Plaster finally going in ... Bi Carb Questions and possible guidance

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You are probably losing FC to the sun mostly. The CYA will help slow down chlorine loss. Give the socks a squeeze from time to time to help it dissolve quicker. 30 is a good start. Don't forget trichlor pucks also add CYA.
 
Thx Brian, I think I will ad some MA now. I just wanted to be sure rain does not lower PH.
 
Just added 48 oz of 20 baume That is some NASTY stuff..... Did it in pouring rain and I still could see the "smoke"..... I stayed up wind.
 
Rainwater normally has a low pH but it would take A LOT of rain to cause much of a drop. All of the splashing and agitation allows carbon dioxide to be out-gassed from the water which makes the pH rise. As previously mentioned, if you don't get many inches of water added to the pool, there really is little effect.
 
Tested water this morning, after adding the MA last night pH is still at 7.5. TA at 300 so it dropped a little, CH is at 400 not sure why that is bouncing around. I am very careful when I do these tests so I'm fairly confident in the results. C is at 1. I did not check the skimmer baskets with the CYA but I will return later and give them a squeeze. Looks like the pool gained about 2 to 3 inches it rained quite hard. I added 16 more ounces of MA this morning so we will see what effect that has.


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I would say that everything, including the pH, is looking normal. And it is difficult to get identical test results at your levels. So don't about those minor changes in your tests.

I would like to know if you are seeing any white plaster dust come off the surface when you brush the walls and floor?
And you did wait six hours before starting the water?
 
onBalance said:
I would say that everything, including the pH, is looking normal. And it is difficult to get identical test results at your levels. So don't about those minor changes in your tests.

I would like to know if you are seeing any white plaster dust come off the surface when you brush the walls and floor?
And you did wait six hours before starting the water?
Click to expand...

I waited at least 4 hours, I had a hard time getting that out of him. I told him I wanted to wait 6 hrs, he wanted 3, after he left I waited 4 hrs. In reality it was probably closer to 5 hours when I actually started filling. He finished and we talked about it, then he left after 30 min or so of talking, then I waited 4 hours from that point. Took around 21 hours to fill.

As far as dust, there is a little. Water is very clear. I can at times see some come up at the end of a brush stroke, but not much at all.
 
Numbers when I got home tonight are:
Ph 7.3
C 1.5
CC 0
TA 300
CH 300
CYA 15
I say CYA of 15 because at 20 if I try hard I think I can barley see the black dot. I'm going to have to get used to that test.

I squeezed socks and massaged them for about 20 minutes when I got home tonight and was able to get all the CYA dissolved into the skimmer. If I'm close at 15,000 gallons that should represent 30 ppm. I doubt the floater has dissolved even one full tablet, I'm not sure how much CYA is in a tablet. I have three in the floater, but I doubt there's been enough dissolved to represent one full tablet. Brushed the pool today, saw a little dust. At night when the lights are on I can see a little bit of cloudiness, but after the storm we had last night I am thinking that may have something to do with it. I am going to wait one week before I put the creepy crawler in, I have some debris from the storm on the bottom.


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When doing CYA test, does the black dot have to be TOTALLY gone? Seems I can see it barely if I focus, but becomes difficult at 15 ppm.
 
Thank you pooldv, that was very helpful.
Sense my CYA was only totally dissolved last evening, how long should I wait for a good representative test?

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Here's what I just did ... you can see the pictures, it doesn't look like much is registering. One is at 30, one is at 20, and then the last one is basically the tube full at zero. I can see the black dot in every one of them, although hard on the last one, but still visible. The socks are in for two days, although it was yesterday afternoon when I squeeze them and dissolved everything. I just thought I would show these, I will test again tomorrow.
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I am at he point where I think my pump is shot. I have always wondered about it as I thought the circulation was weak from the beginning. I never had a pool, so I had nothing to compare to. As I mentioned earlier, there was little to no plaster dust. Tonight I noticed a bit more cloudiness, and also when I push anything, dust or other to the deep end suction, nothing seems to migrate to the drains, at all. No indication of suction what so ever. I could push debris right on top of the suction, and nothing indicates suction what so ever. I put new filters in, cleaned the housing, and still only see 5 PSI on the filter. This is the same pressure I seen with the 10 year old filthy filters. This might also explain why I get zero reading from CYA I added at the skimmers. At my returns, I feel water returning, but if I get 5 inches away I feel nothing, is this normal? I am concerned about circulation, and from the get go I thought the pump was weak. Earlier, a couple weeks ago, I took the pump away from the motor and all was clean. I am frustrated to say the least.
Current numbers are:
ph 7.5
TA 300
CH 300
CL =3
CC 0
 
Oh high my two speed 1.5 hp pump can and will push my hand away from the return AND if I am on a float it is almost like a Lazy River ride around my circle pool!

With all that you have done to the pool I wonder if a new pump is in order :( Have you check the impeller to make sure it is clear?

Does your pressure gauge go back to 0 when you turn the pump off? I wonder if you need a new gauge?

Kim
 
I have a guy coming over that worked for years on pools and equipment, and now is on his own with landscaping and pool repair. He will be able to tell me for certain if the pump is weak, but I am pretty sure it is the original pump which would be over 10 years old. The motors have been replaced, but the pump I am pretty sure is original. The gauge does go to zero when I shut the pump off, also I had put a new gauge on recently. It is circulating some, the pool looks better this morning so I think I am at least get enough to maintain the water balance.

Now my question is what pump to buy? I am going to eventually put a salt cell in, I am thinking about putting a variable speed on, even though I have mechanical timers, just bypass them. I called Pentair, and they will give me the full warranty as long as I have a authorized business install the pump, I can buy it almost half of what they want at the pool stores. The person that would install it is a legitimate business so I checked the warranty will be good. This is the one I'm looking at, they want almost 1500 for it at the pool store. Is this overkill or do you have another suggestion? Thanks for all your help everybody.

Amazon.com: pentair 011018




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