First pool Opening

[bolleat]

Hi guys,

I opened my first pool today (with a little help). My pool is a 32000 gallon gunite pool 18'X40'. DE filter. I had a pool service help me with opening and inspect all my equipment since this was my first time. They did some water balancing, added liquid chlorine, and got everything going. I am going to do the rest all season and want to use the BBB method. I have my Taylor K-2006 ready, and I am all set to start. One big question:

The pool guy put 6 chlorine hockey pucks (3 in each skimmer). I think I know the answer from pool school, but wanted to ask anyway. Should I remove those and just add chlorine (bleach) each day or should I leave the pucks in for now for opening, and then start using liquid?

Thanks. I am sure I am going to be relying on this forum all season!

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum. :lol:

Use that K-2006 and post your test results. Chances are you can leave them alone (although I really don't like putting them in the skimmers much) but your current CYA level will be the determining factor.

 

[bolleat]

Thanks!

I am going to test later tonight. Will post my results.

 

[jblizzle]

You really should not leave them in the skimmer unless you are leaving the pump on 24/7.

 

[bolleat]

Pump is running. I am going to leave it running for the next 24 hours. Thanks!

 

[bolleat]

Ok here are the readings I got. Not fully confident in my testing yet as this was my first time with the K-2006.

FC: 0.8
ph: 7.0
TA: 140
CYA: 60

This didn't completely make sense to me, can the TA be that high with PH being that low? The pool guy added acid today. Did he add too much or do I need the PH low right now to bring down the TA?

So what is my next step? Remove the pucks so as not to increase CYA and then....?

 

[jblizzle]

I would pull the pucks as you are on the high side of CYA already.

But, you need to get a bunch of chlorine in the pool, so switch to liquid (bleach).

Yes TA can be high with low pH ... another reason to pull the pucks so the pH does not drop more.

What about the CH test?
Did you test the CC? Also use a 10 ml sample for the FC and CC test so each drop is 0.5ppm.

 

[bolleat]

Ok,

So this morning I got rid of the hockey pucks. I added quite a bit of 8.5% bleach. When I get home from work i will test the water. This time I will run a CC as well and post. Thanks for the advice so far.

Question:
1. Should I be running my pool cleaner during this process or should I just be vacuuming all the crud up manually?
2. I have an aquamatic pool cover, should I leave it open during shocking or closed. Does it matter?

 

[harleysilo]

Ok,

So this morning I got rid of the hockey pucks. I added quite a bit of 8.5% bleach. When I get home from work i will test the water. This time I will run a CC as well and post. Thanks for the advice so far.

Question:
1. Should I be running my pool cleaner during this process or should I just be vacuuming all the crud up manually?
2. I have an aquamatic pool cover, should I leave it open during shocking or closed. Does it matter?

I'm confused. Are you going through the process of shocking your pool? What was your target FC level when you added "quite a bit of 8.5% bleach."?

Are you referencing this chart in determining what your target FC level should be?

pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

It suggests your target should by 7 PPM. What type of auto-cover do you have?

 

[bolleat]

Thanks for the response.


Well, I am opening the pool. I added enough bleach to get to my target of around 7ppm as you suggested. I was under the impression I needed to shock the pool when opening, so I was wondering if I need to go higher to the target of 24?. Is that not correct?

I have an aquamatic pool cover.

 

[harleysilo]

Okay i just figured they would have left you with a perfectly beautiful pool! You can always do pool-school/overnight_fc_test

which will let you know if you need to bring it to shock level. At 7ppm your cover should be just fine.

 

[harleysilo]

I would scan through this as well, lot's of good info on your cover

http://www.aquamatic.com/wp-content/pdf ... Manual.pdf

 

[bolleat]

Ok,

So even after the whole winter if I pass this overnight test I do not need to shock the pool? Is that correct? I did not realize you do not need to shock the pool when opening. Guess I am still a big noob. Reading pool school 100 times and I still feel stupid.

Thanks for the info on the cover, very informative and helpful.

Any advice on how to tell if your heater is actually heating? My heater is 16 years old, it turns on, but the led display doesn't really work right, can't change set temp, can't really do anything with it. The heat pump runs, but I have no idea if it is actually heating the pool. I know I need a replacement probably, but was trying to figure out if it was working at all. Any advice on a size of a heater for my pool (32000 gallons in Northern Virginia).

Thanks

 

[harleysilo]

No idea on the heat pump other than is the water coming out of your returns significantly warmer feeling than the pool water? Also you can feel the air above the heat pump, if it feels significantly cooler than the outside air it may very well be working. You could confirm this with an accurate digital thermometer.

I don't think you ever told us what your pool looked like upon opening, nor how it looks after the guys helped you clean it up. How does it look?

The overnight test will tell us if you have anything consuming the chlorine in your pool.

 

[bolleat]

Ok Night test done:
temp: 60 degrees
FC: 1.5 (I have added 544oz of 8.5% bleach between this morning and this evening, seems like it isn't going up much)
CC: 1.0
Ph: 7.0
TA: 130
CH: 110 (this is a bit low for me, guess I need some calcium flakes)
CYA: 50-60

Pool water looks ok, not green, clear in shallow end, clear to about 5 or 6 feet in deep end, then can't see bottom in the 8ft area. Have some leaves, and dirt looking stuff on bottom of pool.

So I don't feel much pressure coming out of the returns, was worried they were not working. Pump is running, skimmers seem to be sucking so they must be working right? No eyeballs present, just open holes.

Should I just focus on the chlorine right now, or do I need to get the PH up as well?

 

[jblizzle]

What is your current filter pressure? What is your normal clean filter pressure?

If the pool is dirty, the filter could clog up pretty quickly.

pH is fine. Focus on maintain the FC at shock level (20ppm for a CYA of 50ppm).

 

[bolleat]

Starting pressure was 20, it is about 26 now. It has been 48 hours since we turned it on.

 

[jblizzle]

We recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure goes up 20-25% ... that would be by 25psi for you. Time to clean the filter.

 

[spidey07]

You do need to follow the shock process. Eyeballs on the returns will help with circulation. Use a leaf net to get out debris as that will consume your chlorine and contribute to growth.

See those CCs? That means the chlorine is working and actively breaking down stuffs; that's why you lost so much chlorine after dosing. Keep that FC at shock levels and HOLD it there until you pass the 3 criteria described in shock process, it could take a few applications and testing per day to maintain your FC. Don't forget the brushing and filter maintenance while shocking as well.

As mentioned your filter is going to get a LOT of work when you're shocking so stick to the process.

For reference you shock your pool when any of these:
1) Visible algae or water color not clear
2) Overnight FC loss > 1
3) CC > .5

Conversely you are done shocking when all of these are met
1) Water clear
2) OCLT < 1
3) CC < .5

Now that the sun is off your pool bump that FC up to shock level with bleach and test 30 min later to ensure you STAY at shock level. You may have to hit it again in the morning and re-test. The key to shocking is holding the FC to shock levels and not letting it dip much below it at all if any.

 

[bolleat]

Thanks guys, the speed at which you get answers around here is amazing. I really appreciate the help!