New pool coming in a week or two

[Pirogi]

Our new AGP is going to be installed in a week or two. We'll be running a SWG system. I'm brand new to pool ownership, but I've read the Pool School documents a time or twenty. My TF-100 kit arrived yesterday. I've got a few questions.

1. Can I go ahead and test for CH using water from the tap? We're on well water, and it's very hard water. The CH level from tap water should be the same as the initial CH level in the pool, yes? I'm thinking that if it's above 400, we may want to consider trucking in some water, or look into a reverse osmosis system, or something?

2. I also suspect we have copper in our water based on toilet bowl stains. Is there a test for this? Is it a problem for a vinyl pool?

3. Is there a test for salt levels? I understand (I think) that just adding the correct weight of salt to the pool based on volume (200-400 ppm above manufacturer recommendations) will give me the right level, and that this level will only change slowly with pool operation. But I haven't seen any information on testing the salt level. Is it necessary?

4. This is really where I'm confused. Sooo ... the pool guys show up and build the pool. Then we fill for a couple of days or however long it takes. Then what? Do I add salt and turn on the SWG first? Or do I balance as for a chlorine pool and only turn on the SWG after the levels are chlorine-pool balanced? I've read both the SWG documents in Pool School, and I understand that balanced water levels are different depending on if it's a chlorine only system or a SWG system. The Water Balance for SWG document seems to lay out the order of adjustments to make, but then I've also seen a few threads that talk about waiting for a month or so to turn on the SWG. Is this dependent on the pool surface (plaster vs vinyl) only?

I'm having a baby soon, and I would like to have everything straight in my head about what needs to happen and in what order, so that when the baby comes and my brain is mushy I will have it all written down. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[woodyp]

Yes, test your tap water.

You will need a Taylor drop based salt test kit to maintain proper levels. K-1766 I think? Initially, just add enough salt for your gallons and SWG unit.

Fix fill water PH first. Use liquid bleach to add 3 ppm of FC Add enough CYA to bring to 30. Raise your FC for CYA 30 right after that. TA is the last thing on the list. Salt should dissolve and circulate for 24 hours before using the SWG.

 

[Pirogi]

Awesome, ty!

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

[Pirogi]

So the pool was installed on Monday, and it's just about full. We took a water sample to the pool store today so they would give me the chemicals that came with my installation purchase. They gave me CYA, dichlor, and salt. Unfortunately our local electric guys had a delay in coming to run the proper electrical line, so none of our electrical components are online yet.

I tested CH, 200 ppm. So that's good, and I shouldn't need to test again as long as I'm not adding anything that introduces more calcium, right?

As for the other tests, I haven't done any yet because I don't know if I should just wait until the electrical gets hooked up (tomorrow hopefully unless there are more delays), or if I should go ahead and get CYA and bleach in there to keep the baddies in check ASAP. Obviously I couldn't add the CYA in my skimmer basket without the pump running. Is there any other way to safely add CYA?

 

[triptyx]

You could use pool math to get the "correct" amount of bleach in, and then stir it around really well with a pool brush to mix it until the pump is working. Personally, I'd hold on the CYA until the pump is running - it really needs moving water to dissolve.

 

[Pirogi]

I added enough bleach to bring the FC level to 3 yesterday evening, but I didn't test and don't know right now what level is still left in the water. The electrical work is complete. We'll be priming and turning on the pump when hubby gets home. Here's my plan ... can somebody look it over and tell me what you think?

1. Test pH and adjust to 7.5-7.8
2. Add CYA to bring the level to 70-80 (***Is this right? Or do I want to bring it to 30 as written above?)
3. Test FC and add bleach to bring FC to 4 ppm
4. Test and adjust TA until it is 60-80
5. Dump in the salt and let the pump (but not SWG) run for a day
6. After a day turn on SWG

Look good?

 

[Pirogi]

I guess I'm confused about how high of a FC I need to get the pool before I turn on the SWG. Do I bring it all the way to CYA 70-80, FC 5? Or do I only bring it partway there because the SWG will raise FC the rest of the way? The pool store recommended I add 8 lb CYA (128 oz), which would bring me to a level of about CYA 50 according to pool math. They also recommended 1.75 lb (28 oz) of dichlor, which should bring me to 6 ppm FC and increase CYA by about 5.5 ppm plus lower pH.

 

[Pirogi]

So here's where I'm at, yesterday's tests:

pH = 7.2
CYA = 75
FC = 5.5
CC = 0
TA = 120
And we also added 480 lbs of pool salt, which should bring that to about 3000 ppm. I'd still like to add another 20 lbs to bring it up closer to 3200 ppm, and we'll be doing that today if I can find a strong man to heave the bag around. The SWG is not turned on right now ... we'll probably do that tomorrow.

We got in the pool for the first time yesterday with all the kids plus me. It was a blast, and we spent around 4 hours or so total yesterday in the water.

This morning I tested again:

pH = 7.5
FC = 4
CC = 0
TA = 150

I added 42 oz of 8.25% bleach, which should bring me back up to around FC = 5.5

My question is about TA. Why did it increase in one day by 30? Both days when I did the TA test, I did wipe the tip of the reagent bottle with a damp paper towel between drops and held the bottle straight upside down to drop and swirled well in between drops.

If I'm understanding Poolmath correctly, I need to add about 45 oz of 20 baume muriatic acid to lower pH and TA, then aerate. My return won't swivel upward, so the only aeration we have right now is kids splashing.

Anything I'm missing?

 

[pooldv]

Actively lowering your TA is not really a priority. High TA just leads to faster PH rise. So keep an eye on PH and lower it to 7.2 when it gets to 7.9/8.0. This will slowly lower your TA. Kids splashing will definitely raise your PH.

The most likely reason your TA rose is due to high TA in your fill water, assuming you added more water between tests. Otherwise, if you didn't add baking soda to raise your TA then it has to be inconsistency between tests. Either water sample size, drop size or swirling technique.

Nice work, you are definitely doing the right stuff. It is a good habit to check FC and PH after big swim days and adjust. Keeping PH between 7.2 and 7.8 is a priority and keeping FC above minimum for your CYA is mandatory for keeping your pool sanitary and algae free.

 

[Pirogi]

Great, thanks for the help. Yeah, I did not add any water in between tests. The only thing added between TA tests was the salt. I was wondering if it was a test inconsistency, and didn't want to even think about fiddling with chemistry if I wasn't sure my tests were accurate.

I'm kind of a chemistry geek, and I am loving all the information this site gives to let me be hands on with keeping the pool safe and ready for fun!

 

[pooldv]

Right on! That is the main goal. Pool always good to go. We have never missed a swim day in 4 years due to water quality. We can always swim when we want to. Good stuff!

 

[Pirogi]

It took me way too long to realize that the installers put the flow meter backwards on the SWG. After a couple days a technician came out and used some pliars to fix it in about 30 seconds.

So we had the SWG running for almost 24 hours (per the manual, to get an accurate diagnostic salt level reading) at 50%. And even though we had seven people in the pool yesterday for a couple of hours, the SWG was super awesome at chlorinating, and the FC was at 9.5 (CC = 0; CYA = 75) this morning when I tested. I turned the SWG off, and I know that the chlorine will dissipate with time and sunlight. I was wondering though what the safe upper limit for swimming was for FC? I also added some muriatic acid this morning to bring the pH from 7.8 to 7.2 (TA is also high at 120), but I'm thinking with the pump running for an hour it should be dispersed.

 

[woodyp]

It is safe to swim up to SLAM level for your CYA.