Opening my pool and want to do it real nice this time

[dfwnoob]

I'll bite. What exactly do you hope to accomplish by letting people who have no idea what they're doing test your water? If you fill a prescription for someone, do you invite the guy who stocks shelves to come to the pharmacy and "verify" you did it right?

 

[monsterman]

Just want to compare and c if they r close. Nothing more nothing less

 

[Newdude]

Just want to compare and c if they r close

Take back big swig of pool water. Swish it around in your mouth real good and scream out a random #. I'll trust that more than whatever the Bioguard report says.

Your fellow members poolstores have been off thousands of times. There's no telling when they're right or when they're not, which calls every test into question.

It's a fools errand. If they're close, or far away, it means nothing

 

[Kaylee34]

My very first trip to Leslie’s they tested my water and told me I urgently needed $600 worth of chemicals. Then the same person tried to sell me a bunch more stuff that I already had in a shed. The big kicker to this was that I’d just showed photos of all that stuff to him! I left disgusted without spending a dime.

I went home, got another water sample and went to a different Leslie’s. Got water tested. Got a COMPLETELY different set of results. 2 stores, 5 miles apart. Same franchise, same equipment, same training, same testing method.

Left that store and started thinking. HARD. This place has saved me THOUSANDS of dollars and I can’t even guess how many hours of time.

Last summer, I went without a pump and filter for 6 weeks. From the beginning of June to mid July. Mid 90’s temps, lots of rain and 12 hours of full sun. My pool stayed crystal clear and perfectly balanced thanks to this place. 1000% of the credit lands here. Find a pool store that will tell you they can do THAT I’ll eat my hat.

 

[Newdude]

Find a pool store that will tell you they can do THAT I’ll eat my hat.

*find one who can back it up too. Cuz they'll claim it alright.

 

[monsterman]

U guys r funny. I really understand but it is my first real rodeo.just testing the waters so to speak. U have pummeled me down. But just to let u know. This is their results. Fc is 11 same as mine. Ph was 8 same as mine TA was 80 mine was 100 but theirs has an asterisk that says TA has been adjusted due to the effect of CYA on alkalinity. And the final result was CYA. Remember i said i believed mine was 70. Their result 67. So there u have it. I know MY results are close to another’s. And remember when i went to school the answer to a scientific problem was if the results van be duplicated or more then it has to b correct .just think of all my efforts. Last year CYA was 176. Now it is 70. Job well done and earned

 

[Kaylee34]

*find one who can back it up too. Cuz they'll claim it alright.

I only ask for small miracles. Haven’t seen one of those yet either.

 

[monsterman]

Life itself

 

[Newdude]

just think of all my efforts. Last year CYA was 176. Now it is 70

So. Um. Remember what happens to your FC targets at lower CYA levels ?




Use 80 because a 71+ rounds up, but you can lower the target to 11. It will give you 5 ppm to spare above minimum when you've only been losing 3 or 4 a day. Adjust as necessary, of course, but with your frequent testing you'll spot any changes coming and easily adapt on the fly.

You'll also be able to test the Ph before adding each day.

I don't forsee you needing noticeably less chlorine each day, but progress is still progress.

 

[monsterman]

Had a beautiful day in the pool. Slept on the float then did laps (102) pool looks and feels great. Thank u people

 

[monsterman]

Just added 46 ounces of bleach brushed the walls and floor all in 10 minutes.
I do have a question. When we go away i will add that large quantity of bleach the night before and put the solar cover on. I will also clean out the filter pump basket but it has stayed amazingly debris free because for the first time in years i have been using those skimmer basket nylon stretch bags and it has caught everything so my filter basket is really clean. So when i cover the pool with the solar cover should i ALSO keep that skimmer basket cloth cover on as well. The reason i ask is because i clean that off every day and rinse it so it does not get really dirty or clogged with debris or those japanese beetles…lol. And should you backwash before i go away or wait for when i get home. I dont want to do it that often. I will vacuum though before i leave. Whats your advice?

 

[Mdragger88]

Just added 46 ounces of bleach brushed the walls and floor all in 10 minutes.
I do have a question. When we go away i will add that large quantity of bleach the night before and put the solar cover on. I will also clean out the filter pump basket but it has stayed amazingly debris free because for the first time in years i have been using those skimmer basket nylon stretch bags and it has caught everything so my filter basket is really clean. So when i cover the pool with the solar cover should i ALSO keep that skimmer basket cloth cover on as well. The reason i ask is because i clean that off every day and rinse it so it does not get really dirty or clogged with debris or those japanese beetles…lol. And should you backwash before i go away or wait for when i get home. I dont want to do it that often. I will vacuum though before i leave. Whats your advice?

Remove the skimmer sock while you’re gone

 

[monsterman]

Can u tell me why. Is it because it will get too gunked up and not allow a decent flow of water thru the basket? How about the backwash?? Before i leave or upon returning

 

[Newdude]

Can u tell me why. Is it because it will get too gunked up and not allow a decent flow of water thru the basket?

Because it's more apt to get clogged, trapping much finer gunk than the skimmer basket.

How about the backwash?? Before i leave or upon returning

If you leave it for after, it will bother you while you're away. We both know it.

 

[monsterman]

Ha ha. Getting to know u getting to know all about u. But actually i will not. I am more worried about doing it too close together before i leave and then upon returning. So if u had a choice what would u do??

 

[Newdude]

So if u had a choice what would u do??

I would backwash before, but only backwash and not draining extra.

We are WAY ahead of schedule on lowering CYA and things are going great. That can wait until the next rotation.

 

[monsterman]

I hate to ask so many questions. But when i backwash i do lose dome water i backwash for about 45 seconds then rinse for another 30 seconds. Do whatever i lose i lose and if it goes below the second screw on the skimmer opening i add more to bring it up. I know it sounds like nothing but ??? And lastly i am not sure what u meant about next Rotation? When would that rotation be

 

[Newdude]

whatever i lose i lose and if it goes below the second screw on the skimmer opening i add more to bring it up.

Yes. Replace the 1/2 inch (?). Check the weather before you go. If it looks like it will be dry like it's mostly been lately, fill it a little extra to have some evaporation wiggle room.

And lastly i am not sure what u meant about next Rotation? When would that rotation be

The next time you backwash. You've been draining extra each time for the CYAs sake. You don't need to do that before the trip, just backwash to clean the filter so you know it's fine while you're away.

If you want to keep working on the CYA when you backwash next after returning, then that's fine. If not, it's working great as is.

 

[monsterman]

Thank you thank you thank you and many more thank you's

 

[Mdragger88]

Just so you know- you likely don’t have to backwash as frequently as you are currently.
Just when pressure rises 25% over clean pressure. That can take a month or a week depending upon what all has gotten in your pool & the size of your filter (it’s not in your signature). I usually only need to backwash a hand full of times during my 7 month pool season.