New pool owner, new test kit, 1st results...oh my!

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V

Vtown

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May 28, 2018
13
Vacaville CA
We bought our house in January. Have never had a pool previously. Have paid for chemicals and cleaning and would like to take over myself. Was told we were balanced but we started getting a little algae on the sides. Saw 2 gallons of liquid chlorine added on Wednesday.

Just got the K-2006 kit Thursday and did my first test this morning. Whatched a couple videos to familiarize with the kit.

FC 7.0
CC 0.0
PH 7.4/5
TA 140, corrected from the 1400 originally posted.
CH 500
CYA really high at below the CYA on tube. Did the step 8 in pool school and got it to above the CYA mark but still really high.

From what I’ve read in the past week since finding the site, I’m guessing I’ll need to drain and fill some but don’t want to guess and wanted to start my post.
Have pics of pool and CYA finding if I can figure how to post from phone/iPad
Thanks,
Bryan
 
Welcome to the forum!

Yes, if your diluted test is still over 100, your CYA is well north of 200. The best way to get a quick handle on your pool is to drain.

I would say drain at least 80%. Do you have a high water table were you are? It also is not advisable to leave plaster exposed to a hot sun for very long. With your size pool you would want to get a high rate sub pump, start the drain in the late afternoon, and immediately beginning filling it when the drain is done.

I doubt your TA is 1400. You may want to check that.
 
Dump the "Appears they used 3 step Clorox product left here." in your sig and don't use it.
 
mknauss said:
Welcome to the forum!

Yes, if your diluted test is still over 100, your CYA is well north of 200. The best way to get a quick handle on your pool is to drain.

I would say drain at least 80%. Do you have a high water table were you are? It also is not advisable to leave plaster exposed to a hot sun for very long. With your size pool you would want to get a high rate sub pump, start the drain in the late afternoon, and immediately beginning filling it when the drain is done.

I doubt your TA is 1400. You may want to check that.
Click to expand...

Bad math on my part. 14 drops so looks like 140, not the 1400 I wrote down.

We do have a high water table. Suggestions? Do it in steps? I do have a dredge pump that can pump it reallyl fast.
Ill be out his afternoon but may be able to start early evening.
 
If you have a high water table you may be better off not draining conventionally.

Below is a process you can use. It requires a low volume sub pump (1/4 or 1/3 hp) from Harbor Freight or Home Depot. You may not get a perfect exchange, but hopefully sufficient to get your CYA down in the reasonable area.

You can exchange some water without draining.

If you place a low volume sub pump in the deep end and pull water from there while adding water in the shallow end you can do a fairly efficient exchange. That is assuming the water you are filling with is the same temperature or warmer than your pool water. If your fill water is much cooler than your pool water, then switch it. Add the water to the deep end (hose on bottom) and pull water from the top step.

The location of the pump and fill hose may change if you have salt water, high calcium, etc.
In my pool, with saltwater and high calcium when I drain, I put the pump in the deep end and hose in shallow end. The water in the pool weighs more per unit volume than the fill water from the hose.

Be sure to balance the water out and water in so the pool level stays the same.
 
Your risk is 'floating' your pool. Right now, the water in it is weight. If, and only you can make this decision, if, there is water above the bottom of the pool, when you drain it, that water could float the pool shell out of the ground. Any amount, even a 1/2" will destroy it.

So up to you --------
 
Talk to Pool Builders in your area and see if they are concerned about a drained pool floating.
 
mknauss said:
Your risk is 'floating' your pool. Right now, the water in it is weight. If, and only you can make this decision, if, there is water above the bottom of the pool, when you drain it, that water could float the pool shell out of the ground. Any amount, even a 1/2" will destroy it.

So up to you --------
Click to expand...

Thank you mknauss. Not a risk I want to take without some research! Sounds like I’ll need to find out what the water table and risk really is and also check into water rates to see what that’s going to cost.
Any suggestions on what to do currently so we can continue to use while figuring out what route will be best?
 
Keep at least 5% of CYA as FC ppm in pool. So lets say your CYA is 250. You should keep it above 12.5 ppm FC at all times. I would shoot for 15 ppm.

Realize your pH test will be compromised. Get back with us if you test pH over 8 before you decide what you are going to do.

Take care.
 

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823F59C6-A201-4AFA-B080-77F84A1FEC0D.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

Got to know my pool a lot better over the past month taking readings almost every day. I surveyed everyone I could in the area in regards to water table and draining and it didn’t appear to be an issue. Last night seemed like a good time to go for it and try to get my CYA down since it was off the scale.

I pumped out what I thought would be about half of the estimated 8400 gallons. Took water meter reading before and after and estimate I drained and refilled about 6500 gallons. Looks like I got the CYA down to 80. Saved results and notes in the app. I plan to let the pump run today and re check everything tonight. Anything else I should be checking or looking at?
 
Screen shot hard to read

7/3:
Brushed the walls and ran the pump. Setup the dredge pump for a water drain. Read the Water meter and it was 98662.713 right before I drained. Going to drain at least half of the pool maybe a bit more. Started about 6:35 pm. At 8:02, we have about 4”to go to make 2’. Guesstimating I’m getting about 33 gallons per minute. Pump ran out of gas at 8:20 and at 23” drained so we called it ok and started filling.

7/4

So...I woke up at about 12:20 and shut the water off. It was about perfect to the line. Original reading was 986,62,713 and the reading this morning is 994,32,470
I rounded a little for minimum water use of toilets and sink and it looks like 24” from the grout line is equal to 6515 GALLONS of water. A recalculation on my pump, 6515/105 minutes = about 62 gallons a minute WOW

FC 9
CC 0
PH 7.7
TA 170
CH 300
CYA 80
temp 77F








- - - Updated - - -

3348E0F9-D183-4BF2-ACFF-9D5D58F55678.jpgAlmost done with the drain.
 
CYA of 80 is still too high for a non-SWG pool. You need to get it between 30 & 40.

You need another 50%-60% drain.
 
Actually, Vacaville has hot summers I believe, so I'd shoot for CYA 50. That's what I keep my CYA at here in San Jose. If you go any lower, you might find your FC gets burned off too fast from the sun and it may approach your daily minimum before the end of the day. Better to keep it a little higher and give yourself some leeway.

So, an addtional 35-40% drain would probably be best.
 
I’m not sure I’ll be able to do another drain until at least the next billing cycle. Going to have to see what this one cost.

I had planned to drain about half or more expecting it to be approx 4K gallons and ended up draining approx 6500 gallons and an estimated 80% of the pool. The CYA was off the scale so wasn’t sure where we’d end up. Happy I seem to have made it below 100.

For the past month I seem to loose about .5 FC over night and 2-3 during the day depending on use etc.
Just checked the FC when we got back this evening and seemed the same with a 2 FC loss today. Average 2.5 to 3 loss per 24 hours.

i know the recommendation of 30-50 CYA but haven’t found where to read how the 80 will affect me other than needing to maintain higher FC levels. Why are the SW pools recommended for higher CYA but able to go lower on the FC?
 
Salt water pools don't get the huge swings in FC because the SWG adds the chlorine slow and steady, so algae is less likely to catch on even at a lower FC level.

You can probably manage your pool just fine with your CYA at 80. The difficult part is if you get algae and have to perform a SLAM. You'd need your SLAM FC to be at 31 ppm which will use a lot of chlorine.

If your pool is clear, just make sure you run the proper FC level for your high CYA. The only real tricky part would be testing your pH. Remember that the pH test is invalid when FC is greater than 10, so you'd have to let the FC drop below 10 to get an accurate reading. It can be done though.
 
Speaking of which...

You could convert your pool to saltwater and install an SWG. Your CYA would then be in range, and you could start enjoying the convenience and silky smooth water of an SWG pool! Done and done!!

It's generally accepted here that the cost of an SWG (they have a lifespan, and need to be replaced periodically) is about the same as the cost of the chlorine you'd buy in the same amount of time an SWG will last. So while there is a substantial upfront cost for SWG luxury, it's money you're going to spend eventually anyway.
 
The SWG super chorlinates the water as it passes through the cell giving a more effective use of the chlorine.
 

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