The cover is off, last year was my first year

[Debra Joan]

Oh poop .... my calculator reset to 10,000 gallon pool size.

I'm sooo glad you caught that and adding more lq now!!

Please let me know about pH and TA and if I should do anything about CYA yet.

Thank you!

 

[Mike1162]

Don't worry about ph & ta. What's the current level of CYA & when was the last addition of CYA.

 

[PieterS]

What you're describing sounds correct to me. Might just be that after 10 days of sitting stagnant with no chlorine added - you're consuming added chlorine that quickly (a 1 ppm drop in 15 min?)

Your testing sequence sounds correct - keep adding chlorine in measured amounts until you get to that SLAM level!

 

[Debra Joan]

I haven't added any more stabilizer. It's been about 3 days since I put in the initial amount.

So, I've just been "teasing" the algae with the small amounts of lq I've been adding since I missed the pool size on the calculator. I just swept again and I still see a bit of green dust coming off the walls and bottom. I'll keep adding the lq until I get it to stay at 12. I'll hold off on doing anything with TA or pH.

Can I ask, what caused the drop n CYA? The dramatic rain while away or something else, like all the dead leaves in the pool? BTW, the stains from the leaves are disappearing nicely.

Keep the great advice comin'

 

[bmoreswim]

CYA drops very slowly over time. Think 10 PPM or less per month. Water additions that replace splash out lower CYA proportionally. So very minor but they can add up. Dead leaves nor algae cause CYA to go down.

 

[Debra Joan]

SLAM stopped Sunday morning. The pool is crystal clear.

Tests this morning:
FC 5
CC
pH 7.5
TA 90
CH 150
CYA <20

No clue why CYA dropped. It's been a week since I added stabilizer and it's still not showing up. Last year I had to do several "drain and refills" to get CYA down. I'm hesitant to add stabilizer now and to have it show up too high. I haven't used tablets or powder since joining here but have a supply of both from before. I'm thinking of floating tablets and using powder instead of LQ for a few days to see if I can slowly add CYA as I chlorinate when needed. Please share your thoughts and possibly give directions on how many tablets or powder to use .... thanks for getting me back to a beautiful clear pool after my vacation.

 

[bmoreswim]

I’m glad you’re clear again! In your pool, every puck will raise the CYA about 2 PPM. Keep track of your pick usage along with what you added recently. Then once your CYA is a bit higher it will be easier to read.

Also feel free to post a pic of your CYA test vial with the liquid in it and process for some process confirmation. It’s not the easiest test but you should see cloudiness soon.

 

[Debra Joan]

I'll post test results and picture in a few days .... really enjoying the pool with these crazy Hotlanta days.

Thank you!

 

[Debra Joan]

Tested just now:
FC 3
pH 7.8
TA 80
CH 150
CYA 20 (finally)

Pool temperature hit 82 for 5 wonderful days .... down to 78 today. I've been using a large hairnet on the skimmer basket and am amazed at all the little things it "grabs". I've been running the pump much, much less than I use to and at lower speeds too. 8am - 10am @ 2900, then 4 hours @ 1400, then 2 hours @ 2200. The water is crystal clear showing a little "trash" in corners on the bottom. Now that the pool reached 20 CYA I'll stop using pucks and I'm going to run the pump for 2 hours this evening @ 2900 when I add 67 oz. of LC to get FC to 5.

Should I raise TA? (I've got plenty of baking soda from Costco!)

 

[bmoreswim]

No, definitely don’t raise TA. A lower TA keeps your pH more stable. That’s a good number.

So glad you are clean and clear. I too love using hairnets in the skimmers.

 

[Debra Joan]

Just tested:
FC 6
CC (There was no change in color when test performed so does that mean my CC is 6, the same as FC?)
pH 7.6
TA 70
CH 225
CYA 30

CYA test is so much easier to do when the pool actually has CYA !!
What would cause the hardness to increase?
Is it time to raise the TA?
Is there anything else I should adjust??

Shorter days, more leaves dropping and tropical storm Fred is on it's way. Only a matter of time until I get the pool cover out .... so sad.

 

[PoolStored]

Don't know why CH would change that much. Maybe your testing technique?

In either case just keep CH between 50-300 ppm for vinyl liner.

Your TA is fine. Keeping TA in that range will help stabilize pH (i.e. pH changes will be less/slower at lower TA). Higher TA will increase the risk of calcium scaling, which for you is a non-issue because you have a vinyl pool.

Your numbers above look good. Go Swim!

 

[PieterS]

CC (There was no change in color when test performed so does that mean my CC is 6, the same as FC?)

If there was no change when you added the 5 drops of R-0003 (the solution remained clear and did not go back to pink) that means your CC's are 0.

 

[Debra Joan]

The short story ...
I vacuumed the pool last night leaving the bottom spotless. I backwashed, rinsed and then shut off the pump.
We've been having power outages recently so I've been powering the pump manually.
Before starting the pump this morning the pool was still spotless.
I started the pump, set on filter. Two hours later the pool bottom was lightly covered with "dirt" and leaf particles.
After searching through TFP I'm thinking the spider gasket has gone bad, allowing debris to be "sent" back in to the pool. Possibly a bad or broken gasket is also preventing proper backwash??

Before I attempt replacing that gasket, is there anything else I should look at or other possible causes?

 

[wireform]

Or perhaps the filter inlet/outlet are pipe in reverse. Did you change the sand at some point and overfill it even though to you it looks good but there's a spec on how high the sand can be.

 

[Debra Joan]

Thank you for responding ...
In the beginning of the season I replaced the laterals and 300 pounds of sand (which is what my filter calls for).
I didn't swap the lines but I will certainly double check them.

 

[Debra Joan]

Lines are correct. Is this a sign the spider gasket needs to be replaced?

 

[wireform]

Debra,
I'd say at this point it would make sense to replace the spider gasket as there's nowhere else dirt should be coming back from/through.

 

[Debra Joan]

Before I change the gasket I tried lowering my pump from 2600 gph to 1500 gph. I swept the bottom and have been running the pump for 6 hours now and no debris. Does this help indicate anything else?

Thank you

 

[wireform]

It's a nice story but when you should have to go back to the 2600 you'll be back to square 1. 2600 gph is not that much so I still think it may be time.