Pre-Filter on a Refill?

[Rottwieler]

OK, got the Taylor K2006C test kit and managed to do some testing.
It was late in the afternoon and the pool was registering Zero chlorine. No color change at all.
PH was high - 8.0 or a little darker - 10 drops to bring it down to around 7.4
Alkalinity came out at 210ppm.
I think I screwed up the Calcium hardness test. I'll try to redo it on Thursday.
Cyanuric acid was very high. The solution was so cloudy that it looked like skimmed milk. I didn't have any distilled water to cut the pool water with, but I would say it would take at least a 3:1 solution to get it to even register on the scale.
Does that mean I need to replace at least 2/3 of the pool water?
The Vitamin C test looks like it worked. The sock left a clean spot in the middle of the stain. I also dropped a couple of tablets in a shallow bucket of water and put the badly stained chlorine tab floater thing in it. It took all of that off.
I'm doing the bucket test of the tap water overnight tonight. I'll be away tomorrow so we'll see what it looks like tomorrow night or Thursday morning.
I did test Calcium hardness of the tap water and didn't get any color at all... I'm going to redo that test for the pool and the tap at the first opportunity.
So, assuming the bucket test is good, I'm assuming I need to at least partially drain the pool and refill it with fresh water.
Here's what I'm thinking I need to do:
1. Read up on Ascorbic Acid for removing rust stains and do that first. (clean filters, let chlorine stay low, adjust PH, add a bunch of Ascorbic Acid and run the pump)
2. Clean the filters again.
3. Drain most of the water out of the pool.
4. Add fresh water (and chlorine as it's filling?)
5. Add CYA slowly, running pump continuously and retesting after a couple of days.
6. Balance PH, Alkalinity, and Hardness and get Chlorine levels in range.
Is that all about right, or am I backwards on something? Have I left anything out?
I'll be asking for detailed guidance as I go through each step, especially when it comes to balancing the chemicals in the fresh water and trying to keep them that way.
Always open to information and suggestions.
Thanks,
Sam

[Watermom]

You won't need to do step #5. If you're doing a partial drain to lower CYA, don't add more!

You should try and get some distilled water and see if you can figure out what your CYA level is before you decide to start doing any draining.

[Rottwieler]

I had to go out of town on business for a week.
I can't seem to get a reading on Calcium Hardness...
When I do the test according to the instructions in the Taylor K-2006C, the sample turns red, but never turns blue as I add the R-0012; it just gets more washed-out pink...?
What is a typical number of Reagent drops for color change?
Without a good number to plug in for Calcium Hardness, I'm not sure how to deal with any of the other numbers. I have a little bit of scaling (white ring) on the tile at the water-line, but not bad. I'm doing the test exactly in accordance with the instructions with the kit. Is there something I can do differently, or is there a number I can plug in as an assumption?
When I tested before my trip, my PH was over 8 and my Alkalinity was at 210ppm.
Over the next day I added a full gallon of Muriatic Acid, but then had to leave for my trip.
Today I tested again and came up with very similar numbers. Here's the comparison:
First test:
Chlorine = 0.00
PH = 8+ (10 drops to 7.4)
AK = 210
Couldn't get a reading on Calcium Hardness - went from Red to Pink, but never Blue or Purple
CYA = Off the scale above 100ppm

Added a gallon of Muriatic Acid and Shocked a couple of days later (Shocking w/1lb of Calcium Hypochlorite once a week at night just to keep water sanitized), then was away for a week. Tested today when I got back and here's what I found:

Chlorine = 0.0
PH = 8 (7 drops to 7.4)
AK = 200
Couldn't get a reading for Calcium Hardness - went from Red to Pink
CYA off the scale above 100 (took the 50/50 mix of pool water and R-0013 reagent down to 7ml and added 7ml of Distilled Water - 2 parts Distilled Water + 1 part Pool Water + 1 part Reagent = about 65ppm on the scale)

Still have the brown stains.

Please give me a starting point. What needs to happen first?
I only get to concentrate on this in spurts so I need to take it step-by-step.
Thanks,
Sam

[aylad]

I think Pooldoc needs to check in on this one, at this point. I'll ask him to.

In AZ, it is not uncommon to have wildly high CH readings, especially if you're using cal-hypo to chlorinate with. OTOH, if your test results for CYA indicate a level of approximately 195 ppm, and you can easily run a pool with that level, as long as you follow the best guess chart and make sure your chlorine never drops below the minimum.

Let me email Ben and ask him to check in on this thread...

[PoolDoc]

I can't seem to get a reading on Calcium Hardness...
When I do the test according to the instructions in the Taylor K-2006C, the sample turns red, but never turns blue as I add the R-0012; it just gets more washed-out pink...?

Please do two things:
1. Test your tap water's hardness
2. Dilute your pool water 1:3 with steam distilled water (Walmart) (1/4 cup pool water + 3/4 cup distilled water) Mix and test THAT sample for hardness. Multiply result by 4.)

Once you know what your hardness is, you can look at this page, on bucket testing for the lime softening process to remove hardness:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?16992