Should I Get a UV unit for My Pool

[norman00]

It looks like I'm going to spend a lot of time on this forum.

My wife and I just bought a house with our first pool. We're moving from a house with lake access to a house with a pool with the thought that it will be more relaxing to just walk out the back door and swim vs. get in the boat to go out and swim. We'll see about that. Had a pool inspection yesterday and the pool and equipment got generally good marks. 33,000 gallon free-form gunite, a sand filter and I don't know the details. I can change the oil on my boat but I don't know the first thing about testing pool water. I will begin reading immediately.

One quick question to get started. The pool inspector (who is a pool builder) recommended a Delta UV setup and said it would cut back on chlorine use. Any opinions on that?

Thanks in advance.

[PoolDoc]

Your pool inspector is full of it; you aren't going to save chlorine by adding a little MORE of what the sun already does a lot!

UV system *never* reduce chlorine use on properly managed pools; they always increase it, due to increased photolysis of the chlorine. This can be a good thing on INDOOR pools, since chlorine photolysis releases some high energy oxidants that help oxidize complex combined chlorines on outdoor pools; but on outdoor pools, a UV system is sort of like putting a trolling motor on a ski boat that already has 150hp outboard Honda!

1. Get a cheap OTO/phenol red drops kit and 12 gallons of plain 8% bleach at Walmart. Test your pool, post the results AND start dumping 2 gallons of bleach in the pool every evening -- till you have a better plan. It is much, much easier to avoid algae, than to clean it up!

2. Order a K2006 testkit, so you can manage pool instead of being 'pool-stored'. You have to understand that inaccurate water testing BENEFITS pool stores by increasing chemical sales! http://pool9.net/tk/

3. ID your pump & filter AND any other equipment. Get make and model numbers. I'll help you find the manuals online. Once you have the info, post it => http://pool9.net/pf-equip-form

. . . that's a start.

[Pappy]

If the pool is not covered, you'll get plenty of UV from the sun. It seems the general consensus around here is that the CORRECT UV system MIGHT be helpful for an indoor pool, but is probably a waste of money for an outdoor pool. Be sure to read everything at PoolSolutions.com. It is a sister site. You'll also want a good test kit so you'll know what condition your pool water is in. http://pool9.net/tk/

Enjoy your new pool & WELCOME to the Pool Forum. It's a great place to learn about how your pool should be cared for.

Pappy

[norman00]

Pool Doc and Pappy, thanks for the information. We won't take possession of the new place until July so I'll get back with the details you asked for. Speaking with the seller, he seems to have a pretty good maintenance plan for his pool that I asked him to write down for me. I'm not gonna lie, it's intimidating for a new owner. I will have a hundred questions like how long to run the filter (I think he said he runs it 8 hours a day), etc. I'm reading as much as I have time for on these forums. Thanks again.
PS: I ordered the test kit recommended here. And the current owner has those inflatable solar rings floating on about 3/4 of the surface.

[norman00]

OK, we are still 2 weeks away from closing and taking over the new house and pool. But we went over today and I brought back a water sample to test with my new K2006 kit. I don't know the water temp but the ambient temp was around 82 and I would say with all-day sun the water temp was at least upper 70s. It looked clean and pretty clear. I could see the Polaris 280 in the deep end (8 feet) pretty clearly. I also noticed it has a Hayward Chlorinator (not inline) and the homeowner uses trichlor tablets in the chlorinator. Here are the test numbers:
pH 7.4
CYA 85
CH 270
FC 13.5
CC .5
TA 100

I believe he runs the filter 8-10 hours each day and that's about all I know. What do you think?

[PoolDoc]

Those numbers are fine -- no reason to panic or even stress.

Basically, you could get by for weeks just by pouring 1/2 - 1 gallon jug of bleach into the pool every evening. So, now you have a super simple fall-back plan.

[norman00]

Good to know. Thanks, I appreciate the information.

[norman00]

Things are happening and they look bad. My closing on the new house and pool has been delayed until later next week. The owner has moved out and left the pool care to the neighbor, who only turns the pool filter on in the am and off at night. We stopped over to look around this evening and the water looks a little cloudy and there is definitely something on the bottom and walls. Worse still, the water level is getting low near the top of the skimmers with no real rain in sight. And worse still, the house is on a well so no filling from the house. I managed to find a small porcelain pot to bring some water home to test as best I can. I got a CYA well over 100, FC of 36, CC of 1 and pH of 7.2. I wonder if he threw in a bunch of trichlor before leaving town (he uses it in the chlorinator) because there was some algae or something. I feel like I should do something to fix this so it doesn't become a much bigger problem before I ever get a chance to move in. My first move will be to buy some water to bring the level up. I could use some advice on what to do after that. I need some help, please.

[PoolDoc]

Order a K2006 ASAP => http://pool9.net/tk

Do a full bucket leak test, ASAP. If you have no means to fill the pool, and you have a leak . . . you have an unmanageable situation. How did he fill the pool? => www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php/11252

[norman00]

I have the test kit already and I ordered some fill water from the same local pool fill company the owner uses. They will deliver today or Monday. Talking to a relative who has been a pool owner for 20 years, he has many opinions. One is this: he always adds fill water from his well without staining on his concrete pool, he said. Of course, we don't know what is or is not in his well water. My question is this: If my pool is 32k gallons, and I need to add 500 gallons to restore the proper level, what is the risk of metal staining assuming a normal well with some metals or minerals? Seems like a pretty low percentage of new water. And is there a way to treat or filter the new water to avoid staining? Buying water isn't very desirable.