Newbie - First Test Results

[silverbora]

Hiya! If only I had found this place sooner! We purchased a home last summer and i've been following the previous owners protocol (chlorine pucks weekly and shock after heavy use walmart test strips).

The water has usually been pretty clear - I can still the bottom on the deep end now. My CYA is through the roof - so i'm guessing i should do a partial water drain?

Any input would be welcomed / appreciated!



PH 6.8
CL orange?
FC 17
CC 1.5
TC 18.5
CH 175
TA 80
CYA 250

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Assuming those results are from your own testing, yes, a major drain and refill is in order. Perhaps several small ones, since you have a fiberglass pool and are probably not far above water where you live and you don't want the pool to float up and break the underground plumbing. Another option is to use the tarp method.

Once the CYA level is down to something reasonable, then you need to SLAM. Your CC level is too high and you probably still have some algae spores in there. I'm assuming since you can see the deep end now that it hasn't always been the case.

 

[Jimrahbe]

sb,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all pool owners with sky-high CYA levels...

No guessing needed... With a CYA of 250 you really should drain and start over...

I have no idea what the water table is in Corpus Christi, but with a fiberglass pool you might want to do several partial drains and refills to prevent the shell from popping out to the ground.

Once you get your CYA down, you'll find that using the TFP pool care method will become a breeze..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[silverbora]

Im leaning towards several partial drains - Is there a general rule for what would be safe? And speaking of safe is there any reason to stop using the pool in the meantime?

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

Yes, partial drain to lower CYA is the place to start. Leave a foot of water in the shallow end. Do you have a dry well next to the pool? Do you know where the water table is?

 

[silverbora]

I did the partial drain this morning and we are currently filling back up. I'll post new #'s tomorrow morning. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[silverbora]

alright i couldnt wait till morning and i read the results are better at night...

ph 7.2
cl 5.0
fc 9.5
cc 1.0
ch 175
ta 100
cya 130

thoughts?

 

[JV63]

I would repeat the partial drain. You cut cya almost in half, another should put you in the 70 range. Test and see where it gets you down to.
You may have to repeat one more time after that, but it will be worth your trouble.

 

[silverbora]

will do again tomorrow and update

 

[JV63]

will do again tomorrow and update

Sounds good.

 

[silverbora]

i did another partial drain today, and this time for some reason i thought it would be a good idea to brush the walls while the pool was partially empty - this resulted in a lot of cloudy, milky water (we have very hard water here). so where my water had always been clear even before i started this process i dont think i can see more than a foot deep now. my filter has only been running for a few hours now so i know it hasnt had enough time to do much work.

I guess my questions at this point are:

is this normal?
how often should you 'scrub' a pool?
how long should the pump/ filter run before i do my next water test?

 

[Richard320]

You should brush the pool at least weekly. Otherwise you end up with a big buildup, which you've just experienced. I like a wall hale brush because it really puts the pressure on while I brush.

After refilling, leave the filter run while you brush the whole pool. Guaranteed it will be mixed enough to test by then.

 

[silverbora]

good to know! ill add that to my post mow routine from now on. ill let it run for another hour and ill do some testing.

 

[silverbora]

ok here we go. i was really expecting the CYA to drop more

ph 7.2
cl 3.0
fc 1.5
cc .5
ch 175
ta 110
cya 110

 

[JV63]

ok here we go. i was really expecting the CYA to drop more

ph 7.2
cl 3.0
fc 1.5
cc .5
ch 175
ta 110
cya 110

It would seem like it should have dropped more if you drained around the same volume as last time. Looks like another partial drain is in order. Btw, are you taking the water level as far down as you are comfortable with?

 

[silverbora]

i went the same today as yesterday ~ down to the top of the bottom step. i am not sure how far is 'safe'? but it seemed like after the first attempt it was enough to make a difference.

an aside... i was suppose to go the beach w/the family tomorrow but the wind is going to make it a nogo. is there anything i can do to make the pool safe enough to get in?

 

[silverbora]

i added 1 gallon of liquid bleach as recommended by pool math last night and retested this morning hoping my cya level would lower after the water having more time to circulate (or just newbie error). the water is still cloudy and my pressure went up 2-3 psi.

ph 7.2
fc 11
cc 1.5
ta 100
ch 175
ta 100
cya 100

 

[silverbora]

Re: Newbie - First Test Results - (updated)

1 week later update... I had a lot of personal stuff happen this week so I did not touch the pool knowing i was going to do another partial water drain this weekend.

ph 7.8
fc 1.0
cc .5
ta 110
ch 175
cya 90


im starting to wonder if my previous cya testing levels were accurate to begin with? i added 1 gallon of bleach as recommended by the pool math app and I suppose to need lower the ph a bit. I just need some feedback and advice of what do next.

 

[pooldv]

I would lower pH to 7.5. FC is too low. It need to stay above minimum at all times for your CYA to keep the pool sanitary and algae free. Staying at target is even better, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA].

 

[silverbora]

after another partial water drain here are the results (i poured in 2 gallons of chlorine during the re-fill yesterday)

FC 4.0
ph 7.8
TA 120
CH 175
CYA 60

Is this a CYA level I can live with? Any other thoughts? Follow pool math from this point?