Rain getting heavy, pool filling up

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rcg

rcg

0
Feb 14, 2018
28
Citrus Heights, CA
Hey all,

We are getting a ton of rain in my area, and the pool is filling up fast. Two questions:

When should I pump out a couple inches (how long to wait, water level-wise)?

Also, I have the hose attachment at my pump - just hook up a hose and run the pump with the valve open to lower the water level?

Thank you!
 
rcg,

You want to try and keep the water level below the bottom of your coping...

With the hose attached to the faucet above your pump, you just run the pump, with the faucet on, to drain water from your pool.

You just need to keep an eye on the water level and not let it get below the bottom of your skimmers...

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Thanks for the advice! Now, I'm noticing some green popping up. Ive read its pretty common with storms, but my pool was balanced yesterday and only been full around 6 weeks.

Guess ill wait and see how it looks tomorrow after filtering all night?

Thanks again!
 
Hi Jim,

Yesterday, my readings were

FC 6.5
CC 0
PH 7.8 ( working on lowering this with MA)
CH 475
TA 70
CYA 45

It was crystal clear! Hoping its nothing to worry about. Going to test tonight and see where it is now. I may be overreacting haha.
 
rcg,

Looks good to me.. :goodjob:

Maybe something got washed into the pool..

I was thinking of turning green due to algae...

As you say, let's see what happens in the next day or so..

Thanks for the feedback,

Jim R.
 
Well, it's definitely a little bit green. :(

Also, I checked the pH and FC this morning - pH was through the roof (8.2+) and my FC was down to 3. I also had the slightest tinge of pink in my CC test.

With FC loss overnight, and build-up of slight CC, does that point towards active algae? If so, is it time to SLAM?

Totally clueless how it went south this quickly, but hopefully I can regain control! Thanks, as always, for the guidance.

(Sorry for the pic - doesn't show the color well)

91hu82.jpg
 
Is any runoff from that dirt bank above your pool, or anywhere else for that matter, getting into the pool water? Areas surrounding a pool should always be graded to drain away from a pool...
 
I've been doing some experimenting with my pool chemistry, by diverting rain water into it. I tested both rain water and the diverted water (coming off my roof). They were substantially different, with the "gutter water" containing significantly more CH, TA and even a bit of chlorine. Rain by itself shouldn't chew through chlorine, other than by the amount it would slightly dilute your pool water. I was just hypothesizing that perhaps the rain runoff is dragging something organic into your pool, that the chlorine then has to work on...

When I was watching the rain fill my pool yesterday, I thought to throw in a couple cups of chlorine. I figured, if the rain did nothing to my FC, then a couple cups won't send my water out of range. But if the rain was going to mess with FC in any way, a couple cups would be a boost to keep things from going too far south. I haven't read here that anybody does that, so I can't say it's the thing to do, but I figured it wouldn't hurt.

I'm about to go out and test my water after the rain, so I'll soon see...
 

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rcg said:
Interesting stuff, Dirk! You may be right about stuff washing into my pool. Found this old thread that has many similarities to my situation:

Pool turned green after heavy rain
Click to expand...

Yep, maybe something like that. Was it a stormy rain? Did it blow a lot of leaves and debris into the water? Do you have a lot of crud in your skimmer basket? Or pump basket? You're looking for the source of whatever material entered your pool water that required the chlorine to go to work...

Even if you don't find a culprit, since you now know this can be an issue, maybe you could go proactive and goose your FC right before an expected rain. Nothing crazy, just push it to the upper limit of the normal range. See if that solves for next time...
 
I kept it mostly debris-free, but the storm was rough, and I'm pretty sure something unwanted washed in, like you guys said. I added additional barriers today and bought a sump pump to move the puddles if they get too close to over-flowing onto the deck. Hopefully that will take care of that - we don't have too much more rain this year, more than likely. Thanks for talking this through with me.

Needless to say, this is pretty much me right now:

Slam-574x270.png
 
How confident are you with your water volume, and CYA? Target FC for non-SWG pool with CYA 50 is 6-8. Maybe your pool is telling you it wants to be on the high side of that range...

Best of luck to you!
 
The CYA Ive done 3 times, with the same result, so I'm confident there. As far as volume, its in line with my estimates using pool calculators, but I'm not totally sure if its 100% accurate.

Quick question - during my SLAM, I'm supposed to pump 24/7. Any minimum setting for speed during this time? I have a variable speed pump.

Thanks again!
 
I need to turn that over to a TFP slam expert. Anyone?

If you've used the same CYA testing materials each time, you're assuming there's nothing wrong with them, and that is not necessarily the case.* And I'm going out a bit on a limb here, so this is just my opinion about it: I think some aspects of pool chemistry can be considered exact science, but I don't think CYA level is one of those. The test itself has some margin of error, if for no other reason than reading the results is subjective by nature. And the range of acceptable CYA level is pretty large, and, if I'm not mistaken, the levels themselves were established as much by trial and error than anything else. I believe the recommended levels are a guide, and paying attention to what your pool is telling you is also something to consider when adjusting CYA.

For example, I know my water volume to the gallon. I added the exact amount of CYA to bring my pool to 30. It's never tested 30. Was that the CYA quality? The way I added it? The testing method? Or the test materials themselves? I still don't know.

A TFP expert can correct me if I'm mistaken about any or all of that...

* Pretty sure there was a very recent announcement of a bad batch of CYA test kits being released to the public. Let me check on that.
 
Shoot, I can't find it now. I just read it within the last month. Maybe someone else here will recall. More to the point: no test is infallible. And the reagents do expire. Sometimes they're sold after expiration! (Have you checked?) So you can't count on test kits 100% without question...

There are other ways to verify pool volume. For example, if your pool chemistry is stable, and you add X amount of chlorine, and Pool Math tells you that should alter your FC by Y amount, given Z pool volume, but you don't get that result, then you can suspect your pool volume (and as I stated, you can also suspect the test itself). You'd have to do this under controlled conditions, with an accurate test procedure, and you'd still only get an approximation. But you'd start to see a trend: my pH level never comes out as it should... my FC level is consistently different than it should be, etc. Then you could start to suspect your pool volume number. See what I mean?

I filled my pool through a water meter (and, to be concise, even that could be wrong!!). So I have a head start over most pool owners. You just have to do the best you can do. Follow TPF methods and guidelines, but not blindly. Listen to your pool too!
 
The CYA problem was with the Clear Choice Labs 50 ppm standard solution. This is the company being made and sold in Australia. They say they have it all fixed now.

A heavy rain like that can wack things out for sure. The change in the PH is no surprise to me as it happens here in FL quite often.

LOVE the SLAM pic! Well done! Here is hoping it goes fast!

Pump run during the SLAM-just have it moving the water at a speed that will pull the water into the filter. No need to run it on high.

Good luck!

Kim:kim:
 

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