New Pool break-in time?

[fabela43]

Hi everyone! I just had a pool built - 33'x16' rectangular PebbleSheen w/Acapulco entry + 1 sheer decent and attached 7x7 square spa, FusionSoft SWG. The spa and pool share the pump so when it is in 'pool mode', the water cycles between the two (so the spa does not stay heated).

So far, the maintenance seems pretty easy. The salt level is at 3.1ppm and the SWG is set to 50% chlorine production which seems to keep my pool's FC levels pretty good...I've only had to add a little muriatic acid to adjust the PH. My question is about adding Borate. I have read quite a bit about the benefits of adding borate, such as silkier feel, more 'sparkle', the algaestatic benefits and the PH buffering qualities.

However, I have also heard that you should not do too much to a new pool as it needs some time to fully cure and have a 'break-in' period. The pool was finished early February and only had water and light chlorine in it for the first 25-30 days. So, finally to the question - is it too early to start throwing in some boric acid? My calculations show that my pool is roughly 21k gallons, so it looks like I need to add about 6.25 gallons of boric acid.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[bmoreswim]

Nothing scientific whatsoever here but I like the idea of operating a pool for a season before adding borates to get a sense of the personality of the pool. Probably no harm though to the pool itself.

 

[JasonLion]

There are a number of special recommendations for the first month: add chlorine slowly, let CYA come up slowly, don't add salt or borates, don't raise TA or CH too much (as they will come up on their own), and keep the PH under control. After a month the plaster should be sufficiently cured that you can stop worrying about it and add chemicals as needed. However, the PH, TA, and CH levels will continue to rise much more slowly for roughly a year as it finishes curing.