Hello, I’m new to pool maintenance and have read every article in the pool school and then some. Background is we bought a house w this pool 2 years ago and have had no luck keeping up chlorine levels ever, with green algae growing back almost daily. Literally nothing has worked and we are over it. We’ve hired and fired 3 pool companies and spent tons on chemicals (Leslie’s got us goooooddddd) and maintenance to no avail. Drained the water once, cya went through the roof (thanks for 6 tabs a week from our 3rd pool company) so we started w CYA 180 last week, did a partial drain 4 days ago and CYA now 120. Did another drain of 50% last night refilling now so hoppppong for CYA of 60 ish.
Pool is Freeform (irregular shape) with a spa spillover (spa heater is broken though), approx 19,000 gallons, pebbletec (plaster). Pump, filters, and vacuum were all replaced this last year and (expensive) leak test (we’re desperate) revealed no leaks. We live in Phoenix so hot. Today is a high of 91.
Today I ordered the TF-Pro kit recommended by TFP, but it wont be here for a few days is my guess. So, finally, to my questions:
1. Once I finish this drain and refill, is there any point in going back to Leslie‘s to test my CYA, or should I just wait until I get my TF Pro test kit?
2. Should I go ahead and add some chlorine in the meantime to keep the algae at bay? we have chlorine tabs which of course I’m going to throw out now that I know better. We also unfortunately just bought a giant $350 bucket of granular chlorine from Leslie’s. they claim that it will not increase our CYA but I no longer trust them
can I use this, or should I just call it a loss and buy liquid chlorine which I know TFP recommends?
3. We run our pump 16-18 hours a day! After reading TFP it says 4-8 hours should be fine depending on how clean you want your pool. My husband says it’s on that long per the pool company and Leslie’s recommendation to help with flow and prevent algae, but I’m inclined to think it’s yet another chlorine issue. Arizona is however much hotter than most places, so not sure if anybody has a recommendation that is Arizona specific.
Thank you in advance for your knowledge and help! I’m really excited to get started and hopefully have a pool we can use this summer
Pool is Freeform (irregular shape) with a spa spillover (spa heater is broken though), approx 19,000 gallons, pebbletec (plaster). Pump, filters, and vacuum were all replaced this last year and (expensive) leak test (we’re desperate) revealed no leaks. We live in Phoenix so hot. Today is a high of 91.
Today I ordered the TF-Pro kit recommended by TFP, but it wont be here for a few days is my guess. So, finally, to my questions:
1. Once I finish this drain and refill, is there any point in going back to Leslie‘s to test my CYA, or should I just wait until I get my TF Pro test kit?
2. Should I go ahead and add some chlorine in the meantime to keep the algae at bay? we have chlorine tabs which of course I’m going to throw out now that I know better. We also unfortunately just bought a giant $350 bucket of granular chlorine from Leslie’s. they claim that it will not increase our CYA but I no longer trust them
can I use this, or should I just call it a loss and buy liquid chlorine which I know TFP recommends?3. We run our pump 16-18 hours a day! After reading TFP it says 4-8 hours should be fine depending on how clean you want your pool. My husband says it’s on that long per the pool company and Leslie’s recommendation to help with flow and prevent algae, but I’m inclined to think it’s yet another chlorine issue. Arizona is however much hotter than most places, so not sure if anybody has a recommendation that is Arizona specific.
Thank you in advance for your knowledge and help! I’m really excited to get started and hopefully have a pool we can use this summer
