Pool newbie just moved into FL house pre-hurricane

[PoolsideBBQdude]

Greetings new friends. Just moved to central FL from Seattle area. Closed on our house yesterday. Finally had time to use my Taylor test kit and see where things are. Wasn't sure if I should post results here to get advice or in another place. In any event, the kids are anxious to get in pool so i will give it a shot here. This pool was managed by pool service with previous owner, but I am not willing to pay someone else to do it...thus I am here. My main issue with the first chlorine test I ran is that the initial test for free chlorine registered as the darkest pink color, and when I added the last reagent to get the total chlorine, the color didn't change...they were both the dark pink color reading of 10. Here are the other readings I obtained.

PH 7.4
Ca Hardness 230
Total alkalinity 600
CYA 100
Temp is 84

This a smaller pool of approximately 10k gallons with a spa. We have a natural gas heater(nit currently running)The pump has a pressure reading of 15 and I'm pretty sure they have it cycling 12hr on 12 off.

Any advice as to what I should do first?

Thanks

 

[Mike1162]

Which Taylor kit are you using?

 

[ajw22]

How are you currently chlorinating your pool?

TA of 600 does not pass a reasonability test. Like Mike asked, what Taylor test kit do you have?

I suggest you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and watch ...

 

[PoolsideBBQdude]

Sorry that was a typo my TA is 60

 

[ajw22]

Sorry that was a typo my TA is 60

Much better.

What Taylor Test kit do you have?

 

[PoolsideBBQdude]

I have the K2006 kit. After spending more time reading through the educational material here on this site, it appears I am going to have to drain my pool to remove the high level of CYA, which is requiring the high level of chlorine to keep my pool algae free. While this is annoying, we need to get the pool resurfaced anyway...so I guess I will get on having a couple quotes for that now. Do you guys think it is safe to allow my kids to swim in the pool? We all got in yesterday to sit in the spa, as our bodies were aching from typical moving day activities. I told everyone to not put their faces in the water due to the high chlorine levels...and nobody seemed to have any ill effects afterwards. Just wondering if we should stay out going forward until I get this resolved, or if it's okay to use as long as nobody is bothered.

 

[gonfishin]

What is your FC level? Even with high CYA, you can safely swim as long as FC is above 8 and below 39.

Did you perform the diluted CYA test to see how far above 100 you may be?

 

[frogabog]

Are you sure of your testing methods for FC and CC? When you say it stayed pink, did you use the powder and R-0871 drop by drop till it turned clear? The FAS/DPD test can test well above 10ppm, I believe 50ppm is the limit. You can use the 10ml pool water sample instead of the 25ml, then each drop of R-0871 is .5ppm. Plenty precise for your needs.

Yes, a 50% drain and refill to reduce CYA will help a lot.

It is safe to swim at FC levels at or below SLAM level. See FC/CYA Levels.

Also, PoolMath is your friend.

Maybe this will help with your FC & CC test.

 

[PoolsideBBQdude]

Okay so it turns out I don't exactly have that Taylor Kit. It says Taylor on the box, but it was purchased at a Leslies Pool supply near me (so Taylor apparently makes custom kits for pool shops?) and it only has liquid reagents not powder. I re-did the test using their dilution method and I came up with a result of FC=10 and TC=15 I'd also have to say the pink colors still seemed very close to one another after adding the final DPD reagent which is supposed to tell me the TC level.

I took a water sample back to this pool store and the guy gave me a printout and all it said was the Free Available Chlorine was "High 10" and Total Available Chlorine "High 10" and he said he couldn't tell me how high it was above 10. See attached image.

 

[frogabog]

OK, so you probably just need to add the FAS/DPD portion to your test kit. We rely on this test to be able to help you, as "high, above 10ppm" isn't a number that tells us anything.

Get this:

SLAM Option

tftestkits.net

Scoop for R-0870 DPD Powder (0.05g)

tftestkits.net

You can use your Taylor block to do this test. You will fill the block to 10ml, then add 1 or 2 scoops (it just needs to turn pink), then drop R-0871 one by one to get a FC result. Multiply each drop by .5 (2 drops equal 1ppm).

Then you will need 5 drops R-0003.

R-0003 DPD #3 Reagent

tftestkits.net

If it turns pink (do this test immediately after you finish the FC test), drop R-0871 again till it turns clear. That is your CC result.

You may wish to expand your CYA testing capabilities as long as you're ordering reagents (shipping will be less).
You can still use your Taylor block, it should have a small vial side with a black dot at the bottom. Mix 50% pool water with 50% (1:1) CYA reagent and fill the tube till the dot disappears. I think your test kit has this, although it probably doesn't have much reagent.

R-0013 CYA Reagent (8oz)

tftestkits.net

All (with very few exceptions) the reagents from TFTestkits.net are actually Taylor reagents.