Officially open!

[minxcal]

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, our winter cover had blown off (after being under a couple of feet of ice for a while, the cable snapped. It all melted and the cover flew off while we were on vacation) and I didn't want to mess with getting a new cable and getting it back on.

The water has only been about 50, so for the last couple of weeks, there was a lot of brushing, stirring, skimming, testing, and adding bleach. Last weekend, I threw in a tablet and this weekend we hooked up the pump and filter and she's stirring away!

Thanks to all of YOU, the pool was clear when we got home and the cover was gone. I've been testing, but wanted to wait until the pump was actually churning a bit to share numbers.

FC - 5
pH - LOW - currently aerating
TA - 80 (I fought high TA all year last year from the fill truck water. this makes me happy!!)
CYA- 60
Salt - 2430 according to a strip

The water's a balmy 60 degrees currently, so I may wait till it comes up a bit to add more salt. It's supposed to be 80 today - and snow Tuesday. Mother Nature seriously needs some meds.

And other than the hubby making sure that all of my connections were tight, I hooked it all back up and got these ROCKING numbers all by myself!

Thank you all so much for all of your advice and help!!

 

[pwrstrk]

Nice job ! Numbers look good. FC is at the min for your CYA level. Don't let it drop below 5. Nothing like a opening to clear water. Makes things a lot easier doesn't it.

 

[duraleigh]

Very nice work!

 

[minxcal]

Thanks! It was nice to open to a clear pool. I was going to have water to top off from a truck again, but tested our well water and it seemed kind of perfect to use, other than the sludge that comes up from time to time. Took it slow and used my homemade filter setup I shared last year (pic below.) Worked out OK after going through 2 filters, and for what little bit did get in the pool, my new Pool Blaster cordless vac with a fine sediment bag did the trick! She's all sparkly today.



This was the filter last year. Didn't get any pictures this year, but the amount of gunk it did save was astounding.

 

[Casey]

Your pool looks awesome minxcal! I just opened in PA too!

 

[gwc]

Beautiful Pool minxcal. Thanks for the pictures

 

[mtucker]

Another testament to the benefits of this awesome forum!!

 

[woodyp]

Congrats on...YOUR..hard work!

 

[minxcal]

So... even with the home made filter when I filled, I'm still getting a lot of sediment in the bottom. I used the pool vac and it would fill up, but the next day, there's the brown stuff again. Now I'm not sure if it's just sediment or iron falling out? Any ideas? I even got a Slime Bag, and it does the job of keeping the pool clean, but even after a heavy backwash, when I take the Slime Bag off, I get the rusty looking stuff again. Should I clean the sand IN the filter, maybe a backwash wasn't enough?

By the way, I actually floated on a raft in the 72 degree water today - COLD. But, I love that when everyone else is opening their pools over Memorial Day weekend, I'll be IN mine!

 

[Casey]

Have you thought about using a sequesterent?