New Plaster Questions

[joesc230]

Hi all,

I had my new gunite pool's plaster done last Friday. I had a bulk water delivery the same day, so I did had it filled with water fairly quickly. The PB provided Magenta Stuff for us to put in the water until Monday, as that's when they did the startup. The bulk water company added the Magenta Stuff on Friday. Since the startup on Monday, I've been brushing it twice daily. When I'm looking at the plaster, I feel like it looks l like it has a good amount of swirls in it. The plaster is SunStone Select Quartz. Is it normal for new plaster to look like it has swirls? I wasn't sure if that indicates something is wrong, or if that's part of the curing process, or if that's normal (regardless of curing).

I tried to take pics of the plaster, but they weren't coming out good, as the water was moving around too much at that time. Here's one of the pics (not sure if you can see the plaster clearly...I can retake some pics if that helps):



Normally the water won't have so much dirt at the surface - I took the pic right after the lawn around the pool was mowed.

Also - I'm not really seeing a lot of plaster dust at all. Some here and there, but nothing too noticeable. Is that okay?

I've been following the PB's recommended daily maintenance. The PB includes a couple weeks of checking in with me and testing the water, just to make sure it gets off to a good start. This morning I used the testing strip the PB gave me and it showed no FC, and a acidity of 9.0. I then added chlorine and acid. The test kit they provided didn't measure hardness, but they left me a message saying that they stopped by and the hardness was way too low (around 80...they're saying I should be at least around 200). The PB is going to be bringing stuff tomorrow to raise the hardness.

I already bought a TF-100 kit. I was just thinking to use that once the PB gets everything at a good level...so that when I take over I can use the testing stuff I bought.

Thanks in advance for any insight regarding the plaster swirling and the lack of much dust.

 

[trbvm]

I think you should use the TF 100 right away.
My PB's startup guy screwed up by adding lots of CYA and tried to cover up.
TF-100 came to the rescue when I showed them the screw up.
We are draining and refilling today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum.

Post your test results. We need that starting point to understand where you are.

 

[joesc230]

Hi,

I used the K-1000 and the pH is definitely higher than 8.2, and the Cl is definitely lower than .5.

As far as adding chemicals, I just started on Monday when they did the startup and I've been following the calendar they gave me, where it lists what to do each day. For example, yesterday it said to add 1/2 gallon of acid if the pH is above 7.8, so I did so. Today (as noted above), it is still too high. However, their calendar doesn't say to add acid again until tomorrow (if needed, which obviously it is). Should I go ahead and add more acid right away? Or wait until tomorrow?

As far as chlorine goes, they gave me canisters of tablets of it to poke holes in and leave in one of the skimmers until dissolved. I've had a canister in there since yesterday morning and they are not fully dissolved yet.

I tested the calcium hardness, and it's at 125, which I know is low. They're supposed to be showing up with chemicals to address that. Is this something I should take care of ASAP and not wait around for them for?

Tested CYA and found it to be at 20.

Thanks!

 

[DaninFLA]

I've been following the PB's recommended daily maintenance. The PB includes a couple weeks of checking in with me and testing the water, just to make sure it gets off to a good start.

good job getting the test kit, but until your PB "turns over" the pool to you, I wouldn't do anything. you don't want to void the warranty and the PB is usually responsible for start up. check your warranty and don't do anything to void it. if there is nothing in writing, make sure you record your test results and what you added once the PB is done and its yours.

I would just stick to their schedule for now, but once they are gone, then we can TFP that pool

just so you know, you are going to be battling high pH for the first few months while the pool/concrete is still curing. totally normal. you are going to use a lot of muriatic acid

 

[joesc230]

good job getting the test kit, but until your PB "turns over" the pool to you, I wouldn't do anything. you don't want to void the warranty and the PB is usually responsible for start up. check your warranty and don't do anything to void it. if there is nothing in writing, make sure you record your test results and what you added once the PB is done and its yours.

I would just stick to their schedule for now, but once they are gone, then we can TFP that pool

just so you know, you are going to be battling high pH for the first few months while the pool/concrete is still curing. totally normal. you are going to use a lot of muriatic acid

Thanks for the response. Yeah, I'm probably best off just following the PB's instructions and schedule for now. Thanks for the heads up about the pH.

 

[DaninFLA]

worst thing you want to do is void a warranty

that said, run a full set of tests and post your results. you want to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. there was a thread a few weeks back on a new pool build where the PB put in like 100ppm CYA when the owner told them 40ppm, or something like that. they were able to get the PB to drain/refill to fix the problem before it was turned over.

run the full tests and post them, if looks ok, then keep following the PB's instructions during startup

 

[joesc230]

worst thing you want to do is void a warranty

that said, run a full set of tests and post your results. you want to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. there was a thread a few weeks back on a new pool build where the PB put in like 100ppm CYA when the owner told them 40ppm, or something like that. they were able to get the PB to drain/refill to fix the problem before it was turned over.

run the full tests and post them, if looks ok, then keep following the PB's instructions during startup

Agreed!

My test from today showed:

pH > 8.2
Cl < .5
Ca Hardness = 125
CYA = 20 ppm

Are there any other tests I should do at this point?

 

[duraleigh]

get chlorine in your pool pronto. 3-4 ppm is where you need to be.

 

[joesc230]

get chlorine in your pool pronto. 3-4 ppm is where you need to be.

I've had a canister of Chlorine tablets in the skimmer for over 2 days now. The tablets haven't fully dissolved yet. Should I put another canister in the other skimmer? Or should I be adding the Chlorine differently?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[DaninFLA]

you can just use plain old bleach to add chlorine to the pool. it only adds chlorine and not CYA or calcium like pucks/bags of shock

 

[pooldv]

Bleach or liquid chlorine also gets the chlorine in the pool immediately.

It is important to keep the PH at between 7.2 and 7.8 in a new pool. Either keep it under 7.8 or discuss it with your PB. The reason that amount of muriatic acid did not get your PH down enough is because you are off the scale on the PH test. Keep adding and testing every 15 minutes with the pump running until the PH shows up.

It is better not to put pucks in the skimmer. Here is a handy page about chemicals, what they do and how to add them,
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

 

[joesc230]

Okay, so I've added bleach - I'll do a test on the water in the AM and hope to see a decent jump. Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.

Back to my original question though - is the inconsistent color and swirling I'm seeing irregular? Here's a picture of how the plaster looked on the day it was being filled (1 week ago). At the time, I was thinking that it looked normal (as I don't know any better...first time pool owner)...I was thinking that the non-uniform look of it would go away as it cures...however, what you're seeing in the picture is pretty much what I'm seeing even though it's been under water for a week now:

 

[pooldv]

Did they acid wash just before filling? That makes it have very little plaster dust and need minimal brushing. That pic during fill up looks like a fairly normal gray finish with some mottling. Most gray finishes have some level of swirling and mottling. What does the PB say?

 

[joesc230]

Did they acid wash just before filling? That makes it have very little plaster dust and need minimal brushing. That pic during fill up looks like a fairly normal gray finish with some mottling. Most gray finishes have some level of swirling and mottling. What does the PB say?

I'm not sure if they acid washed. I think they did, as I noticed them with a bucket of liquid and a brush at the very end of the process (prior to filling with water), brushing around the plaster with whatever that liquid was. Does that sound like acid washing? I'm glad to hear the pic looks fairly normal.

I haven't spoke with the PB about this yet, as I don't have a lot of confidence in them and figured they'd just say it will go away over time, or say that it's normal. I figured I'd check on here first and get some advice and opinions before approaching the PB about this.