next steps after replacing 1/2 of the water ....

[CamiS]

We're in the process of replacing 1/2 of our pool water, due to (too) high CYA. We're only replacing 4k gallons a day (1ft, roughly) so it will take several days. The pool had perfectly clear water ph 6.8 / alk 30 / FC 0.78 / TC 0.78 / Ca 100/ phosphates sky high before we started draining. Long story short, our pool was opened and maintained for a month by a company we hired ; they only tested chlorine & ph and those were fine but we had metal staining all over the pool and they didn't manage to fix it so I started reading .... while my Taylor kit is still in the mail (it's arriving in 2 days) I applied last week a citric acid treatment for metal stains (which fixed the problem, all stains are gone now) and I needed to adjust the ph & alk afterwards so I took water to test , first at Leslie store #1, then at Leslie store #2, then at 2 other local pool shops - all 4 gave me pretty consistent results with CYA 130-135 and wanted to sell me nothing , they all said we need to fix CYA first.
So in a couple of days I should have a pool with 1/2 water replenished. We didn't have an algae issue before draining (the maintenance company added quite a lot of something called Algae Shield twice in the last month, probably that helped), I hope we won't have an algae outbreak in these 2 days we need to keep chlorine low while we replace water in the pool. What do I do next , once I reach a CYA of 50, let's say? Do I need to slam the pool - or do I just balance the chemicals? I don't know what to expect and what to do next ... (and I want to not waste time - we're in Massachusetts and our pool season is very short ...).

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hello Cami... welcome

Are you on a well... is that the reason for only draining a bit at a time? In the end you'll be using far more water that way then if you were to just drain down by half once. You can safely drain up to leaving ~18" of water in the shallow end to protect your liner from shifting.

Sadly, that Algae Shield product is all Copper You said you had metal stains, well darn it, I hope this doesn't add more? Copper does help prevent algae but gives you no sanitation.... so no swimming yet, ok? Wait till there is some chlorine in the pool.

Once you get the water all drained and refilled, go ahead and run a full panel of tests from your new test kit. Here are some guideline references:
Recommended Levels
FC/CYA Levels
PoolMath
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

If you want... do the tests and report them back to us such as:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

How do you plan on sanitizing? I don't see mention of that in your signature line?
Don't bother about phosphates-(aka algae food) if there is enough chlorine in a pool, there is no algae. If no algae, who cares if phosphates are there?
Don't buy ANYthing from the pool store if you can help it. Liquid Chlorine, CYA, Muriatic Acid are basically all you need at this point. Vinyl lined pools without heaters don't need any calcium. Pool stores never tell a wallet holder that! You can buy all needed at Lowes, Home Depot, Wallyworld, etc.

Holler back if you need help with all I wrote.... plenty of help here! Lets get y'all IN TO that pool!!!


Maddie

 

[CamiS]

Hello Cami... welcome

Are you on a well... is that the reason for only draining a bit at a time? In the end you'll be using far more water that way then if you were to just drain down by half once. You can safely drain up to leaving ~18" of water in the shallow end to protect your liner from shifting.

No, we're on public water. But we have no sewerage and a high water table (wetlands area..) - and as first time pool owners & first time septic tank owners , we lean on the cautious side... (we bought the house late last year and moving in this upcoming week-end - lots of remodeling ...). We barely know what we are doing, fired our maintenance company last week and we learn to fly the plane in flight , so to speak. Moreover, we don't live there yet - we live 45 min away - and draining 1 ft takes about 2.5 hrs (and refilling takes all night), and that's as much time as we can stay there every evening . So all in all I know it's actually more time consuming and it's wasting some more water and money than necessary but if I want it done this week that's the only way that works (we have jobs and kids and packing ... I can't spend more than 2-3hrs daily fixing the pool ...)

Sadly, that Algae Shield product is all Copper You said you had metal stains, well darn it, I hope this doesn't add more? Copper does help prevent algae but gives you no sanitation.... so no swimming yet, ok? Wait till there is some chlorine in the pool.

I read, after the fact ... (for 1.5 mo I let the maintenance company run the show , as I knew nothing about pools and I thought they did... when troubling answers started to pop up, and issues started to pile up, I started reading and questioning what they were doing...). The staining was most probably iron and/or organic (we have terrible water in Boston area because the pipes are old I think ... it literally pours brown on the faucet sometimes; for the house we have installed all possible filtering plus reverse osmosis for the kitchen...). Yesterday our tests were 0 for Iron and 0.2 for Copper. I'm not concerned of metals right now , while it was my main issue last week (when all pool was covered in a brownish layer that no brushing could budge) now all stains lifted , water is clear, I need to fix the chemicals. I started with the CYA (from all that I've read that was the logical start ... ) and thinking of adjusting the calcium (we do have a heater), alkalinity & ph and slam-ing it afterwards (for my peace of mind I'd like to slam it; the maintenance company dumped a lot of chlorine but with the CYA I have, it's debateable how well that sanitized...). But I will be back with tests results once I finish replenishing and I test with my test kit that should arrive right on time. Meanwhile, does my plan make any sense ? Am I correct to adjust Calcium first and alkalinity & ph afterwards - or viceversa?

Once you get the water all drained and refilled, go ahead and run a full panel of tests from your new test kit. Here are some guideline references:
Recommended Levels
FC/CYA Levels
PoolMath
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

If you want... do the tests and report them back to us such as:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

How do you plan on sanitizing? I don't see mention of that in your signature line?

Previous owner used trichlor sticks (in the in line chlorinator). He used the same company we just fired and both of them told us "just fill the chlorinator with sticks every week and you don't need to do anything else". I assume that's what they've been doing for the last 5 yrs (while the previous owner owned the house). They left me a big folder full of weekly notices and only chlorine and ph have ever been measured ... No wonder the CYA was sky high (we'll see if the 130 was accurate ; the guy at one of the Leslie shops yesterday mentioned that it might be higher but from a certain level up the results might actually show lower than the actual levels ...). I plan to use liquid chlorine and use the in line chlorinator sticks only when we're traveling ... (I stand to be corrected - my understanding is that chlorinating with trichlor sticks will innevitably generate a CYA issue down the road..?)

Don't bother about phosphates-(aka algae food) if there is enough chlorine in a pool, there is no algae. If no algae, who cares if phosphates are there?
Don't buy ANYthing from the pool store if you can help it. Liquid Chlorine, CYA, Muriatic Acid are basically all you need at this point. Vinyl lined pools without heaters don't need any calcium. Pool stores never tell a wallet holder that! You can buy all needed at Lowes, Home Depot, Wallyworld, etc.

Holler back if you need help with all I wrote.... plenty of help here!

Thank you !

Lets get y'all IN TO that pool!!!




Maddie