Where do I start...

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MouseMan54 said:
OK. Update.

Almost done draining
Got some cleaning to do
Some staining
More stains
Used to think it was smart to dump the powder shock into the path of the return

Not to concerned about the stains. The kids don't care, they just wanna swim. I have a lot of other work to do to make this backyard and 'oasis' anyway. Maybe in a couple more years I'll get it re-plastered and replace the hideous tile (imo).

Here are my fill water test results.
FC .5
CC .5
TA 140
CH 150
CYA 0

Not sure why there would be CCs in fresh water. The fill pipe hasn't been used in a couple of weeks so I let it run for 5 mins. Maybe I'll test the sink water later.

Any other advice on startup?
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They use chloramines in tap water to prevent pipe corrosion. A day of full sun will get rid of it.

Once the water is circulating, check the pH and get some acid in there. Then fumble around with the CYA and the sock (s) By the time that's done, you can add chlorine. Target 3 with no CYA in the water yet. Then go slather the kids with sunscreen. By the time that is done, the chlorine will be dispersed enough. Throw the kids in.

Expect pH to rise what with the high TA and the kids aerating it. As the CYA dissolves, guesstimate what it might be and target FC accordingly. It'll probably all be gone in a day or two and by then you'll be set to settle into a happy rut.
 
Kids swam elsewhere this weekend (two B-Day parties). Yesterday I added gallon of acid and a couple of hours later added 2 gals. 10%. One of them was pretty old. I also have the floater in with 4 tabs. Filter running full time.

Things this morning:
Blue
And Clear

Last night's tests with the K-1000 drops
Chlor ~4
PH 7.2

This morning
Chlor seemed closer to 5
PH 7.5
Realized I forgot to take the floater out last night so this isn't totally valid. Still Chlor seems to have gone up a bit overnight. Not down.

Was a little concerned as I cleaned everything I could but when I turned the pump back on it shot a nice cloud of green water back in the pool.

I'll post full tests from tonight and tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning.
 
Didn't get going early enough to get full tests. Did a quick test and the Chlorine had dropped to <2. (Still some) Added a gallon before I left. Will try to test this evening.

Couple of questions:
1. What do I do about the high TA. Pool math says to drop PH to 7.0 or 7.2 then aerate. How do I aerate?
2. Do I need to do anything about the low CH? My pre-drain CH had climbed to over 500. Don't want to add too much. What made it climb before? Tabs?

From my fresh water fill:
Here are my fill water test results.
FC .5
CC .5
TA 140
CH 150
CYA 0

Will post new test results ASAP.
 
What do I do about the high TA. Pool math says to drop PH to 7.0 or 7.2 then aerate. How do I aerate?
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Anything to agitate the water. Along with swimming and pointing return jets upwards, here are a couple examples:

Do I need to do anything about the low CH? My pre-drain CH had climbed to over 500. Don't want to add too much. What made it climb before? Tabs?
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Your fill water should increase CH quickly, but until then keep an eye on your "CSI" number on the Poolmath calculator. You don't want your CSI to dip too low into the negative below -0.6, so your elevated TA (and pH) help to counter-balance the low CH right now.
 
Update. Last night after dark did a full test:

FC .5 to 1.0 (mostly clear with on drop, clear with 2)
CC 0
CH 150
CYA 0 (haven't added conditioner yet, have some ready now)
PH 7.8

Added two gallons of 10% last night. Checked this morning and Chlor. was ~5 and PH 7.8, maybe a little higher.

Obviously I'm loosing my chlorine to the sun, need to get the CYA in. What about the PH? It seems to be going up kinds quick. Should I do anything about that?
 
pH needs to be watched to not go over 7.8. But it would help to know your TA as well. A high TA will allow pH to rise quicker. Definitely get the CYA in there ASAP and keep your FC at about 5 - never below 3 or you'll be doing the "SLAM-Dance". :party:
 
There you go. The TA of 150 will definitely allow pH to rsie quicker than you might like. You can do the acid/aeration technique to slowly reduce TA. Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity If I were you, I would use that strategy to achieve an initial TA of about 80. If you need to, you can go lower, 70, 60. See how that works to keep the pH from rising so fast.
 

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So I think I might be getting some unrealized aeration from my return. There are tiny bubbles coming out with the return water. There seems to be a small crack in the lid of the filter basket at the pump and bubbles seem to be making it in. The sweep hose and leaf canister stay underwater so I think of any other place with negative pressure where air could be getting sucked in. Right now, while I'm trying to lower TA it kinda helps me, but after that it's going to keep pushing up my PH, correct?

Is it the surface agitation or air bubble that raises PH? Will these bubbles keep raising my PH?

If it's bubbles, could I make a PVC bubbler and attache to and air blower? I have a couple of blowers from (popped and discarded) air beds.

Also, newbie question, does acid have the same degradation issues as liquid chlorine? Trying to figure out how much I can buy and store.
 
Acid can tolerate storage pretty well. Just keep it separate from every other chemical and certainly away from metal. I learned that the hard way. :hammer: The lid crack may just be more of an inconvenience right now. Not sure if it would really contribute to the pH rising like normal aeration would. Very little maybe.
 
I'm still wondering about this part:

Is is the surface agitation or bubbles that raise the PH? For me I feel like it would be easier for me to create a bubbler, say 2 feet of 3/4" PCV with a bunch of holes drilled, hook up a hose from an air pump (old air bed inflatior) and stick it under water. Would that do the trick? If so, is deeper better? (air spends more time in water
 
From one of our other experts:
It all comes down to the amount of surface area you create between the air and the water. Creating ripples creates more surface area and also mixes TA-rich water as close to the surface as possible so yes, that counts towards increased aeration. If you have the water flow break the surface to create water globs, then that's more surface and even faster aeration. If you have water droplets form as with a fountain, that's even more. If you have air injected into the water, especially if very small bubbles are formed, then that's more aeration. Waterfalls and spillovers also produce a lot of aeration. Rain can produce aeration, but pH affects are more complicated in that case. Lots of kids regularly splashing, lots of people swimming, etc... you get the idea.
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