First Pool - Details/Pics/Story Inside

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For the CYA, according to the Pool Math, I still need about 12 more pounds to dissolve, so I'm working on that slowly, two socks at a time.

Question about the stain treatment. Would it be a bad idea to wait a month then to try and target the stains? or is it better to do it immediately?

I am not sure how long it takes FC to drop.

(Mostly asking because I just got the FC and had it at 0 before this process :eek: would seem a waste to immediately lower it again before actually using the pool a bit.

I also don't know if stains - long term - hurt the pool. For instance, are they better to target immediately, or at the beggining or end of a pool season?

Thanks
 
You can wait if you want and just enjoy your pool for a bit. The warmer the weather is, the riskier is it to let the FC drop near 0 because algae can get a stranglehold much easier. When I did mine last August it was around 76-78 degrees. I didn't want to risk letting the FC drop all the way down to 0, so I started adding the AA when FC got down to 2. That's fine as well, just know that the AA will go to work on the remaining FC first before working on the stains.

It won't take long for the FC to drop once you turn off the SWG. You could even go swimming. That will just help it drop even quicker. To go from 8 down to around 0-2 range will only take 2 or 3 days max with nothing feeding the pool FC. It's all up to you though. Maybe you can scope out a weather report and catch a couple of days of cooler weather coming up. Then you could plan to let the FC start to fall.

Stains won't hurt the pool, it's more of a cosmetic thing.
 
Stains are just cosmetic. Waiting a month or two will make no difference. I suggest you enjoy your pool until September. Then when the weather is cooler you can tackle the stains. You finally got your pool to where you can enjoy it. A pool is to use and enjoy not to tinker and have endless projects.
 
Sorry for yet another question.

How much should the Skimmer be pulling in - or better worded - how strong should the Skimmer be?

I noticed the last two nights I've come home to a really messy pool surface (because of rain). Lot's of grass leaves and seeds and some bugs. I've been manually cleaning it with a net, but with all of this stuff in the Pool overnight, I barely have to clean the Skimmer.

I put in a small floaty thing - like a rubber duck - overnight to see if it would get pulled towards the skimmer and it never did.

Is there a way to turn up the suction? or is this par for the course and normal?

Thanks
 
What is your filter pressure? You know what your clean filter pressure is?

When did you backwash your filter and put in new DE?
 
ajw22 said:
What is your filter pressure? You know what your clean filter pressure is?

When did you backwash your filter and put in new DE?
Click to expand...

Currently the pressure guage is at 16. I don't know what my clean filter pressure is, and I haven't backwashed the filter or put in new DE.

No idea if/when the previous owners have or if the pool company that opened it did (I doubt it though).
 
wakasm said:
Currently the pressure guage is at 16. I don't know what my clean filter pressure is, and I haven't backwashed the filter or put in new DE.

No idea if/when the previous owners have or if the pool company that opened it did (I doubt it though).
Click to expand...

DE filters filter very well but do get dirty and clogged. When they do filter pressure rises and water flow slows.

You should have bags of DE and learn how to backwash. It takes maybe 10 minutes to backwash. If you don't know how to backwash may be best for you to have someone do it the first time and show you what is done.

Note what your filter pressure is after it is backwashed and loaded with clean DE. Typically the filter needs to be backwashed when the filter pressure rises 25% to 30%.
 
FC 15.0
CC 0.0
pH 7.8
TA 100
CH 175
CYA 60

Cya is looking better now (I am still slowly adding more using the sock method), but after a few days of not testing, my chlorine is really high? I turned down the salt water generator to it's lowest setting. Should there be anything I need to do to lower the chlorine or should it settle down a bit.

Should I be looking at the CH at all now as well?

I'm also still convinced the filter/skimmer is not doing too much (I haven't had to really clean the skimmer basket in 7-14 days). Instead I end up just getting it all with a new or vaccuuming every 3 days or so. I have the pool closing people showing up tomorrow - so I will ask them about that while they are there.

Thanks!

(Also not sure when I stop posting in this this thread and instead post in the others?)
 
Your chlorine is higher than it needs to be, but that is OK. Let FC fall on it's own, no need to do anything about it. It is perfectly fine to swim in. Keep an eye on the FC and when it gets down to 5-6ppm, turn the % back up so the FC stops dropping.

We usually recommend a CYA of 70-80 with a SWG to help the chlorine stay longer. Keep an eye on FC and monitor it to see how much you are loosing per day.

As for CH, How did your CH get from 300 to 175? Did you replace a lot of water? Have you tested the CH of your fill water yet? Answer these first.
If you find you still have low CH, you could add some calcium chloride to get up to 300-350ppm as a start, about 40-50 lbs worth in your pool.

You can post in this thread as long as you want, it's your thread/story, lol. I would say keep it here until you get your water balanced where you want it. If you have any unrelated questions, you can start a new thread if you want to.
 
As for CH, How did your CH get from 300 to 175? Did you replace a lot of water? Have you tested the CH of your fill water yet? Answer these first.
If you find you still have low CH, you could add some calcium chloride to get up to 300-350ppm as a start, about 40-50 lbs worth in your pool.
Click to expand...

I haven't replaced any water. I am not sure what testing the CH of my fill water means - does that mean testing the water from a hose (or from where I would be filling it from?). Would rain be enough to affect these numbers?

So far, I've been doing everything ecplicitly from advice on users here as I slowly read through all of pool school. But I have not dove into anything complicated yet like messing with the filter, replacing the SWG, or adding/removing water. Someone mentioned focusing on the Calcium after the CYA was solved earlier in the thread, but since I'm still slowly increasing that number, I hadn't focused on it yet.
 

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The reason I asked about water exchange is that CH (and CYA) don’t go away by almost half without significant water changes. I would say you probably have some testing errors in there. Please retest your pool water CH and your fill water CH and let us know what you get.
Down in my signature there is a link to the extended test kit directions. Look up the one for CH for a refresher and hints.
Once you have provided these new numbers then we can advise if you should add calcium or not.
 
I retested the CH and tested the fill water CH

I got

CH 175 (again)
Fill Water CH 100

However, I haven't filled the pool since owning it (unless this is something that automatically happens that I don't know about that fills it?). (This friday I will have owned this pool 1 month! :kim:

So I assume I should continue with the recommendation of:

If you find you still have low CH, you could add some calcium chloride to get up to 300-350ppm as a start, about 40-50 lbs worth in your pool.
Click to expand...

And does it need to be all at once, or can I do it in small amounts similar to how I have been doing CYA (I've read doing it in the deep end of the pool, or mixing it up slowly with water first is the best way - some places warn I should brush immediately). Thanks for any help. (Using pool math, and 30k pool size, I see it's about 32lbs to 300 assuming I did that right).

I am just now getting the last 4lbs of CYA in as well using hte sock method. I also read I should wait until I am completely done with the CYA first.

Now I also have to figure out where I can buy lbs of this stuff as well!
 
Any hardware store should sell it, it's typically used as an ice melter.

- - - Updated - - -

wakasm, do you have an autofill installed? Have you had a large amount of rain recently?

The drop from 350 to 175 CH indicates to me either 1: Testing error because you initially weren't familiar with the correct instructions for the test or

2: Large volume water replacement either due to rain or due to you having a significant leak that you may not be aware of due to having an automatic filling system on your pool.
 
It very much could be a testing error. (That 300 was my first test ever and I might not have mixed properly the first time). I would gladly record myself testing if that helps if anyone wanted to make sure I did it right, although the last two tests I got the same amount. (although I am not sure why I would have had it so wrong to begin with).

I am not aware of any autofilling system (I guess that was my question as to why the fill water was important). I've taken pictures earlier in the thread of all the equipment as far as I am aware, I there is nothing auto-filling, but would gladly be educated to know if there was.

There has been a bit of rain the last few weeks.
 
Go around your pool between the decking and the house.............look for another "skimmer" cover..........it might be over an auto fill. It can look like the thing in your toilet....look in your yard for a green "box" with a cover...........it could be in there if you have one. Also look at all of your hose bibs on that side of the house. Do any have anything extra right by them or connected to them?

Kim:kim:
 

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