't power on. Did a little soldering and "The Kraken" is now up and running.

Now for all my issues and questions that I came here for, if things don't get answered here, I plan to ask in the respected categories in the forum in time...


1) Air leak, I know I am pulling in air through the suction side, when the Jandy valve is pulling from the Main Drain, one of the returns spits out air. Turn it to the Skimmer, and the bubbles go away (after I bleed air from filter dome)
2) I don't think the pump has enough power to push water to the roof. There is a 3-way Jandy valve that sends water to the roof or bypasses the heater. If I send everything up to the roof, it pushes all the air out and it works just fine. (Got the pool up to 95F) However, if I do half bypass and half to the roof, when the pump shuts off, it won't send water up on start up. I have to close the bypass completely, let it travel up, then crack the bypass if I want to go half. Is this correct? I do understand things in motion tend to take the easy way, so that would be the bypass.
3) Skimmer doesn't have a weir. So when pump shuts off, things just tend to float out. Looking at it, I can't see where one would attach to?
4) When is a pool considered unsafe? When is chlorine too high for swimmers? PH too low? Alkalinity? At what point if the test results are way off the mark do you stop swimming until its fixed?
5) Some stains on the wall. I know it's not organic because I tried the rub a tablet on it, and it didn't budge. I feel it's rust or some other kind of metal. It's not bad, I plan to work on this in the Winter months.
6) Not a problem, but our Lab LOVES the pool! Only catch is her fur loves it too.


Yes, I use tablets now, I understand that CYA is going to continue to be a problem but I do have a plan (I think)...

1) Use up my supply of tablets, I can't justify letting them go to waste.
2) Take care of the water swap... if its splash and fill or let Florida rain storms just fill up and me pumping it back down.
3) Switch to Salt or liquid chlorine

As much as I would love to start working on it now, I just hate wasting what I have.


I have attached a couple images below, the first one is a really bad job at photoshopping two images, in real life the pool doesn't have a seam in it.



Sorry for the lengthy intro post, just wanted to say hi and I look forward to learning all I can!


--Dan

1) Air leak, I know I am pulling in air through the suction side, when the Jandy valve is pulling from the Main Drain, one of the returns spits out air. Turn it to the Skimmer, and the bubbles go away (after I bleed air from filter dome)
This video will show you how to identify the location of a suction side air leak. Find an air leak in your swimming pool. - YouTube

2) I don't think the pump has enough power to push water to the roof. There is a 3-way Jandy valve that sends water to the roof or bypasses the heater. If I send everything up to the roof, it pushes all the air out and it works just fine. (Got the pool up to 95F) However, if I do half bypass and half to the roof, when the pump shuts off, it won't send water up on start up. I have to close the bypass completely, let it travel up, then crack the bypass if I want to go half. Is this correct? I do understand things in motion tend to take the easy way, so that would be the bypass.
What is the size of your pump? How many horsepower is it? Jandy does make 3 way valves but I don't see the heater in the picture you posted.

3) Skimmer doesn't have a weir. So when pump shuts off, things just tend to float out. Looking at it, I can't see where one would attach to?
You can get replacement weirs that have spring loaded attachment points. Its like putting a pressure curtain rod in a window casing.

4) When is a pool considered unsafe? When is chlorine too high for swimmers? PH too low? Alkalinity? At what point if the test results are way off the mark do you stop swimming until its fixed?
A pool is unsafe if you cannot see something on the bottom of the deep end, when chlorine is too high for the CYA level, or too low for the CYA level. pH below 7.0 or above 8.0 may be uncomfortable and leave swimmers with burning eyes and itchy skin. Anytime chlorine is 0 it is not safe to swim. Most of these problems can be fixed in a few minutes with the proper addition of chemicals. Visibility problems take longer to clear and require the pool be closed to swimmers.

5) Some stains on the wall. I know it's not organic because I tried the rub a tablet on it, and it didn't budge. I feel it's rust or some other kind of metal. It's not bad, I plan to work on this in the Winter months.
The stain could be metal or it could be calcium scale. Crush up some vitamin C tablets, put them in a sock and hold them onto the stain for a minute. If it lifts the stain it is iron. If the stain darkens it is probably copper. Does the surface of the stain feel rough?

6) Not a problem, but our Lab LOVES the pool! Only catch is her fur loves it too.
You can get skimmer socks or hair nets to line the skimmer basket. They will catch the hair and you can get a box of 100 hair nets really cheap! https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-H...pID=4192iUr8CJL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Yes, I use tablets now, I understand that CYA is going to continue to be a problem but I do have a plan (I think)...

1) Use up my supply of tablets, I can't justify letting them go to waste.
Keep the tablets in their original container stored in a dry location and they will last forever. You can use them while out of town, or if you need a little CYA boost.

2) Take care of the water swap... if its splash and fill or let Florida rain storms just fill up and me pumping it back down.
Since your CYA test result did not transfer over I can't advise you on what to do. If your CYA is high the only way to remove it is to do a partial drain and refill. Splash out removes very little unless you splash out hundreds of gallons a week.
3) Switch to Salt or liquid chlorine
Either is what we recommend. Switch to liquid chlorine until you add a salt system.

 

[manfacro]

Hi Zea3, thanks for the reply! I didn't realize the font for the test results went white or my signature didn't post with the last post (didn't see the checkbox), both are fixed now.


This video will show you how to identify the location of a suction side air leak. Find an air leak in your swimming pool. - YouTube

Thank you, will take a stab at it.

What is the size of your pump? How many horsepower is it? Jandy does make 3 way valves but I don't see the heater in the picture you posted.

Its a 1HP, details in the signature. The solar heater isn't in the picture, but the pipes going up on the back wall are leading right to it. But the valves and pipes are pictured.

You can get replacement weirs that have spring loaded attachment points. Its like putting a pressure curtain rod in a window casing.

Guess it's a trip to Pinch a Penny to get parts!

A pool is unsafe if you cannot see something on the bottom of the deep end, when chlorine is too high for the CYA level, or too low for the CYA level. pH below 7.0 or above 8.0 may be uncomfortable and leave swimmers with burning eyes and itchy skin. Anytime chlorine is 0 it is not safe to swim. Most of these problems can be fixed in a few minutes with the proper addition of chemicals. Visibility problems take longer to clear and require the pool be closed to swimmers.

Ok!

The stain could be metal or it could be calcium scale. Crush up some vitamin C tablets, put them in a sock and hold them onto the stain for a minute. If it lifts the stain it is iron. If the stain darkens it is probably copper. Does the surface of the stain feel rough?

I'll take a stab at this soon, stain surface doesn't have any feel to it other than the feel of the wall.

You can get skimmer socks or hair nets to line the skimmer basket. They will catch the hair and you can get a box of 100 hair nets really cheap! https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Ha...70_&dpSrc=srch

Oh perfect, that makes sense

Keep the tablets in their original container stored in a dry location and they will last forever. You can use them while out of town, or if you need a little CYA boost.

2) Take care of the water swap... if its splash and fill or let Florida rain storms just fill up and me pumping it back down.
Since your CYA test result did not transfer over I can't advise you on what to do. If your CYA is high the only way to remove it is to do a partial drain and refill. Splash out removes very little unless you splash out hundreds of gallons a week.
3) Switch to Salt or liquid chlorine
Either is what we recommend. Switch to liquid chlorine until you add a salt system.

I still want to burn through a chunk of tablets, just started a 40lb tub of them. If they don't go bad, I think I can get through 3/4 of them and leave a bunch in storage for times I am away. I do want to make the jump straight to salt but I need to get through at minimum the next couple months first.

Thank you for the help,


--Dan

 

[zea3]

Now that you mention white font I can make out 100 for the CYA level. That is the top of the scale for the test, it could actually be higher. With a CYA of 100 your daily chlorine target would be 11-13ppm. You would want to shoot for 13. To hit 13 ppm with pucks you would need 2-3 of them and it would add 7-10 ppm of CYA. Realisticly, you won't hit 13 with just pucks. Pucks are designed to maintain FC not raise it significantly. As CYA continues to rise your chlorine target continues to rise. Soon it will get to the point that it is not sustainable you will have an algae bloom.

When your test kit comes in post a complete set of results. If the CYA is over 100, test it again with a 1:1 mixture of tap and pool water as your sample, then double the result. This will give you a ball park CYA level.

 

[duraleigh]

zea# has done a great job answering your questions. I want to emphasize you are asking for an issue by continuing the pucks. You should take her suggestions.

Save the pucks and get your CYA down to where you can manage your pool correctly.....adding more CYA is not the way to do that.

 

[manfacro]

Soooo here are my full test results.... I did just turn off the tablet feeder. I guess a partial drain is in my future?

FC	27.5​	Just Tested Target: -
CC	0​	Just Tested Target: < 0.5
PH	7.6​	Just Tested Target: 7.2 - 7.8
TA	110​	Just Tested Target: 70-90+
CH	400​	Just Tested Target: 250-350
CYA	140​	Just Tested Target: 50
Temp	85°​	Just Tested