I'll start by apologizing for the length of this post but I want to convey all of our steps so far. We purchased a house this spring with a pool neither my boyfriend or know anything about them (admittedly I have learned a lot the past few days). We have an 18ft round (about 8,000 gallons). We took the cover off and the water was crystal clear and still is. After getting everything hooked up we topped off the water and started the pump and filter. So far so good.bi used a shock that the previous owners left. I took a sample to the pool store and they told me the CYA is high (78 ppm). They advised to drain half the pool and refill.nthey said the shock I used wasn't "good quality" and that was causing the high CYA. Additionally we have a chlorinator feed coming off of the filter on the return line. They said the 3" puck chlorine would also increase CYA.
I was hesitant to drain half the pool so I called a few other pool stores for second and third opinions and was told draining was not necessary. They suggested we drain down to the skimmer and then refill. So we did. Some even said that a CYA of 78 ppm was in range but others are saying the proper range is 20-50ppm. I'm not sure who to trust! I took another sample to another pool store and the CYA was within their test range measuring at 80 ppm. (Note this was before we refilled). Anyway - using the test strips it looks like the CYA has come down.
The other issue is that we have well water which doesn't have any hardness (measured less than 5). The second pool store suggested we add 19lbs of hardness but in reading pool school post it sounds like with a vinyl pool liner we don't need to do that -- and I already bought the chemical.
Anyway - I am at a loss on what to do or who to trust. I am testing with the test strips and it looks like TA and pH are on the high side of ok- still within the range. Total chlorine and free chlorine are still a little high.
I am tempted to take another sample to the pool store but am scared they are going to try to sell me more things I don't need. Help!!
I was hesitant to drain half the pool so I called a few other pool stores for second and third opinions and was told draining was not necessary. They suggested we drain down to the skimmer and then refill. So we did. Some even said that a CYA of 78 ppm was in range but others are saying the proper range is 20-50ppm. I'm not sure who to trust! I took another sample to another pool store and the CYA was within their test range measuring at 80 ppm. (Note this was before we refilled). Anyway - using the test strips it looks like the CYA has come down.
The other issue is that we have well water which doesn't have any hardness (measured less than 5). The second pool store suggested we add 19lbs of hardness but in reading pool school post it sounds like with a vinyl pool liner we don't need to do that -- and I already bought the chemical.
Anyway - I am at a loss on what to do or who to trust. I am testing with the test strips and it looks like TA and pH are on the high side of ok- still within the range. Total chlorine and free chlorine are still a little high.
I am tempted to take another sample to the pool store but am scared they are going to try to sell me more things I don't need. Help!!
