Time To Open - Advice Please

[jobondur]

Pulled the cover back and the water is nice and .....black/dark green. But I'm used to that. Here are my chemical levels. Please let me know what the order of events I should do.

FC - 0
CC - 0
pH - 7.0
TA - 10
CH - 30
CYA - 0
Salt - 330

As you can see, everything is quite low which is surprising because everything was good when I closed in September. I did lower the water level below the returns but I do that every year. The CYA is what really has me scratching my head. I tested that one twice (remixed and everything). My chemicals are from last year so they MIGHT be old but I've never had issues with that before. I may try to take a trip to the pool store to get them to second check.

Provided the numbers above are correct, what should I do first....next....so on with the chemistry.

 

[Richard320]

Was the pump on and has the water mixed before you pulled a sample? You could have a layer of fresh water from rain sitting on top that you tested.

 

[jobondur]

That would be a negative. I have not run the pump at all. That makes perfect sense. I'll pull all the plugs from the fittings and start up the pump and let it run for a while. How long before it's mixed enough to pull a new sample?

Completely different question. I just installed a new pump (Pentair SuperFlo 2-speed). Is there anything I need to do other than prime it a bit before I start it for the first time???

 

[Richard320]

That would be a negative. I have not run the pump at all. That makes perfect sense. I'll pull all the plugs from the fittings and start up the pump and let it run for a while. How long before it's mixed enough to pull a new sample?

Completely different question. I just installed a new pump (Pentair SuperFlo 2-speed). Is there anything I need to do other than prime it a bit before I start it for the first time???

Half an hour should be plenty. Less if you brush or vacuum at the same time.

No clue about the pump. Let someone who owns a two-speed answer that

 

[CJadamec]

As for the pump just make sure it is full of water before you start it. Don't let it hunt for prime for more than 30sec. If you fill it and it primes right up you're good to go.

 

[jobondur]

Half an hour should be plenty. Less if you brush or vacuum at the same time.

No clue about the pump. Let someone who owns a two-speed answer that

I let it run for a couple hours on low speed and here are the results:

FC - 0
CC - 0
pH - 7.5
TA - 30
CH - 50
CYA - 10
Salt - 930

So as you can see, the numbers are better but most are still somewhat on the low side. I looked back at my log and my CYA was roughly 50 when I closed in September. I drained about 1/3 of the water and I am now up over the top of the skimmer housing, so I've had a fair amount of rain. I'm going to order some new chemicals but I'm assuming the numbers are right for now.

Sooo....I read somewhere on here that I should bring up the Cl level to like 10 and then see if it will stay there for roughly 10-15 minutes. Once it does that, I add enough CYA to get me to say 30-40 and then SLAM????? That sound right?

- - - Updated - - -

And do I add DE before or after the CYA?

 

[Richard320]

I let it run for a couple hours on low speed and here are the results:

FC - 0
CC - 0
pH - 7.5
TA - 30
CH - 50
CYA - 10
Salt - 930

So as you can see, the numbers are better but most are still somewhat on the low side. I looked back at my log and my CYA was roughly 50 when I closed in September. I drained about 1/3 of the water and I am now up over the top of the skimmer housing, so I've had a fair amount of rain. I'm going to order some new chemicals but I'm assuming the numbers are right for now.

Sooo....I read somewhere on here that I should bring up the Cl level to like 10 and then see if it will stay there for roughly 10-15 minutes. Once it does that, I add enough CYA to get me to say 30-40 and then SLAM????? That sound right?

- - - Updated - - -

And do I add DE before or after the CYA?

Yes, you have the chemical sequence correct. That quick check is just to see if your CYA broke down into Ammonia. Don't forget to use a sock for the CYA, because your filter will likely need a lot of backwashing and if you follow the bottle directions, you may end up literally flushing it down the drain.

You should add DE before you run the pump for very long, because you don't want to run the filter without it. Particles can get stuck in the grid fabric without the layer of DE to coat them.

 

[jobondur]

For the SLAM process I'll be brushing every day. But after the first time I vacuum to waste (pool level is super high) can I just use my robot to finish it up or am I better off doing it manually? I know the robot manual says not to use it when shocking the pool. Will I have issues using it when the FC is around 15?

I HATE vacuuming.....

 

[Richard320]

For the SLAM process I'll be brushing every day. But after the first time I vacuum to waste (pool level is super high) can I just use my robot to finish it up or am I better off doing it manually? I know the robot manual says not to use it when shocking the pool. Will I have issues using it when the FC is around 15?

I HATE vacuuming.....

Probably not. Assuming you stick to the FC/CYA guidelines we have, shock level isn't really all that aggressive. Guessing it's comparable to 3 FC in a pool with no CYA. The manufacturers are worried about the guy who nukes a pool with no CYA with a bucket full of "shock" powder.