Acceptable to use - stagnant water?

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AussieSwimmer
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon 30 Mar, 2020 14:45
My Pool: Inground pool, no history, aprox 24,000 gallons, with Merlin vinyl liner. Taylor TF100 test kit.
Location: Silver Spring, MD

Acceptable to use - stagnant water?

Postby AussieSwimmer » Tue 14 Apr, 2020 09:33

I am new to pool ownership. I am guessing that the rainwater that has collected into our pool has done so over the past year (of total neglect while the house was on the market, covering tarp having fallen in, etc). It is heavily loaded with leaves, mostly submerged, and with yet-to-be-discovered other materials at the bottom of the pool. (there's an entertainment factor at present - the frogs in there are quite musical at dusk!).

It does however perhaps comprise an existing 10,000 gals of water (the pool is about ⅓ full). Should I continue skimming out the muck in preparation for topping up the pool, or is it better to pump everything out, properly clean the vinyl liner, and start fresh?

Also : I spent an hour last night skimming muck both at surface and below, and I can see that it could take a few days of labour to get most material out. Assuming that it is possible to clean up the existing body of water, is it possible to rig some sort of water pump, then recycling the traveling water across a screen? That should be a much more efficient way to go. - Grant.


Terimarieg
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu 16 Apr, 2020 18:44
My Pool: Above ground, sand filter

Re: Acceptable to use - stagnant water?

Postby Terimarieg » Thu 16 Apr, 2020 18:49

I am wondering the same thing. I bought house a few months ago. The owner had passed away so not much info is available. However i have an awesome deck that looks out onto a 24 foot pool that is est. 4 or 5 feet deep of water that has been there sense lord knows when. As the weather is starting to get warm I am worried for mosquitoes but its not yet warm enough to open pool. Unsure what i should even start. It does a have a working sand pump filter.
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2592
Joined: Tue 06 Sep, 2011 05:48
My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Acceptable to use - stagnant water?

Postby Denniswiseman » Fri 17 Apr, 2020 01:53

Even though it isn't time to open up unless you have a freezing problem get on to it so that it will be ready for use when it's warm enough
Clear out as many frogs and rubbish as possible then pour in some liquid chlorine (Sodium hypochlorite or just plain bleach)
Then start your pump and filter and see what happens
You really need to get yourself a decent FAS/DPD test kit (Taylor K2006c or TF Testkits TF100 in the states) to get accurate results as maintaining an appropiate shock level means testing quite often during the day which you will probably need to do
Check out these links
Slam (Shock Level and Maintain)
Chlorine / CYA Chart
Recommended Pool Levels
Pool Maths
AussieSwimmer
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon 30 Mar, 2020 14:45
My Pool: Inground pool, no history, aprox 24,000 gallons, with Merlin vinyl liner. Taylor TF100 test kit.
Location: Silver Spring, MD

Re: Acceptable to use - stagnant water?

Postby AussieSwimmer » Wed 22 Apr, 2020 10:32

Thank you Dennis. Since I posted, I have tried a combination of tools to get all solid/macro organic material out of the water - a pool rake, and a combo leaf bagger. I have probably removed over 200 lbs of submerged leaves and silt (using bags with 2 different mesh densities). Early on in the process, you learn that leaves float, until they don't - making for much more work!

The water is still black, so in the deep end, it's a mystery as to how much progress I have made. There is of course the feedback - that I am now netting less material per pass, even as my technique has improved. I would like to save the water that is in the pool if it is possible (I'm perhaps talking about 15,000 gallons or more). An experienced pro could probably scoop a glass of water from the pool and declare it worthy of physical and chemical treatment, or might declare the body of water a goner - 'pump her out'.

Since my last post, I have made a temporary/crude roof water diversion system - downspouts from our house now flow to the pool, where water streams enter via a plastic trash container that is ringed with plastic mesh. My idea is to have the water fill the container, and as it flows over the lip, the collar of mesh will sift and retain the leaves that were caught up in the captured water. My thinking here is that the water I will be adding is no worse a quality (and probably better) than the old stagnant water in the pool. As the level slowly approaches the skimmer inlet, I will be researching the best way to start up the dormant system (motor/pump, filter and heater). I would like to proceed as carefully as possible - if I can avoid destroying equipment with improper startup, so much the better. Like so many of us, I have a lot of time on my hands right now. (like the rest of this system, the equipment is dirty, neglected, and undocumented).

Once the pool is at operating water level (probably 50% full at present), and the physical plant can be brought online, I will dismantle my roof capture system. Over the longer term, I would still like to research proper rainwater capture, with associated pre-conditioning so that it IS acceptable for addition to a pool that is properly maintained and with on spec water in circulation.

Thanks Dennis for the tips on buying a test kit. I think I am nowhere near needing chemical testing just yet. A note of caution also for owners like me - this pool has a vinyl liner, and of the little information I have been able to access, I see that you need to understand the limits of some chemical levels for their effect on the liner itself. Duly noted.

Grant.
24,000 gal in-ground pool.
Ongoing restoration work (previously abandoned)
Taylor TF100 test kit
Silver Spring, MD
USA
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2592
Joined: Tue 06 Sep, 2011 05:48
My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Acceptable to use - stagnant water?

Postby Denniswiseman » Wed 22 Apr, 2020 13:30

Bear in mind there is no new water, all water is recycled.
The sooner you can get it filled and running through the filter the better, backwashing often
Rain water is OK for use as it's slightly acidic distilled water
I would still be inclined to add some chlorine to prevent algae forming and making your job even harder
Sometimes it will be easier to just dump the water and refill
You may want to check your pump is running albiet it may be jammed and need to be freed
Also a Deep Clean of your filter would be a good start

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