Just bought house with Pool. Been reading here for about a month to prepare

Im also very blunt and honest so no worries
I appreciate everyones advice

At this point its like drinking from a firehose

Some info will be stored for later

I was regurgitating numbers without understanding them

the second round of tests were done with a little more finesse so they were likely more accurate

I just went and looked at the CC FC definitions and now understand that zero CC is a good thing

Ive turned off the SWG for now

Ill figure some way to float the pucks in the pool for low bucks

Moms pool has had pucks in the skimmer in the summer for 40 years so Ill be ok till I get another method.

The cheap skate in me appreciates being able to use the $100 worth of pucks left by the last guy ...

We have had a ton of rain this year in Dallas
but I dont understand how the pool could be really zero cya or near zero

Especially when previous owner had bucket of pucks ....
The test tube looks barely cloudy when full

Ill add some stablizer tomorrow after letting the acid help bring down PH
 
Ill figure some way to float the pucks in the pool for low bucks

Moms pool has had pucks in the skimmer in the summer for 40 years so Ill be ok till I get another method.

The cheap skate in me appreciates being able to use the $100 worth of pucks left by the last guy ...
well, coming into winter you should have a much lower chlorine demand so that will work in your favor.
 
You say you have been reading for a month to get ready. Now that you are actually using what you read I am going to post a couple of the most important links for you to reread.

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Print these two out:

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Good info. on what to use and have one hand:

Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

We can and will answer any questions you have. I hope the links above will help you not drown from the fire hose! LOL

Kim
 
but I dont understand how the pool could be really zero cya or near zero

Especially when previous owner had bucket of pucks ....

I was wondering how the CYA could be so low too, the pool was not green, has a SWG and a bunch of pool store chems a bit of a contradiction. Only theory I have is the pool got out of his control so he drained and refilled it prior to selling. you will probably never know but you are obviously on the right track.
 
Thank for the links

I've been reading but I'm a experience based learner
the past reading was all theorectical and I had no real idea how much would apply to me

was also Reading about nest thermostats, and many other new things related to the house
I was also running a business and closing on a house.

now that I've touched the hardware and tested the water, my brain is better able to find spots to store the details I need and start to make connections between previously random facts.

Thanks again to all

- - - Updated - - -

Dallas area had more rain this year than any time in over 100 years

previous owner said he spent a ton on new pumps and swapping the pool to swg
not sure if he drained it. Doubt it. I can ask the city to see water usage

other than the discoloration from plaster issues the water looks clear
 
I've been known to tie a sock of CYA to a floatie. It works! You can add the CYA right away. You don't need to wait to lower pH. With it being cold, you should just shut the swg down til,the water gets over 60°.
 
Added 80 lbs of salt yesterday
The pump ran most of the night
This morning the SWG shows a 300 ppm increase in Salt
Ill test it later today to see what the test kit says ..

Ill add some Stabilizer today to bring up the CYA
 

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The pool math said I needed 8lbs of Stabilizer.
I bought one 4 lb jar of HTH Stabilizer and Conditioner and only have about a third of that in the floater, now since that's what fit ..

Ill just leave the CYA testing for a few weeks till I at least get this 4lbs in ...

Since its apparently easy to over do the CYA, and the only way to get rid of it is rain or drain and fill, Im taking it slow
 
Always a good idea to go in steps with the CYA, especially when you're not definite on your pool volume or you need to increase by a large amount. If you need to add more, my favorite way to add CYA is to hang a sock in front of a return. Doesn't impede the flow of a skimmer and still gets lots of water flow past the stabilizer. Squeeze the sock whenever you're near the pool to help it dissolve faster.
 
Well I have about half the jar of CYA in a sock hanging off a gas can full of water, in front of the return - just like I saw here
IMG_2024.jpg

I also took a video of my water feature pump so you all could give feedback on the sound
Is it normal for the pump to sound like its struggling at 3300 rpm and sound so much calmer at 2700 ?

IntelliFlo VS Noisy at High RPM - YouTube

Didnt do any testing today but will test the chlorine and PH tomorrow
 
While doing some research on Plaster - I think I figured out how my parents plaster has lasted so long
Their 70s pool has plaster problems but still looks better than mine
It was installed in 74-75 and likely had asbestos in the plaster ....
 
Chlorine is descending to normal range in the daily test
ph remains in normal range
salt test shows approx same reading as the swg 2700 ppm
swg no longer complains of low salt
80 lbs brought the salt up approx 300-350 ppm - added 160 lbs so far
still waiting for cya stabilizer to dissolve in sock and floater.

Used forum to find 3 recommended plaster companies - will contact them for quotes to replace plaster and perhaps as long update tile and fiber lights if I can afford it
 

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