3 questions from a newbie

[THP]

Just finished a brand new in ground gunnite pool with pebblesheen along with a raised spa. 27,000 gallons. 2 speed pump. Cartridge filter. In-line chlorinator.

Been reading as much as I can because I would like to maintain it myself. Glad I found this site. Love the philosophy and it makes sense to me. I have read through nearly every pertinent article in "pool school".

We have had water in the pool for about 3 weeks. I've been testing the water and it has been fine. My pool company has having me just load up on 3" trichlor tabs and they also put some di-Chlor in it and I have been adding it as needed based on the chart that comes with the test kit.

CYA has been fine. I'm glad I learned about this before it got out of hand.

Anyhow, we have six kids who use the pool a lot and it is smoking hot here in Charlotte.

I have 3 quick questions:


1. I got behind on the FC today it recorded at 0 (CC was 0). The water is crystal clear. In the SLAM article on this website it says that one of the indications for a SLAM is an FC of 0. Do I have to spend a couple days slamming it when the water is fine? My plan was to add enough 10% bleach to bring the FC up to 4 (based on current CYA). Is this ok?

2. My pool company programmed my pump to run on max speed 10hrs per day. How long does it need to continue like this for a new pool? Could I do 5hrs max rate and 5hrs low rate? Does the fact it is a new pool make that much of a difference.

3. Is it ok to keep the trichlor tabs in the chlorinator and just add bleach to bring up the FC per pool math?

thanks for everyone's help. What a great resource!

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

The way to know if you need to SLAM is to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

Yes, it is fine to add bleach to raise FC.

FC must be maintained above minimum for your CYA, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] at all times to keep the pool safe and sanitary. When FC drops below minimum there is increased risk of person to person disease transmission, especially with kids.

The pump should run 24x7 on a middle speed if you have a VS pump, like 1400-1600 rpm for the first 30 days.

Please add your pool info to you signature so that we can better help you. More here on what to put in there and how to do it, Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

 

[Bama Rambler]

PoolDV gave you good advice. Since you said that you have a 2-speed pump, I'd suggest running it on low all the time and only running it on high when you vacuum.

 

[JesseSchmidt]

What kind of test kit do you have? Get a good one, like the TF-100 from TFTestkits.net and do yourself a favor and get the Speedstir option. Makes life so much easier! Taylor K-2006C is a good option too. But the TF-100 is the favorite round these parts. More of the reagents you use most often for just a couple bucks more.