New with testing questions

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klh66

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LifeTime Supporter
Jul 26, 2007
14
Florida
Hello to all,

I have been reading the site for a couple of days and decided I needed to ask for help. Here are the particulars.

I am a new pool owner :-D , I have always wanted a pool. I live in eastern Florida and my pool is IG, gunite with a gemcoat finish. My pool is 10,000 gallons and I have a Sta-Rite System 2, cartridge filter with an automatic chlorinator (it holds 3" tablets).

We have had lots of rain this month, 9.5 inches. My pool was completed in the middle of May 2007. My water has looked beautiful and clear since they filled it. But I do have some lime scale on the wall of my sheer decent.

Now to my problems and questions. After using test strips and not liking the results, I bought a Taylor testing kit. Since it was filled I have had trouble with my chlorine level and my CYA. My CYA is always high, 100-150, and we have tried emptying out water it goes right back to being high. My chlorine is either too high or too low. I am having trouble regulating it with the automatic chlorinator. I think that the chlorine tablets, which have stabilizer in them, is what's making my CYA constantly high.

If anyone has any thoughts or comments I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much.
klh66
 
Yep, the chlorine tablets have CYA in them. In Florida, with it's long swim season, using chlorine tablets is going to cause problems with constantly high CYA levels. I recommend that you switch to bleach (or a SWG) as a chlorine source. Bleach doesn't add any CYA to your water.
 
If you use bleach you need to test your chlorine level every day and add bleach to bring it back up to your target level, preferrably in the evening. How high you should target depends on your CYA level. My Pool Calculator can suggest FC levels you might want to use based on your CYA level.
 
Thanks for the info. I will go buy some bleach tonight.

Do you know why there would be limescale on my sheer decent wall? Is it because of the CYA? I bought something to get rid of it, but am I fighting a losing battle :?: Will I always have it no matter what I do?
 
There are no silly questions. Asking questions is how we learn.

A SWG is a salt water chlorine generator. You add about 3000 ppm of salt to the pool and then a special cell installed in the plumbing converts the salt into disinfecting chlorine (salt has chlorine in it). When the chlorine gets used up it turns back into salt. The unit runs whenever your pump is running so chlorine levels tend to stay more uniform that when using bleach. The salt does add a (usually small) corrosion risk and also makes the water feel much better on your skin. This saves a great deal of effort, no more manually adding chlorine.
 
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