Test results and where to go from here

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LizkVA

Member
May 25, 2020
20
virginia beach
Hi, new to TFP and pool ownership. We have a pool guy but the more I learned about pool maintenance the more I feel that he is not doing even the basics of his job (testing and adjusting.) This week the pool started to look cloudy and a little green. So I bought a K-2006 and tested the water yesterday. Made sure I was away from a return jet, elbow deep, vertical drops, etc.
Here are the results

pH- yellow (the manual said this happens when it is 6.8 or lower!!!)
TA- 20
FC- 3.2
CYA- 120
Calcium Hardness- 200
As for the CC, it turned pink so I know there's some CC in there but I don't know how to get the ppm.

Obviously, things are all out of whack. The thing is, I don't know where to start. Should I try to get the CYA down with a (very small) drain then retest everything? Should I focus on something else first? Any help would be appreciated!
 
Welcome! :wave:

As soon as I saw that pH was crashed and then that TA was low, I knew he'd been chlorinating with pucks and sure enough, CYA is high.

Did you do the CYA test using dilution method, or by estimating it from below the 100 mark? Because if you estimated, you're likely much higher. Don't waste chemicals treating water you're just going to dump.

You need to replace a whole bunch of water to reduce CYA to something useful. Then you can let it mix and retest it and proceed from there. It's simple math. Tap water has no CYA in it. So if you want to reduce it 50%, replace 50% of the water.

The dilution method is explained in Step 8 You need to know what it is before you start or you'll not drain the right amount. You are not the first person who has had to do this. So don't feel bad about it. Get it dialed in and you won't need to do this again.
 
Welcome to the forum!
First, and as soon as possible, you need to add baking soda to raise your TA by 50 ppm. I come up with 20 pounds of baking soda. Add half of that, mix for 30 minutes, test, and if TA is still below 50, add the other half.
Once the TA tests above 50 ppm, test pH and add borax to raise it to the 7's.
You will need a 50-75% drain depending on how you chlorinate. Let us know.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.
 
If you can drain today and refill, then follow what Richard posted. But if you have to delay, follow what I posted.
 
Hi, thanks for the welcome and the replies. I did the dilution method to test the CYA. I first got 100 then went to 50% dilution and tested it 3 times to make sure I wasn't wrong because in my head I was sure it was going to be like 250+ and I was going to have full drain the pool so I was happy to see it wasn't quite that high.

And yes, we use a chlorinator with pucks. I suggested to the pool guy switching to liquid bleach but he looked at me like I was crazy.

As for the drain I def can't do it today I'll probably have to do it in smaller amounts, like 12" a day.
 
Connect your pool vacuum head to the pool without the pole and drop it into the deep end of the pool. Set the filter multiport valve to waste and turn on the pump. You will need to drain at least 1/2 the volume of your pool to get the CYA down to a manageable level. Don't use the skimmer plate, just take the basket out of the skimmer and put the end of the vacuum hose directly into the skimmer pipe.

If you start sucking air once the water goes below the skimmer rent or buy a submersible pump to finish the job.
 
LizkVA said:
Hi, thanks for the welcome and the replies. I did the dilution method to test the CYA. I first got 100 then went to 50% dilution and tested it 3 times to make sure I wasn't wrong because in my head I was sure it was going to be like 250+ and I was going to have full drain the pool so I was happy to see it wasn't quite that high.

And yes, we use a chlorinator with pucks. I suggested to the pool guy switching to liquid bleach but he looked at me like I was crazy.

So I should start with a partial drain then retest? Do you think a 12" drain to start would be good? We don't have a drain so it would be through the filter.
Click to expand...
You can do it in steps, but there's less wasted water if you do it in one shot. If you're at 120, you need to replace at least half. More would be better. If you can move valves around and draw only from the main drain, you can use your pool pump on waste. If not, you'll need to rent or buy a pump because as soon as you hit the skimmer level you're done You also need to figure out where to get rid of that much water. That would overwhelm a septic tank, or flood the neighbor down the hill.
 

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A vinyl pool should only be drained to the point that you have 12" or more water in the shallow end. Be aware of that.
 
Thanks. I drained to where I thought was about half being careful of the 12" and started to refill. It's been very overcast and dreary here so I believe that's good (vs sunny on the liner). Once it's full I'll get it going again, give it a day and test it!
 
So after following the advice I got here a few days ago because my CYA was at 120, I did a partial drain. Guestimmated the half way mark and refilled. I let it cycle for 24 hours and I've retested it. Here are the results:

FC .6 ppm (3 drops)
pH 6.8 (yellow), Base demand test required 13 drops to get it to 7.4
TA .10 (1 drop)
CH 150 (15 drops)
CYA 70 (sad I didn't get it lower in the drain)
I discovered that the previous owner left a huge tub of Leslies power powder plus and was wondering if I could use that to raise the chlorine. Also is there an order I should work on adding the chemicals in? Like add X then let it cycle retest, then add y let it cycle retest, etc.

Thank you in advance!
 
You can work with that.
Add baking soda to raise your TA to 70 ppm. Once that is added and well circulated, test your pH and TA again. If your pH is still below 7, then use a touch of borax to get it to 7 or 7.2.

Then, follow the SLAM Process. Your SLAM FC is 28 ppm. I would suggest you use liquid chlorine to start and then use the cal hypo for smaller FC additions.
 
while testing the pH (7.0) and TA- something weird happened. I was adding the r0009 and at the 8th drop it turned all pink for a second then immediately went clear. I did the test again because I assumed I did something wrong and it happened again, at the 8th drop. Normal? Proceed as TA at 80ppm? I'm moving on to add the liquid chlorine now. Thanks for all the awesome help I've been given
 

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