Refilling my inground pool; want to get my water chemistry right

[Cracker Red]

Hello everyone!

First time pool owner here (grew up with one, but someone did all the work!)

~17000 gallons, outside, screened.

The pool company that was looking after it did nothing but brush it once a week, add shock, and tabs. Now I've got little to no chlorine, high phosphates, CYA at 100-120+, and algae that needs brushing every few days. The local store recommends different things with the 3 different people that work there (Leslie's Pool) and I'm pretty much convinced that they don't really know what to do.

I'm currently draining the pool now (12" maybe?) and will refill. We are on a well, but I have a whole-house treatment system so I will fill from that (well water here is high in iron). The whole house system puts out pretty clean water, nearly R/O quality.

Anyway, looking forward to maintaining my own pool, getting the FC levels to where they need to be, and saving the $100 or so we spent on the pool guy to come once a week and put three tabs in a floating basket.

[PoolDoc]

1. Go to Walmart, etc and purchase 16 gallons of PLAIN 8.25% household bleach and a cheap OTO (yellow / red drops) test kit. You can use it to clean up your pool as is OR to get by till you get to the next steps.

2. If you start refilling, add 1 gallon of bleach EACH evening, till full.

3. You'll need to get some stabilizer quickly. If you have a Sams Club nearby, purchase one of their 24lb boxes of bagged Pool Brand shock. This product line is one of the few locally available brand of undiluted dichlor. Your pool has a PF of 7; undiluted dichlor is about 55% available chlorine and 50% stabilizer (not a typo -- lo-o-ng explanation, tho), so: 7 x 24 x 0.55 = 92 ppm chlorine and 84 ppm of stabilizer. Using 1/2 of that box will put your stabilizer around 40 ppm, very cheaply and easily. The rest of the shock will keep till next year.

4. Order a Taylor K2006 from Amazon. These are NOT available locally; there are links and explanations on the test kit page linked in my blue signature box. Also, read the Best Guess page linked from there.

5. Do not worry about phosphates.

6. Welcome to the forum.

[Cracker Red]

Thanks PoolDoc!

Question about the stabilizer though...and forgive the dumb noobie question.

Since my cya (that is stabilizer correct?) is over 120, why do I need to add more? I didn't think draining 12" of water out of the pool would dilute it that much? I was only draining a foot or so out, not everything but a foot.

I was understanding that because my cya was so high i needed to dilute so i could add chlorine that would work instead of getting locked up by the stabilizer?

Should I drain more than 12" out?

I have the k2006 kit on hand now (amazon).

Thanks for the quick response!

[PoolDoc]

Just draining 12"? Sorry, overlooked that.

Assuming your pool is all shallow (5' max depth) you will still only lower CYA from 120 to 90 -- still VERY high, especially for a screened pool. Did you read the Best Guess page? You really need to do so. Chlorine is not suddenly 'locked up' by stabilizer. A more accurate description would be that an ever increasing portion of the chlorine is 'placed on reserve' as CYA levels rise, and only 'recalled to duty' as HOCl level drops. You can operate a pool successfully with a CYA of 90, but you will have to follow the Best Guess table to do so . . . and you must stop using stabilized chlorine as your chlorine source.

The good news is, in Florida it's often possible to buy commercial bleach ("liquid chlorine") very cheaply. Other wise, you'll need to buy gallons of Walmart's 8.25% bleach.

Cal hypo is also an option, but only really practical if you have a sand filter.

Post your K2006 CYA test results, ASAP.

[nefretrameses]

Hey Cracker Red,

We are just down the road in DeBary. I operate my pool at CYA= 80. Follow the best guess chart and it will keep your pool sparkling. Here in Florida, higher CYA is IMHO the best way to go. I lose about 3 ppm FC per day and keep my FC=~8.0. Not an algae spore in sight. You need to stop using tabs!!! Also don't use di-chlor - both add CYA. You will have a choice between bleach, liquid chlorine or cal-hypo. Cal-hypo adds calcium, so once you know your CH measurement, Doc can advise you about that. I imagine you have an in ground gunite pool, but you should edit your signature with relevant pool info (see mine).

I was "Leslied" too (or "pool stored" as they say). Much of what they sell for water treatment can be had from Walmart, Lowes, etc. Their testing is inconsistent and inaccurate. My local store has a pretty good reputation, but they do NOT acknowledge the relationship between FC and CYA. I learned the hard way that 3 ppm of FC with a CYA of 80 or 90 will not even come close to killing algae. It takes a couple of times to really get the hang of the Taylor test kit, but once you do, you will have a great deal of confidence in the numbers. You will "learn" your pool in no time flat.

In the evening my wife asks me if I'm "pool blogging" again. And I say yes. It's amazing how many times the same advice is offered from the Moderators, and when followed, solves the problem. People are amazed!

There's lots here to learn and it's pretty well organized and searchable so you can find out about different aspects of you chemistry, plus.

John

[Cracker Red]

CYA test with the K2006 was off the scale. I had drained 12" of water from the pool, and refilled today while running the pump.





Learned today that the PO had set the pool pump up to only run 4 hours a day.

Also....in the myriad of valves and plumbing by the pump there is a valve which is troubling me. It says "Skimmer" and "Drain".

The bottom of the pool has what appears to be a drain (about the same size hole as the skimmer basket) but it has a cover screwed down over it. If I turn the lever on the valve from skimmer to favor the drain side, the pump starts cavitating quite a bit.

Could the drain be capped off? And why the heck would you do that? I want to dive in the pool and unscrew it, but I'm a bit apprehensive.....why would someone cap off the drain in the bottom of the pool ?!?!?


Algae is getting worse. Came home with 2 gallons of 8% bleach from Lowes. Should I dump one/both in tonight?

[Cracker Red]

Please forgive my error....the main drain isn't capped....the drain cap just appears that way from above. It's just a slightly raised lid. After screwing around with the valves I've figured out I can use the main drain, the skimmer, or a combo of the 2. I can also adjust the amount of vac that creepy uses (Baracuda 3?). So the main drain works, which makes brushing and cleaning this thing up a bit easier.

Let me throw another question at you, in addition to my messed up chemistry. If the pool guys have been using tri-chlor tabs for a long time, and not adjusting the PH.....could this be why I have some "thin" spots on the marcite here and there?

Thank goodness I found this place/forum!