Startup question BBB

[gujjuman]

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Just remodeled and now am starting up with BBB method. Here are test results from today with TF-100 kit and clear water.

pH 7.5
FC 1ppm TA 70
CH 140 CYA 20

Obviously lots to fix here...just not sure what to attack first. Is it okay to use bleach 6% on new pebble sheen finish or should I start out with pucks?

 

[duraleigh]

No need to use pucks unless you have them already purchased and need to get rid of them...liquid chlorine is as good if not better.

1. bring you chlorine up to around 3-4ppm and keep it there by monitoring daily

2. At some point you will want to increase your CYA to around 50. You can do so by purchasing CYA separately and then put in the correct amount according to the pool calculator.

So, with clear water, that's it. enjoy your pool

How extensive was your remodel. Did you get new plaster?

 

[JasonLion]

Those numbers look fairly good assuming you have fresh plaster. I suspect duraleigh is assuming you kept your old plaster. For older plaster, ignore what I am about to say and do what duraleigh said.

For fresh plaster/pebble, you are pretty much all set. The key thing is to keep an eye on the PH and don't let it go over 8.0. When PH gets up to 8.0, lower it down to 7.2. That might be as often as daily. I recommend using pucks for the first couple of weeks. That will help keep the PH under control, and add both chlorine & CYA slowly (which is important for fresh plaster). When it has been perhaps three weeks you want to retest TA and CH and adjust as needed, but leave them alone for now.

 

[gujjuman]

Yes, the plaster/sheen is new. Based on some info from Pool school, the FC seems low as well as the CH and CYA.

I guess the CYA will increase slowly with the pucks, but where should I keep FC since target is 3 on the chart? I was worried that bleach would affect the new plaster (pouring over return in deep end). I'll do a search on new plaster effects but any quick info is much appreciated. How long will the plaster affect the numbers?
Thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

With fresh plaster you want to raise the FC level slowly, you don't want to go up to the recommended level right away. That is the nice thing about using pucks in this specific situation. They will raise FC slowly without any thought on your part. You want two or three in the simmer(s) all the time and run the pump 24/7 and the FC level will take care of it's self (for now).

Plaster will raise PH, TA, and CH fairly rapidly for the first three or four weeks, and much more slowly for up to a year. During the first three weeks or so you don't want to raise TA or CH, because the curing of the plaster will raise it further and you will end up overshooting. Once 30 days have passed, and sometimes a bit before, you can switch to doing everything the normal way.

 

[gujjuman]

Thanks for the information, Jason. I'll keep a close eye on the numbers and post back as it gets closer to a month after startup.