New pool, gone for a week, where to start?

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C

chrismar

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May 11, 2015
38
Bridgewater, NJ
Hi All!

Long time lurker, first time poster!

Last week (Friday the 10th) we had a nice little fiberglass pool installed. Less than 24 hours after the pool was installed we left to go on vacation for a week. Unfortunately the electrician wasn't able to get the pump working until Thursday, so the pool sat unfiltered and stagnant for almost a week.

Flash forward to today... we returned home from vacation. The pump and filter were running, yay! The pool isn't nearly as green/dirty as I thought it would be, but it's not the sparkling oasis that we desire. I busted out my Taylor K-2006 test kit and got busy. Here's what I found:

FC: 0
CC: 0
pH: 8.0 (maybe greater, it took 3 drops of the acid demand reagent to get it down to 7.5)
TA: 150 ppm
CH: 250 ppm
CYA: 0
Salt: <1 on an aquachek test strip

Clearly I need to get my FC and CYA levels up before adding my salt and turning on my SWG. PoolMath made the quantities easy, I'm just not sure of the order. Do I start with trying to get the FC up, or the CYA or both? Or do I start with the pH and TA? Or do I tackle it all at the same time?

I have 5 gallons of 8.3% bleach and 5 pounds of CYA powder on hand. I can easily get more chemicals if/when needed from hardware stores and/or pool supply stores.

Please guide me, oh great ones!

Thank you!
 
Lower your pH to 7.2 then SLAM...

Dissolve enough CYA for a target of 30 and add bleach for a target of 12. You won't be able to test the CYA for up to a week so just assume pool math adds the right amount. Keep your FC above 12 until you complete OCLT. Read pool school which goes into detail of this.

Once you complete the SLAM increase your CYA for your SWG and you can add your salt. In the 24 hours your salt dissolves you can let your FC drop to 7 then turn on your SWG. Continue to monitor FC not letting it drop below 5 until you get your swg schedule set.
 
That's right Chris. During your SLAM, the pump must be on 24/7 to continuously mix the bleach throughout your water/plumbing systems. Don't forget to sweep and brush often, and clean your filter frequently to remove any dead algae. If you have any more questions, you can always refer back to the Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain page to refresh your memory. Good luck!
 
Texas Splash said:
That's right Chris. During your SLAM, the pump must be on 24/7 to continuously mix the bleach throughout your water/plumbing systems. Don't forget to sweep and brush often, and clean your filter frequently to remove any dead algae. If you have any more questions, you can always refer back to the Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain page to refresh your memory. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Got it, thanks!

As far as the CYA goes. I see some folks use a sock, some don't. Does it matter? I'd much prefer to just dump it in the skimmer if the end result is the same.
 
Do not dump in the skimmer. Best to use a sock or nylon - anything suitable to hold the granules so they can dissolve slowly and not just fall on the pool floor or get ingested into the pump/filter. You can hang the sock in front of a return jet or place near/in the skimmer that way, just be careful it doesn't block water flow. :)

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and you can squeeze it occasional to help encourage the dissipation of the power as it dissolves.
 
The problem with dumping it in the skimmer is it goes straight to the filter and sits there until it dissolves. If you clean or backwash the filter then you lose the CYA.
 

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I think I did pretty well today. Added about 6 gallons of bleach, 4.5 lbs of CYA and 400 lbs of salt. I wasn't able to find MA at the local HD, and I didn't have time to get to the pool supply store, so the pH remains unchanged.

Full results as of about 8:15 tonight (last bleach addition was at 5:30):

FC: 12.2
CC: 0.4
pH: > 8 (acid demand test was 4 drops to 7.4)
TA: 160

The water looks mostly clear. I can see the bottom, but not crystally. It's still a bit dirty, looks like mostly dirt and stone dust. The brushing and vacuuming I did today seems to have helped.

Thanks again for all the guidance and looking forward to seeing what the tests show in the morning!
 
Almost passed OLCT last night.

FC after sun down (about 8:30p): 11.6
FC just before sun hits the pool (about 7:15a): 10.4

I added a little less than 1/2 a gallon of 8.3% bleach this morning, just to be on the safe side. I also added another 80 lbs of salt since my strips were reading only about 2700 ppm.

CC stayed at 0 both last night and this morning.

I did go for my first swim to hand brush some hard to reach spots, so maybe that accounted for a little loss as well?

Water is now crystal clear. I can almost see the individual bits of dirt in the deep end.

The kids and wife are getting very antsy!
 
Drop the FC 1 ppm below shock level and go swimming! We swam every day for a week and a half while slamming. CYA 70 and FC 25-28. It is safe to swim up to shock level for your CYA.
 
Thought last night as the night, but not so much. :(

FC last night: 15
FC this morning: 13.5

Getting close. Hopefully tonight.

In other news I turned on the SWG this morning. The instant salt reading immediately went to 0 and said "check salt" and "check cell". My test strips say I'm 3700 to 3900 ppm (last night said 3750, this morning's said 3950). The cell is brand new, but I checked it anyway and it looks fine. I left it on to see if it changes it's mind. I'll turn it off again tonight before trying to OLCT again.
 
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