Getting an early start

[whoozer]

So I'm at least 3 weeks out before I get water in my new pool. I tested my water from the hose and the results are as follows:
PH-6.8
CL-0
TA-80
CH-60

I have few questions- 1. Do I wait for a complete fill before starting with chemicals?

2. Does temperature of water matter as far as absorption?

3. Two weeks after my pool is full I have to leave for a week, will setting my swg to keep things
in check for the week that I'm gone work for that long? This is my first swg, not sure if it
in essence works like a cholrinator?
Thanks again!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I can't offer any input on the SWG, but from things I've read on here, the type of pool you have can affect your water balance, for instance if it's a plaster pool, etc.

I don't believe temp matters other than needing more chlorine for hotter weather, etc.

So my guess would be fill it and treat it as you go. Obviously chlorine is going to be an issue and I'm guessing you'll have to raise your PH. One thing you didn't mention, did you test for metals?

 

[whoozer]

I'm putting in a vinyl pool but I can guess that yes I have metals present since I always have staining in the toilets, its a pain to keep up with. We are on well here so I may have to treat for iron ahead of time but I will test for that. My last pool was pretty blue then I shocked it and boy was I shocked it turn green then yellow then brown right before my eyes, took 2 weeks to clear the iron from the water eeek. Lesson learned there. Just wasn't sure about adding as I go last time I waited for pool to fill then worked on balancing....probably just do the same thing again. Thanks.

 

[JasonLion]

1. Do I wait for a complete fill before starting with chemicals?
2. Does temperature of water matter as far as absorption?
3. Two weeks after my pool is full I have to leave for a week, will setting my swg to keep thing in check for the week that I'm gone work for that long?

1) Yes wait, unless the fill is going to take more than two days. Adding chemicals before the pool is full gets tricky.
2) Yes, temp matters, but not very much.
3) Yes, but you will need to work at it a little to get everything set right. You need everything setup and working correctly, two or three days to figure out an appropriate percentage on the SWG, and your TA must be fairly low or the PH will drift.

 

[whoozer]

Jasonlion-What range should I keep my TA in to avoid ph drifting?

 

[JasonLion]

I would try TA around 60 to 70. Keep in mind that CYA contributes to TA, so don't raise TA all the way till the CYA is dissolved.

 

[whoozer]

Thanks JasonLion this info should help me out alot once I get my pool filled. I just want to be ready.

Now with the swg. I balance everything first then set a percentage on my swg right? I've read the sticky on swg chemistry about 10 times but it never really clarified the basic physics of an swg.

Does it in essence work like an auto chlorinator. You dial in the percentage of chlorine you want to regularly go into your pool. Do I have this right or am I way off?

I also read that it is more effective to shock with bleach as it saves the cell from usage. Am I correct in thinking once you get your swg dialed in you shouldn't have to shock as much?

Sorry, swg is new to me..I'm a little apprehensive but enthusiastic about it.

 

[JasonLion]

If you do everything right the only time you might need to shock is when opening in the spring.

The percentage setting is the percentage of the time that the pump is running that the SWG is producing chlorine. So both the percentage and your pump run time affect how much chlorine is produced.

Shocking with bleach does save cell usage but the real reason is because shocking requires the FC level come up quickly. If you only used the SWG it would come up too slowly.

 

[whoozer]

Thanks for clearing that up JasonLion :-D

 

[ktdave]

Since you have metal (iron) staining in your toilets, you definitely want to test for metals (iron, copper especially) at your local pool store. If you have problem metals in your fill water, you'll defintely want to keep sequesterants (such as Jack's Magic products) on hand for use. But, wait until you get your pool filled and see where your chem levels are.

If you indeed have problem metals, you will have to pay close attention to your pH and FC levels, and need to use maintenance doses of sequesterants.