Newbie; want to make sure I'm thinking correctly

[jacobbigler]

Hi all!

I am getting rid of my pool guy and going on my own, he has always kept the water clear but his prices went up so I'm ready to go on my own! I've already paid for May so I'll let him manage until June. In the mean time I have read all the pool school, purchased the TFP test kit, leaf rake, brush, vacuum and a new set of pleatco filters. I plan on practicing testing and performing the routine maintenance such at brushing and checking the skimmers etc, just to get into the habit until the pool guy is done next month. I don't plan on making any changes to the pool chemistry until the pool guy is gone in June as I don't want to mess up whatever methods he follows. There is no SWG so I plan on using bleach when I take over, currently the pool guy is using pucks but, I don't want to do that because of the high CYA.

Background:

Pool came with the house I bought 2.5 years ago; hired the neighbors pool guy to manage until we got settled in and I had time to learn how to do it myself

• 10,300 gallons
• plaster
• Located in Las Vegas area
• hot tub with spill over

My first test results:

• FC 12
• CC 0.5
• pH 7.8
• TA 200
• CH 975
• CYA > 100
• CSI .93

My interpretation and plan of action:

My thoughts are that I need to do a water exchange, based on the high CYA and CH. The water has not been exchanged since before I owned the pool. Based on pool math I should drain 75% of the water to get a target CH of 275; I'm thinking since the water in this area is so hard it would be best to drop the CH to the lower side of the recommended scale. The water exchange should also drop my CYA to a reasonable number, as well as drop the TA. After the exchange if the TA is still high I will add muriatic acid per pool math recommendation and aerate with the spa spill over. My understanding is that the CC is an indication of some algae growth however, I see no indication of this; is SLAMing still necessary for a CC 0.5 and no signs of algae?

So, does my interpretation make sense? Am I on the right track? I'm a little nervous of going solo in a few weeks and I want to make sure my thought process is sound; don't want a green pool this summer, my wife will kill me

thanks for your feedback!

 

[clambert1273]

CC isn't an algae indicator. Once you're filled up and balanced do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test and that will tell you what your next steps should be.

 

[ajw22]

Note that with FC above 10 the pH test becomes invalid. Be careful adjusting your pH.

PH - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

CC of 0.5 to 1.0 indicates normal chlorine sanitation. If your CC hits 1.0 then do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test and see if you have a problem brewing.

Your CSI is way high that can lead to scaling on the pool surfaces. Even though you paid for May I would dismiss your pool guy and get on with the draining while the weather is cooler.

 

[Bperry]

Hi all!

I am getting rid of my pool guy and going on my own, he has always kept the water clear but his prices went up so I'm ready to go on my own! I've already paid for May so I'll let him manage until June. In the mean time I have read all the pool school, purchased the TFP test kit, leaf rake, brush, vacuum and a new set of pleatco filters. I plan on practicing testing and performing the routine maintenance such at brushing and checking the skimmers etc, just to get into the habit until the pool guy is done next month. I don't plan on making any changes to the pool chemistry until the pool guy is gone in June as I don't want to mess up whatever methods he follows. There is no SWG so I plan on using bleach when I take over, currently the pool guy is using pucks but, I don't want to do that because of the high CYA.

Background:

Pool came with the house I bought 2.5 years ago; hired the neighbors pool guy to manage until we got settled in and I had time to learn how to do it myself

• 10,300 gallons
• plaster
• Located in Las Vegas area
• hot tub with spill over

My first test results:

• FC 12
• CC 0.5
• pH 7.8
• TA 200
• CH 975
• CYA > 100
• CSI .93

My interpretation and plan of action:

My thoughts are that I need to do a water exchange, based on the high CYA and CH. The water has not been exchanged since before I owned the pool. Based on pool math I should drain 75% of the water to get a target CH of 275; I'm thinking since the water in this area is so hard it would be best to drop the CH to the lower side of the recommended scale. The water exchange should also drop my CYA to a reasonable number, as well as drop the TA. After the exchange if the TA is still high I will add muriatic acid per pool math recommendation and aerate with the spa spill over. My understanding is that the CC is an indication of some algae growth however, I see no indication of this; is SLAMing still necessary for a CC 0.5 and no signs of algae?

So, does my interpretation make sense? Am I on the right track? I'm a little nervous of going solo in a few weeks and I want to make sure my thought process is sound; don't want a green pool this summer, my wife will kill me

thanks for your feedback!

Before doing anything, do the diluted CYA test to figure out how far above 100 CYA you are. If your CYA is actually 200 then you need to exchange almost all the water.

 

[MITBeta]

The pool guy is only going to make things worse. Don't fall into the fallacy of sunk costs.

Sunk cost - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Mdragger88]

Did you already pay him for chems or labor or both?
If you really want to keep him until june just have him do the manual labor & leave the chems up to you. It’s pretty hard to screw up brushing, vacuuming, & dumping baskets & it will save you that manual labor since you already paid anyway.
Starting in June, throw what you were paying him into a jar & buy yourself a swg with it.
Also, fill out your signature so we know what you’re working with.

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.google.com

Go ahead & Test your fill water for ta, ph, & ch - make a note of it in poolmath or in your kit.
& Give this a read

Draining - Further Reading

www.google.com