Drain 46k gallon pool, refilling

[piratespoint]

We have drained and are refilling the pool at the resort I work at. Never done this before. It's going to take about three days to fill.
What should I expect when reopening the pool?

Thanks for your help!

 

[JesseWV]

Testing the fill water will give you a heads up on what you'll need to do to get the pH, TA, and CH to recommended levels. You'll also want to get some chlorine in there to curb any algae growth before it begins. Most fill water is between 0.2 and 2.0 ppm FC if they are using traditional chlorine. Some municipalities have switched to monochloramine which won't do you much good.

Also, can you tell us more about the setup? Indoor or outdoor? How is it chlorinated? What kind(s) of automation? What is the typical bather load?

 

[jblizzle]

You should expect to circulate the water and then run a full set of tests to see what needs to be adjusted.
You will certainly need to add CYA and chlorine, maybe adjust the pH and TA.
If you are using RO water, then you will also need to add calcium to protect the plaster.

 

[JasonLion]

You should test the fill water in advance so you can figure out what levels need to be adjusted once the pool is full. What needs to be adjusted will depend on those test results.

 

[SwimAustin]

Some municipalities have switched to monochloramine which won't do you much good.

I believe the City of Austin did that. I tested and found no free chlorine, which confused me at first, then I checked CC and found a couple ppm.

 

[piratespoint]

Thanks everyone. I have tested the fill water in the past and the PH and TA have been in the ballpark, so I shouldn't have to do much there. I've placed a couple of chlorine pucks at the bottom as it fills. I'll be able to start circulating the water by the end of tomorrow, I hope.
Should I add a bit of algaecide as well while it fills? We've had black algae problems in the past and I don't want to let it get a foothold before we even get started.
Thanks for your interest and responses!

 

[jblizzle]

The pucks are likely damaging your pool surface ... not a good idea to just set them on the bottom of the pool.

We generally do not recommend the use of algaecide if you maintain proper FC levels. If you do not think you will be able to maintain proper FC levels, then the algaecide can be insurance. We only recommend using the polyquat type though.

 

[JesseWV]

Even the cheap floaters at Walmart will work much better than putting them on the bottom and you won't risk damaging the surface from the acid.

For a pool that big I would get 2 floaters, fill them both and open them up all the way. Each 3" tablet is 6oz of Trichlor, so use PoolMath to figure out how much CYA they will eventually add.

 

[jblizzle]

Each 3" tablet is 6oz of Trichlor, so use PoolMath to figure out how much CYA they will eventually add.

The tablets I have are 8oz ... different brands vary between 6-8oz.

 

[piratespoint]

Pool is now full. I've been adding small amounts of chlorine over the past few days while it fills, both tri-chlor pucks and some cal hypo. Chlorine still tests at zero.
PH is 7.2 which as I understand is on the low end, but I plan to add a bit more cal hypo which might bring it up a little, or at least hold it steady.
TA is only 20 ppm. I've added all of the sodium bicarb that I have, about 30 lbs. We'll see if that makes much of a difference, I'll test again tomorrow.

I've added a small amount of cal hypo and one more tri-chlor puck today. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself as I'm under the impression that I need to get the TA under control before I move forward.

Thanks for your help and replies.

 

[piratespoint]

Just tested the water and the TA is now at 110. Hoping it holds.
Chlorine still at zero.
PH at 8.2 Apparently all of that sodium bi-carb made it jump up.
I added four chlorine pucks to the skimmer. Hoping that they'll bring the PH down a bit, chlorinate the water, and get a little CYA in there. Don't plan to add any CYA, the pucks will give me plenty.

Am I on the right track?

Thanks for your help!

 

[jblizzle]

Are you running the pump 24/7? If not, you should not put pucks in the skimmer.

 

[piratespoint]

No, we run about 16 hours per day.

 

[jblizzle]

Then you should put the pucks in a floater or install a tablet feeder in the plumbing (assuming you plan to use them for awhile).

 

[astronaut888]

Are you running the pump 24/7? If not, you should not put pucks in the skimmer.

Oh - is this true?
Wasn't aware of this - what is the problem in doing so ?

 

[jblizzle]

Because the pucks are very acidic and will make the water sitting in the skimmer very acidic without the pump running ... and then you suck it through all your equipment when the pump turns on.

 

[Casey]

It'll also make your skimmer baskets very brittle.

 

[piratespoint]

I tested again this morning.
TA is holding at 110
PH has gone down to 7.8
Chlorine has jumped up quite high, about 4ppm

Aside from having the pucks in the skimmer basket, am I doing okay for a pool that's just been refilled?

 

[SwimAustin]

It'll also make your skimmer baskets very brittle.

Great. Now I have one more problem to blame on my ex-pool guy.

 

[piratespoint]

My CYA tested at zero today which does not surprise me as the pool has been recently refilled. Instead of adding CYA right off the bat my plan is to chlorinate using mostly pucks until I get the levels I want. Then I will back off and use more liquid bleach and cal-hypo with the occasional puck here and there. Does this make sense to anyone? Or should I throw some CYA in right now?

Today's test results:
Ph 7.8
FC low, under 2ppm
TA 105
CYA 0
CH 60 Will this go up as I use cal-hypo?