Re-Plaster Start Up Questions

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jeffrey_mathew

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Nov 18, 2011
3
All/Anyone,

I am a new pool owner and I will say that I knew nothing about pools. I was fortunate to stumble across this website and learned more than I ever had reading various articles on the web. I particularly liked the pool school faqs, wish I had read that prior to burning out my booster pump, countless hours of adding chemicals of which I had no clue what was the intended result, and not to mention the general lack of knowledge of the pool architecture. Anyways, I am infinitely more informed than I was 6 months ago, but still cautious/leary of a few things. I just had my pool replastered and I have no real day-by-day instructions for a traditional start up. Which leads me to my questions:
1. When should I start brushing my pool? Will brushing it within 24 hours of being filled hurt anything?
2. My alkalinity is at 365 ppm, Ph at 8.4, Hardness at 50 ppm, and Total Chlorine is at 0 ppm. What should I start correcting first and at what interval?

Any help would be appreciated, and I thank everyone for posting their experiences and knowledge as it really helps newbies like myself.

-Jeff M
 
Hi, Jeff,

Welcome to the forum :lol:

1. Brush your pool daily starting right now.

2. Also starting right now, get your pH down into the low 7's by7 adding muriatic acid. You may need to do this more than once a week (I suggest you test pH daily for the next month.....you'll see the trend) as new plaster will tend to constantly make your pH rise.

3. Please tell us the city and state in which you live

4. What does your water look like right now?

5. Exactly when was the replastering finished?

6. How do you intend to chlorinate your pool?
 
Dave,

Thanks for the prompt reply! I appreciate it.

1. Brush your pool daily starting right now.
Will do, is it necessary to brush more than once a day?

2. Also starting right now, get your pH down into the low 7's by adding muriatic acid. You may need to do this more than once a week (I suggest you test pH daily for the next month.....you'll see the trend) as new plaster will tend to constantly make your pH rise.
Will do

3. Please tell us the city and state in which you live
Houston, Tx

4. What does your water look like right now?
clear blue (quite the departure from dark green)

5. Exactly when was the replastering finished?
prepped on 11/19/2011, plastered on 11/20/2011; started filling yesterday and completed today so I started brushing right away.

6. How do you intend to chlorinate your pool?
I have a tablet feeder, but I was told by a friend that Clorox works better. I am willing to do either, just not sure which is the better choice.


Thanks again, I thought I changed my signature to include my pool specs per the beginners thread, but looks like I didn't do it quite right. Will take care of that shortly as well.

-Jeff M
 
I would like to ask; Does the entire pool water "cloud up" (milky) after brushing? Or just a little bit a white dust is created on the bottom after brushing? Is the plaster white or colored? Please double check your alkalinity and hardness and post the results. Also, check the tap water for pH, alkalinity, and hardnessalso to see if it is the same as the pool water is now, or is different. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the reference to the NPC new plaster startup card, it us useful info to say the least.

onBalance, to answer your questions:

Does the entire pool water "cloud up" (milky) after brushing? Not really, just a little bit cloudy temporarily.

Or just a little bit a white dust is created on the bottom after brushing? Just a little after brushing.

Is the plaster white or colored? White

Please double check your alkalinity and hardness and post the results. Current reading -> alkalinity: 365 ppm, hardness: 50 ppm, pH: 8.4

Also, check the tap water for pH, alkalinity, and hardness. Tap water reading -> alkalinity: 215 ppm, hardness: 100 ppm, pH: 7.6

When lowering alkalinity, what dosage and interval should I use with adding muratic acid?

Thanks for the help,
Jeff M
 
I submit that the high alkalinity is what helps to prevent, or at least, minimize the amount of "plaster dust" forming, which is good. That is the principle behind the Bicarb start-up program. Therefore, your tap water is beneficial for new plaster pools. Now, as the others on this forum have advised, you can start lowering the alkalinity over time. However, it will be somewhat difficult and take a while due to your high tap water alkalinity, but that is okay. As long as you keep the pH in the proper range, I believe you will be following the best program for the pool plaster. As Jason stated, trichlor is best to use for first month or two. As the pool-school suggests, dilute the acid, trickle it in while walking around the pool, and don't over do the amount of acid per treatment.
 
OnBalance, I have become very educated on new plaster startup reading the posts on this site and my pool is being finished this week. I have told PB that I want to wait until spring to get the pool plastered (I'm doing CL Industries SunStone Select Quartz).

I was way too paranoid that my water chemistry would get out of whack over the winter and I would compromise the finish.

I want to get the best possible finish for the longest life so I need some help. My tap water (from city supply) is 52 alkalinity and 109 hardness. What can / should I do to the fill water to make the fill in the spring go smoothy and get the best cure on the finish?
 
Your tap water needs about 250 to 300 ppm of alkalinity added, which is accomplished by adding sodium bicarbonate (Bicarb). After three weeks has past, then begin to lower the TA to where you want it. The easiest way to adjust the fill water is to truck in the water and add the Bicarb to the tank of water.

Also, read the following post: ten-guidelines-for-quality-pool-plaster-t42957.html Hopefully the PB is on top of this and will agree with these pool plastering recommendations.
 

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