New Pool Build - TX

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It might help to clarify with the PB exactly when you should take over pool chemical maintenance. In my case, they did the start up and that was pretty much it. A few days later I saw one of the guys indiscriminately throwing powder "shock" (as he called it) into the pool. No measurements or anything. Just guessing. No pre-dissolving either. So that's when I decided to take full control, and aside from catching him throw some "shock" in the pool another time or 2, that was it.
Also, let me encourage (as others have/will) as much brushing as you can stand, especially in the spa. One of my neighbors (with the same PB) came over and could not believe how much smoother my plaster was (texture, not so much appearance), and the PB later said the same.

Your pool looks AWESOME! Almost DONE!
 
Ryno98 said:
It might help to clarify with the PB exactly when you should take over pool chemical maintenance. In my case, they did the start up and that was pretty much it. A few days later I saw one of the guys indiscriminately throwing powder "shock" (as he called it) into the pool. No measurements or anything. Just guessing. No pre-dissolving either. So that's when I decided to take full control, and aside from catching him throw some "shock" in the pool another time or 2, that was it.
Also, let me encourage (as others have/will) as much brushing as you can stand, especially in the spa. One of my neighbors (with the same PB) came over and could not believe how much smoother my plaster was (texture, not so much appearance), and the PB later said the same.

Your pool looks AWESOME! Almost DONE!
Click to expand...

Thanks Ryno! I can't thank you enough for all of the help you've been so far.

I'll double check w/ the PB about the responsibilities. They are there today getting things finished up, and I'm assuming doing the acid start up? The pump is running now and everything is looking good. And duly noted about the brushing. I rearranged our family's Thanksgiving just so I could be home to brush. As obsessive about those kinds of things as I am, I"ll probably be brushing 4 times a day...

And finally, here we go. He fired up the waterfall this morning for the very first time and it was pretty cool to see.





 
kimkats said:
OHHHHHHHHHHHHH AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the waterfall!

Is it loud?

I love the plaster color!

I love it all!

Kim
Click to expand...

Yes! It is definitely loud when you are down there right next to it. And thanks! I probably had the silliest grin on my face when the water started to trickle over the edges. It was awesome.

Oh and funny story. The first two guys that showed up brought a big bucket of "shock" (as I was told) and a big bucket of trichlor tabs, and a case of acid. The guy said, "Here is your stuff. You ordered it right?" And I said, "uhh...no?" He said, "OH well *employees name* said to bring it to you, huh."

I didn't think much about it, but then that employee called (one of their supervisors, just hired) and said, "We shocked the pool and put some stabilizer in. I brought you some chemicals and I'll go over that next week when we come over to do the turnover. The chemicals aren't included but they should last you almost a year." Uhhhhmmm...no. First of all, as much as we paid for this pool I would think a SUV should be included, much less some chemicals. Secondly, we aren't using tabs.

I told him, "Ohh, well I didn't order that stuff and besides, I'm not going to be using the tabs anyways. I'm going to chlorinate with bleach only." I might as well have told him I was going to chlorinate with organic chocolate milk. He said, "OHh...uuuuuuhhhhhhhhh *picture him scratching his head* I'll have to check on that. Umm, okay...? Is that something you read on the internet or something? Well, don't worry about that I'll take the pucks back. You want the shock though right?" "No thanks, but I'll take the acid." "Ohh...okay. Alright"

I went into the whole buildup of CYA, the resulting ineffectiveness of the FC, drain and refill...etc...but I could tell he didn't necessarily want to hear it. He probably thinks I'm nuts.
 
that is a funny story. But more importantly - your pool looks absolutely AMAZING. Congratulations on the pre-Thanksgiving completion. And looks like it might still be a great week/weekend to enjoy it. I echo Kim Kats "I love it all" - Karen
 
I would have to ask how much they want to charge you for the acid. I bet there is quite a markup so they can make some more money from you.

I can just see him looking lost while you told him about it. The test kit would blow his mind!

"Is this something you read on the internet?" HEHE! Yeah it is and there are hundreds (I wonder if there are thousands using TFP?) of people doing it and having wonderful results!

Can you take a video and post it? I would love to hear the waterfall!

Kim
 
Looks amazing! I would love to have a waterfall like yours if I have more yard space.... Congratulations! Thumbs up for you and me for getting our build done for the Holiday! Even though we can not swim in it, but at least, it is pretty to look at!
 
Thanks again everyone for the comments. Just got done brushing!

Alright, I have a few newbie questions for the pros:

1) *Dumb question I'm sure* Am I supposed to see water going through the clear top of the pool pump? When I look in there, I see leaves and debris floating around but its only in air. No water in there? The returns in the pool are pumping great, so I bet its normal just confused me a little. I would think water would be going through there and into the filter?
2) The point of brushing is just to get the dust suspended in water right? In other words, theres no sense in scrubbing hard?
3) Apparently the PB didn't do an acid start up. I don't even know if they did a "start up". Apparently they threw in some "shock", CYA, and a couple of trichlor tablets. So no acid.

So heres my test results from tonight:

pH: 8.2 (or above, it was very magenta)
FC: 1.5
CC: 3.5
CH: 50
TA: 50
CYA: 10 ish

I know for a fact they aren't coming back out for a week. I texted the supervisor who put the chemicals in (and of which I had that fun chat) and asked him about the pH and he asked for the TA. He then said, "Lets give it some time for the stuff we put in to level out."

So..........I need to get that pH down right?
 

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These are TF-100 results, yes? You can use pool math to determine how much MA to add to get your PH down to 7.5ish. I think high PH on startup is bad.

So much for the "shock" if your FC is only 1.5 and CC is 3.5. Are you sure he actually put CYA in the pool (separate from the pucks) or was it MA?

You are brushing to smooth out the plaster as well. Spend extra time brushing the streaked areas. I would recommend brushing toward the drains, too. And try to avoid a back and forth motion. Just go forward with the brush (not backward).
 
The only thing I can help her is the pump cover-Mine looks like there is no water in it most of the time. If there is a leaf or something that got through the upper basket I will see it in the pump.

If you want to make sure there is water in it you can turn off the pump, close the valves that run from the pool to the equipment, open the top of the pump basket. There should be water in it.

Here is a link to TFP start up of a plaster pool.

You need to make sure that what ever you do does NOT void the warranty with your PB.

Kim
 
Pool pump question: It's full of water. It just looks completely empty because there is no air for contrast. Mine looks the exact same way.
Brushing: you just need to knock the plaster dust off. Don't kill yourself trying to scrub it.
Startup: I think they do a traditional startup. Acid startup makes a good smooth/even finish with less brushing (and dissolves the plaster dust) but some think this decreases the life of the plaster

Test results: Be careful of adding much chlorine early on. The water will be pretty cold, anyway, so you are unlikely to have a big algae bloom or any major problem. I wouldn't sweat the pH too much right now. My pool (as a result of my fill water) wants to be at 8.2 constantly. We battle it out and usually agree at 7.9-8 most of the time. My CH is on the low side, so no scale problems, but chlorine is a little less effective at the higher pH. Also, I'm sure they just tossed the CYA in the pool, so it may not have dissolved yet.

On a side note: You will probably from time to time notice that some of the drains in the waterfall "basins" will get air-locked or slightly plugged with debris. Just give them a few pops with the heel of your palm to get the water draining again when this happens. It's just a consequence of the drains being generally hidden.

Another tip: More for in the summer when you are running the pump longer - our pool designs result in a TON of aeration even when not running the waterfalls, which drives the pH up and the TA down. You can turn off the bubbler valve and choke the spa return valve down pretty low to minimize the amount of water that's getting aerated. Doing this really helped to lower my acid requirements. For now, though, your new plaster is going to chew through a ton of acid no matter what.
 
Oh, Wow, Dang. That is a a heck of a water feature. I'm lost for words, and that over a picture on the internets. I'm guess its utterly fabulous in person. How is my/Glocks cave doing? (asking the important questions here).

From the figures you want to get your pH down, you TA up (and especially because adding acid will drop it further), and increase your CH.

My PB brought me a bucket of tricolor, calcium, bicarbonate, soda ash and acid as a startup package. I'm happily using the tabs for the first 30 days. Its not going to make crazy things happen with the CYA in a short period, and besides right now, its too cold for algae, so chlorine isn't needed as much, its okay to run with a low CYA/tabs as you get towards the end of the first 30 days and you want to switch to either bleach (we have a SWG), then you can go ahead and add CYA slowly to bring it up to your desired level. Adding a little, testing after a few days and so on. Also a good tip is to add the chems and give it over night to circulate before checking the levels the next day, so you can see how much you need to add, some things take a little while to appear in the water, CYA is one of them. Also don't backwash right after adding chemicals, you'll wash them all right down the backwash drain.
 
All good points. Yesterday I added 12 lbs of baking soda to get the TA up to 80. I then added 51 oz of acid. About 30 later I retested and the pH was still 8.2 or higher. Probably not enough time to fully circulate.

I am about to head out and retest again (testing in the cold is not so fun...) and then more brushing!
 
I think 30 minutes is fine before retesting. That works for me. Probably pH is just higher than you think. Test only shows up to 8.2. You can add twice the amount per pool school to get it from 8.2 to 7.6. At most it will only go down to 7.0 if it's really 8.2. It won't go down that much if it's higher than 8.2.

If your CH is somewhat high (I didn't go up to see) the high pH is likely to cause calcium scaling so you want to get it down. The combo can also cause cloudy water.
 

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