New pool questions

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BigEyesLittleWallet

BigEyesLittleWallet

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LifeTime Supporter
Aug 17, 2010
20
Metamora IL
My new pool will be going in the next couple of weeks and I have a few questions. I've read the pool school and hae my test kit ready :)

1) After the pool is full, Do I add bleach to bring my chlorine level up or do I let my SWG do that. (when do I add the salt?)

2) Do I need to wait on getting my alkalinity down until PH and chlorine are at the right levels, or can I start MA/aeration cycles right away.

3) Since I will be filling the pool with well water (iron content), am I going to have to use a Sequestrant or will my sand filter take out the iron as it interacts with the chlorine?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Roger
 
Good questions. Lets see if I can help.

1) Use bleach until you get some CYA in there and the salt has 24 hours to circulate. You can add the salt immediately.

2) Don't worry about your TA to begin with. Do you have a number for what your TA is going to be?

3) You will have to use sequestrant as long as you have iron in the fill water. Your sand (or any other) filter will not remove metals.

I suggest having water hauled in unless it's terribly expensive. The money you pay for sequestrants over the life of the pool will most likely make up for the added expense.
 
With a TA of 310 you'll be adding acid a lot in the beginning adjusting your pH until it comes down. If you find that the pH rises very rapidly you can purposefully lower TA. There's an article in Pool School on how to do that.
 
Ok. The pool should be installed in filled by this weekend if I can just get a dry day or 2 :)

Measured my fill water and came up with:

CH : 300
TA: 310
CYA : 0
PH : 7.5-7.8 (Have a hard time telling the difference)
FC : 0
TC : 0
CC : 0

If I am reading the calculator correctly my shock level is supposed to be 5 (for my overnight FC testing) since my CYA seems to be zero.

Am I on the right track here?

After I get my overnight FC set, I'm assuming I :
1) Start rasing my CYA up
2) Start working on getting my TA down
3) Turn on my SWG

Couple more questions:

1. Any warnings on using Pool Pride StainBan as a sequestrant
2. Do I need to be concerned with the CH Level
3. Is there a easier to read PH test kit / system. I have a hard time telling the shades apart sometimes

Thanks,
Roger
 
Take a sample to a local pool store and have them test for metals.

Add the sequestrant as soon as the pool is filled.
Then get some chlorine in there. I don't think you'll need to shock, just get about 3 ppm FC in there.
Add the CYA, and Salt.
The CH isn't too high but you need to work on your TA. You can do that by adjusting your pH to 7.0 whenever it gets to 7.5 or so.
 
Your numbers sound very close to mine, except I lucked out and do not seem to have any problems with any metals in our well fill water.

If you aren't in the process of shocking, you do not need to worry about the overnight free chlorine loss test yet.

I cannot comment to the sequesterant.

Step number 1 will be to add bleach. Probably one of the big jugs (174 oz?) to get your FC up to 3-4.

You can also start adding salt at this time. I've seen some add it all at once and some add it hourly.

Step number 2 is to get some CYA in there. When I plugged in 22K gallons, I got over 7lbs of the dry granular that will be needed just to bring it to 40. I believe most with a SWG aim for slightly higher than that, so that might help you when deciding what size bag to purchase. You can put your CYA in socks.

Step number 3 is to lower that pH. Use muriatic acid. For a pool your size, I would start with a gallon. Try to space out the chlorine and MA a bit - 15-30 minutes. Make sure your pump stays running while you are adding chemicals and at least an hour or two after adding MA. An hour after adding the MA, I would retest my FC and pH and adjust if needed to try to have FC = 3-4 and pH = 7.0 - 7.2.

Test your FC and pH daily. Even after you are able to turn on your SWG, you may still have to add chlorine for a bit until you get the levels correct and it all gets stabilized. I try to add more MA when my pH drifts up to 7.6, but I hate working with it, so normally I wait another day or two and it has gone to 7.8 - 8.0.

BTW, my pool is about 1/4 the size of yours. My TA started out at 325. It took 1 1/2 gallons to get it down around 250. I just picked up two more gallons and hope this will be all I need. So far, looks like 1/2 gallon will lower my TA about 25. I have a feeling that as I get closer to 'normal' values, this will increase. The pool calculator effect of adding chemicals has 1/2 gallon lowering TA closer to 50, but this is assuming 'normal' TA.
 

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Ok, I think I might have had my first goof up.

We are finally getting the pool full of water and I accedentailly put in twice as much sequesterant as the bottle said.

How big of an issue is this going to cause me? Is there a safety concern?

Just worried I guess

Thanks,
Roger
 
Here are my numbers after the fill completed last night.

CH : 300
TA: 310
CYA : 0 (Just hung the socks last night will try to get a read when I get home from work)
PH : 7.5-7.8 (Have a hard time telling the difference)
FC : 3.5
CC : .5
TC : 4.0

I can see the bottom of the pool on the end oppisite of the skimmer :)
 
When correctly balanced and cleaned you should be able to see a coin on the bottom of the pool without difficulty. In fact, the water should be so clear the pool almost looks empty.
 
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