Not sure where to start to fix my pool!

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Beth52400

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Aug 11, 2015
21
Phoenix, Arizona
Hi all-

I have been using TFP method for about 2 years now and have had the most beautiful pool ever... Until this summer! We traveled a total of 5 of the last 8 weeks and I have not had as much time to maintain my pool as I would like. We are back home now and went out to look things over this morning. First thing- I noticed a baseball size brownish spot on the floor in the deep end. :( Is it algae?!?! I tried sweeping it and nothing happened to the spot. The water is clear but has a different smell to it (maybe from the pucks?). I typically have a hard time maintaining my TA & pH due to lots of use and a waterfall/slide. I usually am happy if I can get it to 7.6-7.8. My CYA at the beginning of summer was 40. We had a neighbor coming over every 2-3 days and adding pucks to the skimmer basket/ cleaning the skimmer basket out and that's all I had them doing. I went ahead and ran a full test & here are my results at 7:00am:

FC= 2
CC=0
pH= >8.4
TA= 240
CH= 600
CYA= 65

I'm not sure where to start. Should I drain some water first to get my CH and CYA down a bit? The pool is big and will take LOTS of chlorine if I need to SLAM with a CYA that high! Should I scrub at the spot with one of the pucks? Clearly the pucks were not getting my FC levels high enough. What should I do (besides never use pucks for 2 months straight!!)?
 
Beth:

Regarding your stain, you can work on this later. Could be due to the elevated PH levels. I am not a pro on stains, but a couple of items.

1) How did your TA get so high? What about CH? Is it your fill water? Did you add any other chemicals?

2) Have you check the CSI to determine if you are within range?

3) Increase your TC immediately as you are low based on your CYA. You could bring up to SLAM level and run the filter for 24 hours and perform an OCLT to rule out any potential problems.

The first thing to do right now is lower the PH with muriatic acid. If your water is clear, and you have no CC, you should be fine. But as mentioned previously, you could perform a quick SLAM. Also, your PH should have dropped because tablets are acidic, but the waterfall features and high TA could have caused an increase in PH.
 
A pH that high with puck use is odd. Pucks are very acidic.

You can go either way on this one. You do not really want to drain much at this time of year because you do not want the plaster to be dry with direct sun. And to do much to your CH or CYA you need to drain at least a third. Try a puck on the spot to see if it attacks it. If so, it is organic and a SLAM is in order. Might be quick if that is all the visible algae you see.

Best may be to drop your pH now. Then see if you can manage it until winter when a drain is easier to do.

If you are gone for extended periods, you need to look at a SWCG. We have one, and leave for weeks to a couple months at a time. We have a pool service that weekly cleans the pool and adds acid. Never have issues. Just a thought.

Good luck.
 
We originally has a SWCG when we first got the pool. It lasted about 3 years and the hard Phoenix water killed it. Of course I had not idea what I was doing back then and it would probably go better now if we reinstalled one!

I have no idea why the TA is so high! Have only added Bleach & Muriatic acid for 2 years. Until the pucks this last 2 months. Last time I tested TA (early June) it was 120 (still high but this seems to be an ongoing issue for me). The Pool Math Calcluator says 1.55 "scaling" for CSI. I will scrub at the spot with a puck and see what happens.
 
Maybe there is testing error with your TA. Bleach and acid will not increase TA. Rain water will actually lower PH. How about testing your fill water to determine PH, TA, and CH. Maybe your fill water is the culprit here. With Arizona heat, I assume you are adding water constantly as mother nature can not keep up with the demand.
 
Your CSI with the test data you showed is absolutely in scaling tendency. You must be getting some on your water line at least. Drop the pH.

The high TA is no doubt from high TA fill water and not enough acid being added to keep the pH under control and thus keep the TA under control.

Your fill water is probably like mine. TA is 130, CH is 260, and pH is 8.1

SWCG works great - but you must manage CSI. See PoolMath. And read this - Pool School - Calcium Scaling
 
OK- just added a gallon of bleach, swept the whole pool. Didn't notice any other spots or discolorations. Scrubbed at the original spot with a puck and a wire brush- nothing happened. It is a dark reddish-brown spot. Could it be from the high CH level? Or some other mineral staining?

I think tonight I am going to drain 1/3 of my water & refill. Hopefully that will bring down my CYA & CH. When I drained the pool 2 years ago, I did it at night- sat up with it all night, and started the refill the next early morning. It is pebbletech- I think it will be ok, esp. if I am only going down about 2-3 feet. After that, I am going work on getting my TA & pH under control again.
Does this sopund like an ok plan?

Thanks for all the advice!
 
Beth52400 said:
Just tested my fill water. mknauss it is almost exactly like yours! pH 8.0, TA 130, CH 260.
Click to expand...
Mine is Colorado River water. Live about a 1/4 mile from it.

Your plan sounds OK. To see if the stain is metal, you use vitamin c tablets crushed in a old nylon or thin sock. Place on the stain for 5-10 minutes and see if it fades it. Could a piece of steel set at the spot for awhile?

I would still add acid right now to lower your pH.
 
mknauss said:
Mine is Colorado River water. Live about a 1/4 mile from it.


I believe mine is Colorado River water also- from the CAP canal which is fed from the Colorado river.

I don't think anything has sat on the bottom of the pool. Will add acid and go get some Vitamin C tablets... should I use a rock in the nylon to hold it in place? Its down in the deep end so can't hold it there myself.
Click to expand...
 

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OK- I drained 1/3 water from the pool and it is just finished refilling. Ran a full set of tests and here is where I am at:

FC= 2
TC=2
CC=0
pH= 8.4 (didn't add acid yesterday)
TA= 220
CH= 380 (was hoping this would be lower)
CYA= 45

Plan is to go ahead and start working on the pH & TA using pool math. I also went out this morning and bought the Vitamin C for the brown spot- will give that a try now. Any other suggestions?
 
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