Best way to partially drain my pool? Pic included

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Jimmypop13

Member
Apr 30, 2021
9
Conroe, tx
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
PXL_20220613_210142446.jpg

Hi, I'm a fairly new pool owner. Thought I knew what I was doing but couldn't figure out why my cya level kept going up. I thought my test strips were wrong so I bought a liquid testing kit and it agreed with the strips that I'm now over 100ppm cya. I only added cya at the beginning of the pool season to get around 40ppm so I did some research and found out somewhere along the way I missed that dichlor contains cya. Time to switch chlorine types! But now I need to drain half the pool to fix it. Is it as simple as attaching garden hoses to those two spigots on top of the pumps and closing the return valves from the skimmers? One pump is for the pool/spa and the other for waterfall. The drains are in the deep end for the pool and waterfall. Or should I be attaching a hose to that drain port on the cartridge filter? Only problem there is it looks like it's 3" diameter or more and the hoses I've seen are only 1.5" or 2".
Thanks for the help! Still can't believe I did this!
 
Garden hose on the spigot at the pump pressure side, that’s why it’s there.

Or a hose, fully loaded with water, plug end, drag it to a spot lower that the pools water, let it siphon off, best thing is you place the end in the pool at the level you want the water with no fear of it going too low.
 
Pool_Medic said:
Garden hose on the spigot at the pump pressure side, that’s why it’s there.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should discuss what needs to be done when water level drops below the skimmer if you are going to recommend that method of draining.
 
Jimmypop13 said:
View attachment 423301

Hi, I'm a fairly new pool owner. Thought I knew what I was doing but couldn't figure out why my cya level kept going up. I thought my test strips were wrong so I bought a liquid testing kit and it agreed with the strips that I'm now over 100ppm cya. I only added cya at the beginning of the pool season to get around 40ppm so I did some research and found out somewhere along the way I missed that dichlor contains cya. Time to switch chlorine types! But now I need to drain half the pool to fix it. Is it as simple as attaching garden hoses to those two spigots on top of the pumps and closing the return valves from the skimmers? One pump is for the pool/spa and the other for waterfall. The drains are in the deep end for the pool and waterfall. Or should I be attaching a hose to that drain port on the cartridge filter? Only problem there is it looks like it's 3" diameter or more and the hoses I've seen are only 1.5" or 2".
Thanks for the help! Still can't believe I did this!
Click to expand...
If you continue (or start) to use that tablet feeder, your CYA will continue to rise (along with whatever else is in the tablet). It will also eventually damage your heater unless you never turn your pump off. And, even then, I'm not so sure. Even with a check valve, which will fail, the corrosive "soup" that is in that feeder will flow backwards into the heater when the system is off. I've seen it too many times.

Bio-Active CYA reducer is a bit expensive, but works. I have used it many times on commercial pools when they couldn't have over 3ppm and an inspection was coming up. We do our best not to drain pools in California. Follow the directions exactly and it will lower the CYA.

If you use the waterfall pump you won't have to worry as much about it running dry when the water gets below the skimmer. Just be sure to re-fill before the next filter cycle.
 
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1poolman1 said:
If you continue (or start) to use that tablet feeder, your CYA will continue to rise 9along with whatever else is in the tablet). It will also eventually damage your heater unless you never turn your pump off. And, even then, I'm not so sure. Even with a check valve, which will fail, the corrosive "soup" that is in that feeder will flow backwards into the heater when the system is off. I've seen it too many times.

Bio-Active CYA reducer is a bit expensive, but works. I have used it many times on commercial pools when they couldn't have over 3ppm and an inspection was coming up. We do our best not to drain pools in California. Follow the directions exactly and it will lower the CYA.

If you use the waterfall pump you won't have to worry as much about it running dry when the water gets below the skimmer. Just be sure to re-fill before the next filter cycle.
Click to expand...
I'm definitely not using tablets in there if my cya is above 50. It's empty right now.
 
Read the article Allen posted on draining.

Which test kit did you use to obtain the results? Did you do a "diluted sample" test to make sure your CYA isn't higher?

Another factor to consider with temps approaching 100 degrees is the risk of dying out and damaging the plaster. You want to drain and fill as fast as possible, with the majority of exposure at night. The hose bibs on the pump are slow. You can do a test with a 5-gallon bucket and do the math from there. You could isolate the main drain with your plumbing and use the main pump in conjunction with the waterfall pump. But, if it were my pool, I wouldn't take my eyes off the main pump for fear of an air leak causing cavitation.

Your best bet is to use a submersible pump. If you don't have your fill line hooked up to a water softener, you'll need a sub pump to lower calcium levels in the future. If it's a one time thing, consider renting a higher flowing pump from HD or Lowes.

Where do you plan to run the discharge? Check with local municipality for guidance (street or sewer). If sewer cleanout, don't exceed the max recommended flow rate, usually around 12 gallons per minute (720 GPH). Double check with your utility provider.
 
I've got an update on the situation! I bought a pump and a hose and drained around 2/3rds of the pool to the sewer. Took a whole day to drain and refill. Now my testing results are free chlorine 7ppm, ph 7.8, cya 55, TA 100. I don't have a test for hardness so I'll have to get one since I know my Houston water has calcium.
I did some research on here and decided to make an investment on the pool and upgrade to salt water so I wouldn't have to get bleach refills in the future. I ordered a circupool rj+60. Probably overkill but hopefully that means the cell will last longer. Very excited! Sounds like my biggest challenge when I get the new unit installed will be trying to keep scale at bay with my fill water. Hopefully it's possible.
 
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