Drain. Retile. Acid wash. Refill. Now what?

[evad714]

I'll post some pre and post photos later after the fill, but for now here's where I am at.
I live in Anaheim CA. Drained the pool Thursday. Demo and retiled on Friday. Acid wash and refill started today, Saturday.

I have a regular old Home Depot test kit with a T100 on the way.
I need to go buy all chemicals this evening after work.
I have about half a large tub of Leslie's 3" chlorinating tabs (sorry I was new at the time to pool ownership and care)

Here's city water data:
http://www.anaheim.net/utilities/waterservices/2013WQR.pdf

I'm curious to know if I need a sequesterant and at what point do I add that?
Is that available at a Home Depot or Ace?

Since I can't measure cya until my test kit arrives, do I still add some up front?
How much? And where is the best place to buy it from?

100% new municipal water
In ground
Approx. 20k gallon pool/spa

Oh... And I have a DE filter which was last cleaned in November. When should I re clean those filters? Pressure was still about 15 before the draining.

Thanks!
David

Now back to reading pool school

 

[duraleigh]

Don't buy any chemistry except CYA until you test.

You will have zero CYA so, using Poolmath, calculate and purchase enough CYA to get your pool to around 40-50 ppm and then add it once your pool is filled. No need to test.....just assume it is correct based on your poolmath calcs.

Next test all the other parameters and post your results and we'll help you from there.

No need for a sequestrant for now.

 

[evad714]

Where's the best place to get cya from?

 

[pwrstrk]

Wally World's HTH stabilizer is good or the pool store.

Actually I just used some today I had left from last year that I got from Leslie's and even with the cold water it dissolved pretty quick. It was 99% CYA, where Wally Worlds is 96% CYA.

 

[Richard320]

CYA is also known as Stabilizer. Lowe's has it with the pool stuff outdoors in the garden area. Walmart should have it this time of year. My local Ace hardware has somne pool chemicals. So does OSH. Surprisingly, so does my local Albertson's grocery store, in the same aisle as the motor oil and light bulbs. Leslie's will have it, of course.

Those tabs will keep for years and years if they're kept closed up and dry. Save them to top off CYA lost to splashout and/or when you're on vacation.

 

[evad714]

TF 100 kit finally came and then I was busy but now I'm back on it.
Here are my test results from just now:

FC .5
CC 0
TC .5
PH 8.2 (very pink)
CH 550
TA 190

CYA filled to the top could still see the black dot, but it was slightly cloudy

obviously I need some stabalizer, chrlorine, acid... but in what order? and how do I control CH and TA?

 

[Richard320]

TF 100 kit finally came and then I was busy but now I'm back on it.
Here are my test results from just now:

FC .5
CC 0
TC .5
PH 8.2 (very pink)
CH 550
TA 190

CYA filled to the top could still see the black dot, but it was slightly cloudy

obviously I need some stabalizer, chrlorine, acid... but in what order? and how do I control CH and TA?

In order

1) Use Poolmath to calculate the acid needed to get to 7.4. Add it by pouring it slowly in front of the return so it mixes fast.
2) Use Poolmath to calculate how much CYA you'll need to get to 20. It sounds like you have some in there already, so this will put you probably in the 30 to 40 range. That's good enough for now. It's easy to raise it later, hard to lower. Put the calculated amount of CYA into a sock or nylon and tie it up, then hang it in front of a return or let it dangle off a pool toy or empty bleach jug. Just let it hang there. Don't set it in the skimmer or pour it in the pool or skimmer.
3) By the time you're done fussing wth the CYA, recheck pH. It should have 30 minutes to mix. If you're anywhere near 7.5, you're good enough. Otherwise, recalculate and add more. Since you're above 8.2, you might actually be at 9!
4) Your target FC for 30 CYA is 2-6. I'd aim for 5. Use poolmath to tell you how much to add.
5) Measure pH, FC, CC, TA tomorrow and adjust pH if it's above 7.8, then replenish the chlorine.
6) In a week, recheck CYA and adjust it as needed.

TA will come down on its own as you adjust pH. Once you get the hang of this, which shouldn't take more than two weeks, if TA is still high you can work on it then.

You can't do much about high CH. It's a fact of life in SoCal. One way to reduce it is to use pool water to water the lawn, then refill with the water you'd use on the grass. That will generally hold it stable, but not reduce it much. For now, just get used to the testing and dosing. Once you do it a while, it will click and all make sense.

 

[evad714]

In order

1) Use Poolmath to calculate the acid needed to get to 7.4. Add it by pouring it slowly in front of the return so it mixes fast.
2) Use Poolmath to calculate how much CYA you'll need to get to 20. It sounds like you have some in there already, so this will put you probably in the 30 to 40 range. That's good enough for now. It's easy to raise it later, hard to lower. Put the calculated amount of CYA into a sock or nylon and tie it up, then hang it in front of a return or let it dangle off a pool toy or empty bleach jug. Just let it hang there. Don't set it in the skimmer or pour it in the pool or skimmer.
3) By the time you're done fussing wth the CYA, recheck pH. It should have 30 minutes to mix. If you're anywhere near 7.5, you're good enough. Otherwise, recalculate and add more. Since you're above 8.2, you might actually be at 9!
4) Your target FC for 30 CYA is 2-6. I'd aim for 5. Use poolmath to tell you how much to add.
5) Measure pH, FC, CC, TA tomorrow and adjust pH if it's above 7.8, then replenish the chlorine.
6) In a week, recheck CYA and adjust it as needed.

TA will come down on its own as you adjust pH. Once you get the hang of this, which shouldn't take more than two weeks, if TA is still high you can work on it then.

You can't do much about high CH. It's a fact of life in SoCal. One way to reduce it is to use pool water to water the lawn, then refill with the water you'd use on the grass. That will generally hold it stable, but not reduce it much. For now, just get used to the testing and dosing. Once you do it a while, it will click and all make sense.

perfect. thanks for the instructions.
I like using the pool toy as a dangle. great idea.
thanks again! time to go figure this all out.