Hi all,
My parents have owned a house for nearly a decade now with an outdoor pool, but it has had problems since the beginning - namely black algae, stubbornly high pH, and calcium hardness resulting from very hard water locally. I'm at the stage where I think we need to drain the pool at least partially in order to resolve all the problems with it so it's less of a headache for them, since they seldom use it to begin with, but I don't really know where to start with all of the problems it has. So I'd greatly appreciate any advice on the proper steps and order of steps to resolve all these issues so the pool chemistry is more stable than it has been for the last decade.
I just took a sample of water to Leslie's to have it tested and the results were as follows:
FC 0.36
TC 0.48
pH 8.6
TA 150
CH 450
CYA 18
Iron 0
Copper 0.6
Phosphates 310
Salt 4400 (but the instant/average readings from the cell show 2400-2600; I cleaned/descaled the cell two weeks ago -- is there a problem with the cell and/or board?) -- the cell was purchased in May 2017. Could it be at the end of its lifespan?
There is also black algae that grows on the grout between the tiles at the waterline as well as on the rocks/waterfall to the spa above. We have scraped it before with a metal brush and took a chlorine tablet and rubbed it into the black algae spots vigorously, but it still comes back. There are also new mustard algae (?) stains on the bottom of the pool as of a week or two ago, which is something we haven't dealt with for the past decade whatsoever.
I've attached a few photos to show the black algae and new stains at the bottom of the pool.
Thank you so much in advance for helping our family get our pool back to a relatively stable and safe place to bathe.
My parents have owned a house for nearly a decade now with an outdoor pool, but it has had problems since the beginning - namely black algae, stubbornly high pH, and calcium hardness resulting from very hard water locally. I'm at the stage where I think we need to drain the pool at least partially in order to resolve all the problems with it so it's less of a headache for them, since they seldom use it to begin with, but I don't really know where to start with all of the problems it has. So I'd greatly appreciate any advice on the proper steps and order of steps to resolve all these issues so the pool chemistry is more stable than it has been for the last decade.
I just took a sample of water to Leslie's to have it tested and the results were as follows:
FC 0.36
TC 0.48
pH 8.6
TA 150
CH 450
CYA 18
Iron 0
Copper 0.6
Phosphates 310
Salt 4400 (but the instant/average readings from the cell show 2400-2600; I cleaned/descaled the cell two weeks ago -- is there a problem with the cell and/or board?) -- the cell was purchased in May 2017. Could it be at the end of its lifespan?
There is also black algae that grows on the grout between the tiles at the waterline as well as on the rocks/waterfall to the spa above. We have scraped it before with a metal brush and took a chlorine tablet and rubbed it into the black algae spots vigorously, but it still comes back. There are also new mustard algae (?) stains on the bottom of the pool as of a week or two ago, which is something we haven't dealt with for the past decade whatsoever.
I've attached a few photos to show the black algae and new stains at the bottom of the pool.
Thank you so much in advance for helping our family get our pool back to a relatively stable and safe place to bathe.
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I'm sure we can help, but it will require changes from some old/bad habits. For example - the pool store. Stay away. Their testing is inconsistent and their products generally a waste of time and money. Test your own water with a TF-100 (link in my signature) or Taylor K-2006C test kit. That's a must.
