First time pool owner startup - MD

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dukie564

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May 12, 2016
60
Aberdeen, MD
Hey all. Been doing a TON of research over the last week or 2 on pool care. So much information, and not much of it has a straight answer.

13,000 gallons, AG Vinyl. Plan is to use the BBB method - materials have been sourced. 10% Chlorinating liquid, CYA Dry, Muriatic Acid 31.45%, Borax, and Baking Soda. Anything else?

So far the cover has been cleaned off (mostly), all the plumbing is hooked up, filter has been rinsed, and i've topped off to the bottom of the return port with treated city water. I have't taken the cover off completely but the water and liner looks spectacularly clean and clear (brand new liner installed prior to home purchase, and filled from empty using city tap water supply).

I plan on filling the rest of the way and uncovering this weekend, and getting the pump running.


First step is to test i know (Taylor 2006 kit is on it's way). I'll post results when i have them.

So from what i understand the general order of operations is to get the Alkalinity within range 80-120 (or at least 50), then pH balance (7.8±), then shock to 10ppm and keep it there till losses stabilize? Then test CYA?

According to the calculator i'm using, if FC is zero to begin with, i'll need to add just shy of 3 gallons of 10% chlorine to get to 10%? Is that right?


Thanks!
 
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:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

We never recommend stocking up on chemicals because without test results, you do not know what you need. You will the chlorine and you will need the CYA, but muriatic acid and borax do opposite things to the pH, and rarely does the TA need to be raised with baking soda. My guess, you may never need the borax or baking soda ... which is exactly why we do not use the BBB term anymore ;)

I would not raise the TA above 80-90ppm at the most. Only needs to be higher if you are using the dreaded hockey pucks.

Do not "shock" to 10ppm right away, just run all the tests and then post them up.
 
ok got the pool filled the rest of the way, ran the pump for a couple hours, then shut it off and tested.

Here are my test results:

FC: 0.0 (no reaction from the DPD)
CC: 0.4
pH: 7.1
TA: 70-80
CH: 40-50
CYA: <30

now that i read the guide on the site for CYA, i think i need to do it again. It was a bit cloudy when i did the test, and i shook the sample for 30 seconds instead of letting it sit. Would this make a big difference? The water wasn't cloudy at all - i could see the dot clearly even when the vial was completely full
 
Sounds like 0 cya and you show cc. So do the ammonia check. Dose the FC to 10ppm and retest the FC and CC after 10 minutes. Repeat until FC mostly holds and CC drops. Then add 30ppm of CYA and SLAM.
 
Great! So is your water still sparling clear? I hope so. We'll adjust chemicals based on no algae or cloudiness unless you say otherwise:
CYA - Must be at least 30. When it shows less than 30, it might be really low. Gentle mixing then squirting into the skinny tube with black dot will work. The dot should be totally gone though. I don't recall if/when you added stabilizer, but if it's been a couple days, then you will want to add more. If you have questions, please let me know. CYA testing and adding stabilizer is very important for your FC.
FC - In crease with bleach to about 5 ppm for now. For your pool that's about 1.5 gallons of regular 8.25% bleach from the grocery store. I would test it again later this afternoon or this evening.
pH - Is a bit low. If you have a way to aerate your water, you can do that, or just add a little borax. About 81 ounces of borax should get you to 7.5.
CH and TA are fine.

Let me know if you have any troubles.
 
what is the ammonia check? CC is very low - i only added 2 drops of R-0871 until the color shifted. But then again i'm not sure that is accurate since i never got a reaction from the DPD (R-0870), even after several dippers, therefore i never added the R-0871 to bring it back to clear. Is the CC test dependant on the FC test components for accuracy? OR is it essentially an independent test?


Water is sparkling clear. I have not uncovered the entire pool yet - cover is still in place since the oak tree next door just stopped dropping it's helicopters. I don't really have a way to aerate other than pointing the return jet up as high as it will go, although i suppose i can set the sump pump to cycle water in fountain/waterfall mode through a hose on the side of the pool :D

I have not added any chemicals to the pool at this point. Just municipal water to fill.


I'll run the CYA test again this afternoon when i get home since it's bright sun today, and not shake the sample this time.
 

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also I bought 12.5% chlorinating liquid. So for 5ppm that would be ~1 gallon correct?
Click to expand...
You are correct in your math. :)

Jason was mentioning the 10 FC/10-min drill because he was concerned that you may have ammonia after opening a pool over the winter. So just to be safe ... when you get home later, just do the following:
- Add TWO gallons of 12% bleach (pump mixing) and test in 15 min to confirm FC level (hopefully about 10 ppm); Don't add any stabilizer yet
- 10 min later test FC again; if it stayed between 5-10 ppm, you have no ammonia and we can continue with regular chemistry
- If your FC dropped below to 4 ppm or below, increase FC back to 10 ppm and repeat this every 10 minutes until the FC holds

Once your FC hold for 10 minutes, do the chemical adjustments I noted above in post #8 and that will get you going. We'll follow-up after that to make sure you have no algae issues or anything. Hope that all makes sense. If you have a questions later when you get home, just let us know.
 
ok assembling everything so far (just want to confirm - bear with me it's my first time...)

Plan of attack for tonight:
Re-test CYA to confirm reading of <30ppm.
Add 2 gallons of 12.5% bleach by slowly pouring in front of the return jet to bring my FC up to ~10ppm.
After 10-15min, test FC and CC. If FC is still in the range of 8-10 ppm, move on. If <4ppm, bring FC back up to 10ppm. Repeat as necessary.
CC should drop to...<0.5ppm??? while FC stays around 10ppm.
After chlorine levels are stabilized, Add CYA - i have 5 lbs right now so i'll add it all (in a sock inside the skimmer basket?) and get more if needed. Or should i get more now?

When will pH be adjusted? i though pH adjustments were done before chlorine SLAM?

This is so confusing...but i'll get it. I learn quick :)
 
dukie564 said:
ok assembling everything so far (just want to confirm - bear with me it's my first time...)

Plan of attack for tonight:
Re-test CYA to confirm reading of <30ppm.
Add 2 gallons of 12.5% bleach by slowly pouring in front of the return jet to bring my FC up to ~10ppm.
After 10-15min, test FC and CC. If FC is still in the range of 8-10 ppm, move on. If <4ppm, bring FC back up to 10ppm. Repeat as necessary.
CC should drop to...<0.5ppm??? while FC stays around 10ppm.
After chlorine levels are stabilized, Add CYA - i have 5 lbs right now so i'll add it all (in a sock inside the skimmer basket?) and get more if needed. Or should i get more now?

When will pH be adjusted? i though pH adjustments were done before chlorine SLAM?

This is so confusing...but i'll get it. I learn quick :)
Click to expand...
You can skip the CYA test. You've got the ammonia test right.

Once you are past the ammonia test yes, CYA by hanging a sock in front of a return or skimmer basket. Baby steps with the CYA, shoot for 1/2 to 2/3 the first time.
 

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