New pool installed, now what?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
O

opeth771

0
Jun 29, 2016
33
Montreal
Hey guys,

Complete noob here... My pool was just installed this morning and the garden hose has begun filling it up. I have no idea what to do now... Basically, I have a chlorine generator and a sand filter (see signature for details on models). Here are my questions:

1) Up to where do I fill up my pool?

2) There is some kind of control panel that came with the chlorine generator. The installer left it there and told me I need to hook it up. Thing is, I have no idea where to put this thing. Here are pictures of my set-up:
pool1.jpgpool2.jpg
a) The chlorine generator control panel is in red on the left pic. Where do I put it? Do I leave it there, hang it somewhere? In yellow I believe is the cord for the pump. Same question as B
b) Picture on the right, the part in red is where my electric outlet is. Do I need to run the cables up to there, and what if it ain't long enough? Do I use an extension cord? Can I hide the cord under the soil? If yes, what do I use to cover the cord?

3) When do I start the pump, and when do I start the chlorine generator?

4) Once the pool is filled, I guess I just go to the store with a sample of water so they can tell me how much salt I need and what chemicals (I don't have a good testing kit yet, working on getting this)

5) Once I get the salt, do I put it right in the water or somewhere else? I looked at all the instruction manuals I could find that came with my stuff, but nowhere do they say anything about it. They just explain how to install them.

6) Another stupid question: when can I start using the pool?

Thanks a bunch for everything and sorry for my noobness.
 
1. Middle of the skimmer(s). If you don't have a skimmer, above the pump intakes in the wall (can't think of the word).

2 *

3. Start the pump as soon as (1) is achieved.

4. NO! No pool store. Order a test kit today, either a TF-100 (link in sig) or a Taylor 2006C. (TF-100 is better)

5. *

6. Get a little chlorine in there, aim for 3 ppm (use the calculator in my sig) get some CYA ("Stabilizer") available at WalMart, Lowes and HD hanging in a sock in front of a return.

Then read this Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

* I recommend you treat this like it wasn't a SWG pool for a month. That way you will have a better idea of how your pool and your pool's chemistry work. That thing will stop working one day, and that day is not the day to start figuring things out.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

1) mid-skimmer
2) The cords are not going to be long enough (certainly the SWG won't which is usually around 15'). I think you need an electrician to install a sub-panel near the pool to plug in the pump and the SWG.

3) When the pool is full, assuming you have power to do so.

4) No, we do not trust pool store testing. You need to invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits, which is easier said than done for those of you to the North. You know the CYA is 0, so you need to add that, and likely the salt is <500ppm, so just target a little low for your SWG. You do need to add bleach to get the FC to 2ppm right away. Use PoolMath.

5) Just dump the salt in. You can use solar salt which is cheaper than pool salt ... same stuff just different sizes.

6) Well it is just a large bathtub right after you fill it. Just get some FC in the water, and you are good to go.

I kind of feel like you may have put the cart before the horse here. I think you should have gotten the electrical figured out and installed before you got the pool setup and filled.
 
jblizzle said:
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I kind of feel like you may have put the cart before the horse here. I think you should have gotten the electrical figured out and installed before you got the pool setup and filled.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, nobody told me anything when we bought the pool. They just came and installed it. I know absolutely nothing about pools, I actually feel bad about asking those questions lol!

As for the pool store, it is a family run pool store. It is not a big pool center, so I trust them for the first water test. I can't just wait until I receive the new kit, especially that Canada Post will enter lockout in 2 days.

Can anyone confirm if I have to ask an electrician for power and installing the chlorine generator panel?

Thanks again )
 
opeth771 said:
...As for the pool store, it is a family run pool store. It is not a big pool center, so I trust them for the first water test. I can't just wait until I receive the new kit, especially that Canada Post will enter lockout in 2 days....
Click to expand...
Let's put it this way. If my local pool store had a TF-100 I wouldn't trust it. If I personally take a sample and am not able to test within 30 seconds I take a new sample. The pool water should be tested indoors relatively quickly after sampling. The only caveat to that is CYA, which may need to come to room temp if the water is cold.
 
Mr Bruce said:
Let's put it this way. If my local pool store had a TF-100 I wouldn't trust it. If I personally take a sample and am not able to test within 30 seconds I take a new sample. The pool water should be tested indoors relatively quickly after sampling. The only caveat to that is CYA, which may need to come to room temp if the water is cold.
Click to expand...

Hmm... The store is 2 mins away from my home. Don't know what to do now lol
 
Well, it is what it is if that is all you have. but likely you do not even need a preliminary test. Odds are the pH and TA are reasonable. CH you do not care about. CYA = 0, Salt = low, you might have a little FC, but the sun will burn it off in a few hours since you do not have CYA in the water yet.

I am telling you the cord between the SWG controller and the SWG cell is likely 15' long. So the Controller needs to be mounted within 15' of the cell ... and thus you need to get power to it somehow. But, like was stated above, you could forgo the SWG and just manually balance the pool until you get the power sorted out.

Hopefully the pool pump reaches your outlet and you can get it and the filter functional. Then you could just treat the pool as a normal chlorine pool.
 
jblizzle said:
Well, it is what it is if that is all you have. but likely you do not even need a preliminary test. Odds are the pH and TA are reasonable. CH you do not care about. CYA = 0, Salt = low, you might have a little FC, but the sun will burn it off in a few hours since you do not have CYA in the water yet.

I am telling you the cord between the SWG controller and the SWG cell is likely 15' long. So the Controller needs to be mounted within 15' of the cell ... and thus you need to get power to it somehow. But, like was stated above, you could forgo the SWG and just manually balance the pool until you get the power sorted out.

Hopefully the pool pump reaches your outlet and you can get it and the filter functional. Then you could just treat the pool as a normal chlorine pool.
Click to expand...

If I decide to do a preliminary test, do I need to wait for the pool to be completely full before taking a sample?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
What kind of kit came with the pool? If it is test strips they are pretty much useless.

A basic FC/PH Otho/Phenol is available at the local Canadian Tire store and for 8 bucks will tide you over until you get a Taylor 2006 or TF-100.

Also pick up a few gallons of plain unscented bleach from the store, add in enough to get your otho a nice yellow colour, keep it that way with bleach until you have your SWG up and running.

Salt and CYA are finite additives, CT also sells CYA and salt, so using pool math you will need to figure out how much water you have first off then use your volume to figure out how much CYA and Salt to add. Once you have those numbers go slowly to the 80% amount of CYA and salt, you can always slowly add more once you get your test kit, and it is easier then trying to remove too much. Once you have a test kit confirm your CYA and salt levels.
To add salt I pour mine in around the edge once done I use my pool brush to sweep it around it dissolves fairly fast.
To add CYA the good old rubber band around the neck of a gym sock hanging in front of the return works best for me too, don't overfill the bag and sueeze it periodically.
One day after adding and confirming i have the correct amount of salt I turn on my SWG.
Looks like you could run outdoor rated wire along your deck and put a GFCI plug right on the corner closest to the pump and SWG.
 
Ok guys,

The electrician was finally able to come hook up everything yesterday. It's been more than a week since my pool was installed and filled up. The water looks clear (thank god), however, it is a little bit gooey. As I have not received my test kit yet, I would like to know what to do.

First of all, my pool does not have any salt in yet. Can I fill it up with salt and then hit super chlorination on the chlorine generator? The girl at the pool store suggested I slam the pool with chlorine tabs first and then put in the salt.

Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks a bunch :)
 
Salt needs to be dissolved for 24 hrs before you turn on your SWG otherwise you can damage your cell. I am not a fan of pool stores, but the tabs aren't a bad guidance since you need to have chlorine and CYA (fill water from a well or city source doesn't have cya). So use the pucks until you get all the salt dissolved for 24 hours then you can turn on the SWG and start tweaking the run time to hone in your chlorine. Btw, although convenient, the pool store could very well take you down a direction that will make things more difficult. The only thing I get from a pool store is acid (to control pH rise) and the occasional Jack's Magic sequestrant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply