Partial Drain Advice

pool_novice

Member
Jun 3, 2024
18
North Texas
I’ve owned this pool for the last 8 months and continued with the same pool service the prior owner used for the last 7 years. They use tablets in it and we started having algae at the end of last season. They tested the CYA this week and of course it was off the charts - he estimated probably near 200.

So I need to drain at least half of this pool and refill it. I don’t live in a low-lying area and there hasn’t been much rain lately, so there should not be a lot of groundwater to worry about out popping the pool up. I know to close off the skimmers and run the pump to the backwash port.

Is there anything else I should be aware of or watch out for?

I think I’m just nervous because this pool is roughly 27 years old with the original plaster, so I’m worried what could happen with the water removed from it.

(I’m in North Texas - there’s no snow here now, the pic is just for reference).
 

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Personal risk tolerance.

I wouldn't put a very expensive pool at risk, for a bit of convenience. Fram Commercial...m
pay me now or pay me later. I choose now.
 
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What you NEED to do is get your own test kit and measure the CYA yourself. “Probably near 200” is not really an accurate measure. If it is that high, then draining half the pool isn’t adequate. You’d need to drain more like 75-80% of the pool. At that point you might as well drain the entire thing and start over.

And stop using tabs.
 
What you NEED to do is get your own test kit and measure the CYA yourself. “Probably near 200” is not really an accurate measure. If it is that high, then draining half the pool isn’t adequate. You’d need to drain more like 75-80% of the pool. At that point you might as well drain the entire thing and start over.

And stop using tabs.
He said the CYA was “off the charts”. I think he used a ton of reagent drops and still didn’t get a valid reading, hence his estimate of over 200. It probably does need to be drained totally. However I am nervous about something happening to the pool with the water all removed.

I need/want to totally remodel it, but that’s a project for another year.
 
You can do essentially a full exchange with the no drain method
Thanks, I am reading up on it. Some potential issues are that my pool water and fill water are about the same temperature, 64 vs 62 degrees. I also don't have a deep end, it's about 3ft deep on both ends and 5ft deep in the middle. I don't think I have a way to measure TDS.

Looks like JoyfulNoise had about 90% efficiency with better conditions, so I do wonder how effective this method would be for my situation.