re: Pool Maintenance

My chlorine seems to be fine, but my cya is low. I use chlorine pucks with a UV.

Troublefreepool.com

From what I’ve learned, the strips are good for salt test, otherwise for the other things the big test kits linked above are best.

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Join the troublefreepool message board

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I'll add to the many here that say troublefreepool.com is the way to go. I test my water pretty much once a week using a taylor test kit. It only takes a few minutes since I do it so often. The first month or two i was much slower. I occasionally use the same test strips that CAD posted, but I don't find they are as accurate as the real test... but they do help in a pinch.

Guinite pool (no salt). Clorine is handled with liquid bleach only; I average about a gallon a week. PH can go up if I'm using my water features and then I dump a little muriatic acid to bring it back down. About 1-2 times per year I have to add some calcium hardness increaser to prevent etching. I do have a bucket of chlorine tabs that only get used if my CYA goes down after a lot of rain. All in all, I spend less than 30 minutes a week on my pool and the water is insanely clear. My pool water is probably better than my drinking water.

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Water features supposedly increase pH also

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I did a little reading this morning and did not know this, but it makes sense.

"Swimming Pools with salt systems will have to add extra acid to balance the pH. The chlorine compound that these systems add to the water has a pH of 11. As it chlorinates it is also raising the pH of the water."


A bit more detail

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Manufacturers say their salt chlorine generators produce chlorine that is closer to pH neutral—i.e., 7 on the pH scale of 0 to 14—than most other forms (see chart), so this chlorine has less overall effect on pool pH. However, a byproduct of the salt to chlorine reaction is sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The production of sodium hydroxide will push the pH higher, requiring more frequent addition of acid in salt pools. The consequences of improper pH are the same, regardless of the method of sanitation. We recommend testing pH daily in pools with salt chlorine generators. Easy color-matching tests (with liquid reagents or strips) are available for this purpose, and a pH meter or colorimeter may be used.

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Been doing it myself for about 10 months. The pool stores around here test it for free and tell you how much of what you need to add based on the size of your pool. I shock it about once a week in the summer and usually keep one 3 inch tab in the chlorinator which will last about a week or so. I buy the acid from the pool store as it’s cheap, about $7 a gallon, and you almost always have to add acid I’ve found. I get my baking soda from Costco or Amazon and it’s way cheaper than the balance pak stuff the stores try to sell and exactly the same thing. Got 30 lbs of baking soda for $21 a few weeks ago and it lasts a while as my alkalinity doesn’t move as much as Ph. Big thing is running your pump/filter long enough to move the whole pool through the filter in a 24 hour period. Usually about 8 hours or so a day. The biggest thing I find is being diligent about cleaning debris from the pool and vacuuming, especially as it gets warmer. Organic material contains phosphates which lead to algae growth so keeping your pool free of leaves and pollen and maintaining the filter is probably the most important thing you can do. I’ll also typically backwas once a week or so in the summer or after a big rain. Maintenance in the winter, at least in south Louisiana, is very easy as chemical levels are more consistent and not much growth happens when the water is below 80°

I’m a bit overwhelmed. Stayed up until 3am just trying to understand terminology and looking at pool schematics.
Going to Leslie’s today.
I did figure out I have a sand filter.

So, is acid the same as shock?

My initial needs are:
Test kit
Liquid chlorine or bleach
Acid
Baking soda

Has anyone used Borax?

There is a lot of good info/videos online. It’s really not bad. I’ve been doing it for a year and it’s not that bad. My water stays clear with little effort, but you’ll have some trial and errors.

Also watch you water levels if it hasn’t rained in a few days and you don’t have an auto fill.

With a sand filter, you’ll have to back wash to clean the sand. I probably do this once a month or so during the summer. Usually after a hard rain when the water level is high in the pool.

Thank you for all the help and replies.

I probably kept the pool service too long, as they weren’t doing what they were supposed to do. They were however going up on my monthly service. I don’t know what y’all pay, but I went from $125 to $165 in six months.

Leslie’s is the only place I know of and I felt I needed to do something today, as it’s been a week since last service. I’ll seek other options going forward.

Leslie’s tested my water and chlorine is fine. Very high calcium hardness, high TDS, high CyA and high total alkalinity.

So, definitely recommended draining the pool, which I already knew, it’s been eight years since the last time it was drained. Have a couple of calls out for bids on draining and cleaning tile.

The only thing Roger told me to do was add muriatic acid, so I’m working on that now. Every four hours I add 16 ounces, until I use a gallon, then test again.

A lot of good information on trouble free. I’ve only looked at school so, haven’t been on the forum. I also tried the math app and don’t quite understand it. For one thing, there isn’t an option for pebble tec, so not sure what to choose instead.

My pool measures 80 sq ft., so that’s 8000 gallons, right?

To all of you…

Are you sure it’s 80 square feet? How many feet long is it, How many feet wide is it? And how deep is it?

Also, if you’re going to drain it soon, adding any chemicals to it right now is probably a waste of money.

Also, before you have it drained, how does your water and your pool look? Blue, clean, murky, green, brown?