New House - New Pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
A

admiralblair

0
May 8, 2018
4
Omaha, Nebraska
Hi Everyone!

My wife and I recently moved to sunny Omaha - Nebraska and for the first time in our lives (in spite of having lived in various much warmer places previously) we have a pool. We also recently had a baby so it would be an understatement to say that the pool has not gained my full attention.

I just used the same pool company that the previous owner had used and it seems like most of his advice conflicts with what is on here.

The pool was drained, but full of debris and he told me just to fill it up as it would be easier to clean. My instinct would have been to clean out what was in there (probably 2/3 feet of dirty water and leaves etc), but I followed his advice. He then came by and shocked the pool and showed me how to operate the pump etc.

I have spent the following two weeks raking leaves out the pool, emptying the pool robot (every 20 minutes sometimes) that a friend has loaned me and backwashing the pump.

I can now see the bottom of my pool - though not quite clearly at the deep end, and have belatedly bought a testing kit, the K-2006. The numbers from today's (first) test:

FC: 0.4
CC: 0.4
pH: 7.3
TA: 70
CYA: 0
CH: 160

The CYA I put as zero because the solution didn't go cloudy at all and when the tube was full I could still see the black dot at the bottom. If any of the numbers look suspicious, it may be because I am slightly colour blind (in the red spectrum) and a lot of the tests required differentiating reds and pinks etc!

I suppose my first question would be should I resign myself to not using the shock and tabs that the pool guy recommended? (the pump/filter set up has a chlorine dispenser tube for the tablets)

Secondly is there any advice beyond getting the chlorine right and then worrying about the other stuff? According to the pool math I need to add another 96oz of 8.25 bleach, which doesn't seem like that much.

Thanks for any advice.
 
Welcome to TFP!!:handwave:

is there any advice beyond getting the chlorine right and then worrying about the other stuff?
Click to expand...

If it were only that easy....

Have you fired the pool guy, that is question number one?

I suppose my first question would be should I resign myself to not using the shock and tabs that the pool guy recommended?
Click to expand...
The answer to this is yes if you plan to follow our guidelines.

I will tell you, it didn't turn green overnight and it will take time to clear. But, we can teach you how to get it sparkling and keep it that way for a lot less money than the pool store.

We base our pool care system on accurate testing and only adding what the pool needs, when it needs it. To do that you need your own accurate test kit which you now have. The problem is that the kit will not have sufficient chlorine tests to clear your pool, so you need what we callXL option. That will give you what you need while you are clearing the pool.

You have a homework reading assignment. Start with ABCs of Water Chemistry and Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis

After you read those, continue to get the solids out of the pool - at that time you need to stock up on liquid chlorine and conduct a SLAM Process
 
admiralblair said:
Hi Everyone!

My wife and I recently moved to sunny Omaha - Nebraska and for the first time in our lives (in spite of having lived in various much warmer places previously) we have a pool. We also recently had a baby so it would be an understatement to say that the pool has not gained my full attention.

I just used the same pool company that the previous owner had used and it seems like most of his advice conflicts with what is on here.

The pool was drained, but full of debris and he told me just to fill it up as it would be easier to clean. My instinct would have been to clean out what was in there (probably 2/3 feet of dirty water and leaves etc), but I followed his advice. He then came by and shocked the pool and showed me how to operate the pump etc.

I have spent the following two weeks raking leaves out the pool, emptying the pool robot (every 20 minutes sometimes) that a friend has loaned me and backwashing the pump.

I can now see the bottom of my pool - though not quite clearly at the deep end, and have belatedly bought a testing kit, the K-2006. The numbers from today's (first) test:

FC: 0.4
CC: 0.4
pH: 7.3
TA: 70
CYA: 0
CH: 160

The CYA I put as zero because the solution didn't go cloudy at all and when the tube was full I could still see the black dot at the bottom. If any of the numbers look suspicious, it may be because I am slightly colour blind (in the red spectrum) and a lot of the tests required differentiating reds and pinks etc!

I suppose my first question would be should I resign myself to not using the shock and tabs that the pool guy recommended? (the pump/filter set up has a chlorine dispenser tube for the tablets)

Secondly is there any advice beyond getting the chlorine right and then worrying about the other stuff? According to the pool math I need to add another 96oz of 8.25 bleach, which doesn't seem like that much.

Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

Welcome to TFP. Get ready for an awesome pool ownership experience.
 
Plaster too, yeah you will be very glad you are doing your own testing.

Well, You need to get some stabilizer in a sock and get that going, you have probably read that already in Pool School and then I don't think you need to SLAM, I think you need to get your FC up based on 30ppm of CYA which is Stabilizer and let that filter keep doing its job.

Looks really nice.
 
Please don't take this the wrong way, but yes - that's green. In a pool maintained to TFP standards it appears that the pool is empty. At night, I turn on the pool light and just stare at what appears to be an empty shell......

So, we (that means you ;) ) are going to use PoolMath to calculate how much stabilizer you need to get to 30. You are going to add the CYA by using what we call the sock method. Get an old sock (no holes in the toes) and put the measured amount of CYA you need to get to your first target. Tie the sock closed and either suspend it in front of a return (hang it from your brush pole works with something weighted on the deck) OR if it still allows flow thru the skimmer, place the sock in the skimmer. Every 15/20 minutes give the sock a squeeze to speed up the process or just leave it alone, your choice. Please DO NOT follow the directions on the container of CYA to just pour it into the skimmer and don't just toss the sock in the pool as the CYA is acidic and can bleach/stain pool finishes.
 
Since you can't quite see the bottom, you should follow the SLAM technique after you add stabilizer to bring up your CYA. That should clear your pool right up. It probably won't take that long. I would guess 2 or 3 days max. Remember to keep brushing the walls and pool floor daily while you are in the SLAM. You'll need to bring your FC up to 12 with liquid chlorine only (or bleach) for a CYA of 30, and keep it there by testing and redosing it back to 12 as often as possible. The more times a day you do it, the faster the water will clear completely.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply