Total Alkalinity very high

[splashpad]

So recently bought a home in Scottsdale with a pool, never had a pool before

Congrats and welcome!
Can you add your pool details to your signature?

So I reran the tests today for pool and fill water:
CYA - did not hit bottom line, well over 100
CYA extended - did not hit bottom line, well over 100

For the CYA, (just for curiosity) Keep diluting the sample until you can get a reading. (keep track of how many times you dilute it) Try to dilute it by half for easier calculations
For example, take 1/8 cup pool water and dilute with 1 cup tap water (tap water does not have CYA), see if that gets you a reading

 

[ajw22]

Pool
FC - 9
CC - 1
PH - 7.3
TA - 260
CH - went clear at 50 drops and after 90 drops was still not blue?
Temp - 65
CYA - did not hit bottom line, well over 100
CYA extended - did not hit bottom line, well over 100

Joe,

A CC of 1 indicates you have something brewing in there. A FC of 9 with CYA of over 200 is not sufficient to keep the water sanitary. You typically need a FC level of 10% - 13% of CYA level. If you are going to continue to use that water for a while I suggest you get your FC up around 20.

If you did the 50% dilution and still got CYA 100, then you can do a 75% dilution and multiply your result by 4.

You need a 75% or more drain and refill of your pool to get your CYA down below 50.

 

[duraleigh]

When responders are talking about a complete drain and refill, they are not talking about a total drain.......don't do that (for a number of reasons). They are talking about two, maybe three partial drains and refills.

I suggest you drain half your water (usually pretty cheap in AZ) and refill and do your tests and report. It sounds like groundwater is not an issue in your area so you could easily drain 3/4 and refill if you like......that's your choice. Plan on doing that twice.

Then, your test results should come down into more manageable ranges after the second drain and refill.

Meanwhile be SURE to read the ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and post your test results. The CC of 1 is noticeable but leave it for now.....the test after you drain/refill will mean a lot more than this one you just posted.

Pretty irrelevant, but you should have some chlorine in your fill water (unless you are filling from a well).

 

[Ezz]

Sounds good - I’ve just located my sewer runoff (was buried) so I’ll find a pump and do a couple half refills. Need to do these ASAP before it gets to warm as I hear above 80 degrees could damage the pebbletec. Thanks all - I’ll report new results once the refills are complete.

 

[Ezz]

It warmed up here quite a bit so it’s going to be a few days before I can drain. Per city regulations I have to drain my pool to my sewer runoff line, which happens to be 100 feet away from my pool. Apparently it can handle about 12 gallons/minute max. Any recommendations on pump/hose setups that will efficiently move 12gal/min that distance? I have a small 1/4hp pump here but seems it will be barely trickling if I try to run it though a 100 foot garden hose

 

[cfherrman]

Did you try a 3/4 garden hose?

You can get a stronger pump, put a y on the output, and measure the output after 100' hose with a 5 gallon bucket and if it's too fast open the y back I to the pool and test again, adjusting the y till you get the correct speed

 

[Ezz]

I tried a 3/4 100” garden hose on this pump and it’s at about 7gpm. Not great but good enough for me - should do a half drain in 14-15hrs. Im hoping it cools down later this week so I can begin the first drain.

 

[cfherrman]

Might be able to put a y on and use both hoses to get closer to the limit

 

[JamesW]

It's not very efficient, but you can fill and drain at the same time so that the water level stays where it should be.

 

[Ezz]

Ok completed the second refill today - did around 50-60% drain on each. New results below:

FC - 3.5
CC - 0
PH - 7.5
TA - 160
CH - 700
Temp - 68
CYA - a little over 100
CYA extended - 120

 

[ajw22]

CYA 120 is still too high. You need to do another cycle or two.

If you put in a SWG then you can target CYA 80. If you are going to use liquid chlorine you need to get CYA down around 50.

 

[Ezz]

CYA 120 is still too high. You need to do another cycle or two.

If you put in a SWG then you can target CYA 80. If you are going to use liquid chlorine you need to get CYA down around 50.

Ugh I was thinking that might be the case. Ok I’ll drain again tonight. Not going SWG so targeting 50

Thanks

 

[Ezz]

Completed the third 50% drain/refill this morning.

New results:
FC- 3
CC- 0
PH- 7.8
CH- 625
TA- 130
CYA- 80
Ext CYA- 80

Numbers are getting better but seems like I might need one more half drain. In the meantime should I be concerned about the low chlorine? Should I shock or anything?
Thanks,
Joe

 

[ajw22]

You don’t need to shock. You can dump done liquid chlorine in but you are just going to drain it out.

 

[cfherrman]

If you do a drain right away don't worry, add a little bleach when you fill. If it's a few days add some now

 

[Ezz]

4th 50% refill complete. New test results below:

New results:
FC- 2.5
CC- 0
PH- 7.8
CH- 550
TA- 140
CYA- 50

I feel pretty good about these numbers. Anybody see anything I should be concerned about?

Any advice on keeping things in order going forward? My plan is to run the tests weekly and check the numbers. Monitor and add chlorine as needed. Backwash the filter weekly. Watch CYA and do a 50% drain/refill if it creeps up too much.

 

[duraleigh]

I see you are sort of "bumping the limits" of pH, TA and CH......all could come down somewhat. Before that, however, you state a 50% drain yet CH only went from 625 down to 550. Is there an error there or is your fill water incredibly high in CH

 

[Ezz]

I see you are sort of "bumping the limits" of pH, TA and CH......all could come down somewhat. Before that, however, you state a 50% drain yet CH only went from 625 down to 550. Is there an error there or is your fill water incredibly high in CH

Yes we have incredibly hard water here in Scottsdale, AZ - You basically get deposit build up on all faucets quickly if you don’t get a water softener system. I ran the CH test on our faucet water and it was ~400

 

[duraleigh]

Wow! That is high.

If that was my pool I would keep the pH between 7.2 and 7.5, TA down low maybe around 60 and then start saving money for a water softener!!

You CH will continue to accumulate with that fill water. Be vigilant with pH and TA and you can probably manage it successfully for a few years and then drain and refill.

 

[Ezz]

Sounds good - thanks for all the help and suggestions everyone!