First day on the job.

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Rsmith

Rsmith

0
Apr 29, 2016
126
Central Md.
New pool just added water 3 weeks ago. I went to pool school last week and they sold me $250.00 worth of chemicals to get started. ( I wont make that mistake again). I added 3 sticks of chlorine to 1 skimmer, 2 gallons of acid and 1 gallon of conditioner. I also added a 12# bag of some powder that I premixed in a bucket. Don't remember what that was. Today my PH is less than 6.8. My chlorine is less than .5 (which shouldn't matter at this point since Im not running anything through the SWG. Alkalinity is so low it doesn't register. Whats next?
 
Wow, first off, is there anything un-opened that you can return and get your money back???

ok, the next thing to do is unfortunetly spend some money...get the TF-100 test kit, will be around $70 i think. we really cant recommend anything without first knowing your levels. remember, we arent the pool store and are not just going to say to buy a bunch of stuff to fix your pool without knowing exactly what to fix. and no worries, we are going to save you enough money to make up for that $250 mistake.

you said it was a new pool, where is the pool builder? they typically take care of the startup and we try not to recommend you do anything until they "turn over the pool" to you to avoid any issues with voiding warranties.

its odd that your pH is so low, being that a new concrete pool should have high pH, my guess is you have added too much acid...2 gallons seems like way too much. i would just run the pool and see if the pH comes up by itself in the next couple of days. if its still low in a day or two, we can adjust that up.

Right now, all you can do is try and keep your chlorine up. use regular old bleach, 8.25% to increase your FC. Add enough each day to add 3ppm. you said it doesnt matter that you are at 0.5ppm, but really thats the most important thing. i would try and keep your chlorine above 2ppm at all times, last thing you need to deal with is an algae breakout. once you get the test kit and know your CYA levels, then we will know your required FC (free chlorine level).

once you get your TF-100 test kit we can figure out where to go. last thing we want to do is add more of anything with not knowing the situation.

and by the way....WELCOME to TFP!

one last thing...time to read up! go read all the links in the pool school tab at the top of the page
 
Hi! What sort of test kit do you have? Could you post a full set of numbers?

To take care of your pool properly and get good advice here, you need either the TF100 or K2006 test kit.
TF100: TFTestkits.net
K2006: Amazon.com : TAYLOR TECHNOLOGIES INC K-2006 TEST KIT COMP CHLORINE FAS-DPD : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Patio, Lawn Garden

Right now you need to pull your pH up to avoid any damage to your heater. The easiest way to do this is Soda Ash as it will pull your TA up as well. See here: Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Also you need to keep your FC up with liquid bleach (as opposed to the solid tablets) in the 28 days before you can use your SWG - Pool School - Recommended Levels

This article will answer a TON of questions as well: Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 
The pool builder added some chemicals the day after the water was added but told me Im on my own now. I have been told to not worry too much about chlorine or salt until we pass the 4 week window. He said PH and Alkaline for now and brush everyday and run spillover 2 hours a day. I'm thinking I need to add some soda ash to get the PH up?
 
Rsmith said:
The pool builder added some chemicals the day after the water was added but told me Im on my own now. I have been told to not worry too much about chlorine or salt until we pass the 4 week window. He said PH and Alkaline for now and brush everyday and run spillover 2 hours a day. I'm thinking I need to add some soda ash to get the PH up?
Click to expand...
Yes, like I mentioned you need to get your pH up as soon as possible.

The pool builder is incorrect that you don't need to worry about Chlorine - your pool is open and running, it will get algae if you do not keep the FC up. They are correct that you do not use salt for the first 28 days of fresh plaster.

Could you post a full set of test results so we can see what the builder may have added?
 
New plaster typically means already-high pH and it continues to climb as the plaster cures. Your #1 priority right now MUST be the right test kit (TF-100 or Taylor K-2006). You HAVE to control the rising pH. IN addition, you do not want algae in that water, but having no idea of FC or CYA is alarming. You've been beat-up at the pool store, and abandoned by your builder, but here at TFP we see it through ... the right way. You might consider running to Wal-Mart to get a small HTH pH test kit for now. IT will give you a fairly decent pH reading and let you know if you have ANY chlorine (FC) in there. At the same time, put a rush on the right test kit so you can be 100% in control.
 
HI! Lets get this party started! Here we go! How to care for your new baby:

Pool School - Start-up New Plaster

Here are some links you will need when you are starting up a pool.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

This should set you up!

Now PLEASE look at Walmart to see if they have a little test kit with Free chlorine (FC) and PH test stuff. Get it and use it until your GOOD test kit comes in. You know the one you ordered from above LOL. The little test kit will hold you for about two weeks. Your PH is going to go up and go up fast with new plaster. You HAVE to control that to protect your plaster and equipment. If your FC is not brought up you will have to deal with algae=No fun :(

:hug: We got ya since your PB seems to have moved on.

Kim:cat:
 
Then yes ... Borax or soda ash to increase pH and baking soda to increase TA. I wouldn't go higher than 7.5 on pH or any higher than 50-60 for TA. Those should start rising quickly on their own as the plaster continues to cure. Use the Poolmath Calculator (link below) too assist in determining quantities. Hope that helps for now.
 

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So.... Bioguard test kit has not been very helpful as the PH shows below 6 and the Alkalinity still wasn't reading so I took a sample to the Pool place today.
FC is 2
PH is 7.8
Total Alkalinity is 75
Adjusted Total Alkalinity is 64
CYA is 35
TDS (?) 500
 
RS, I know you just ordered your kit, so you're at a disadvantage at the moment until it arrives. The pool store tests really don't help us much, but if I were to believe they were close, I would say your FC is low and needs to be raised about 3-4 ppm. I would not do anything else until your kit arrives. Ignore the TDS. No real impact on our pools. Have a nice afternoon.
 
Alright! So now ask yourself one very important question ... how does the water look after a couple weeks of waiting? If it still clear, or does it appear hazy? Any visible algae at all? If there is any doubt, you will want to take it to SLAM level just to fix it right away. Another reason I say this is your chlorine readings. We look for FC (free chlorine) and CC (combined chlorine). An elevated CC over .5 tells us your pool is struggling a bit. If you need to SLAM, you do it now before raising the CYA to 70 so you use less bleach. Let us know how things look and we'll go from there.
 

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