New pool owner, dropping in to say hello and ask some basic questions!

[nsa]

Howdy!

I've just had a 15x28 vinyl pool installed in the sunny reaches of South Carolina, and no doubt I have a plethora of stupid questions that will need answering. I am already of the opinion, after one week of the pool being filled, that the 'pool guy' from the company that installed it doesn't really know what he's doing. But I am open to change my mind there

I have a Pentair EZtouch, Ultratemp heat pump, Intellichlor IC-20, and IntelliFlow variable speed pump in case you are wondering.

I noticed yesterday that the pool liner was getting very slippery, and I suspected algae was taking hold (no green yet), but it was the same day the pool guy showed up. I saw him with some muriatic acid, and I know he added an extra 40lb bag of salt, but he left before I could ask what he had added. 5 x 40lb bags of salt were already added a few days ago. The Intellichlor reads 4050ppm now (it was 3200) so I wish he left it alone!

I've just received the Taylor K-2006 test kit, so I'll be sure to share my results here. Until now I've been using the supplied K-1004 kit they left for me. 2 days ago my FC was 0, pH 7.6, and Alkalinity was 170ppm. Not great given the pool guy was supposedly taking care of it. I just noticed the Intellichlor had no lights at all. I reset it all, and it restarted, now it's all green LEDs. I suspect that it wasn't generating any chlorine, hence the possible algae growth.

I've also added a bag of shock to the pool. Should I test again in 24 hours?

NSA

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome! Has any stabilizer (CYA) been added to the water yet? If so (hope so), I would use liquid chlorine to increase the FC to about 6-8 right away then do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. If you don't have a CYA of 30 or above, you should add some right away.

Tomorrow consider posting a full set of water test results as follows:
FC
CC
CYA
PH
TA'
CH - N/A for your vinyl pool but you can post it if you want.

 

[nsa]

Hey and thanks for the warm welcome!

I haven't added and CYA and I don't believe the pool guy added any either. While I did just shock the pool and hour ago, I tested the CYA with the K-2006 test kit, and it's less than 30 (the black dot is visible even when the tube is full). I have some Aquabrite Chlor-Sta, should I just add that tonight? It's a 13,000 gallon pool, so was thinking of adding the recommended 3 1/4 lbs mixed in a bucket and straight into the skimmer.

 

[PoolStored]

Hey and thanks for the warm welcome!

I haven't added and CYA and I don't believe the pool guy added any either. While I did just shock the pool and hour ago, I tested the CYA with the K-2006 test kit, and it's less than 30 (the black dot is visible even when the tube is full). I have some Aquabrite Chlor-Sta, should I just add that tonight? It's a 13,000 gallon pool, so was thinking of adding the recommended 3 1/4 lbs mixed in a bucket and straight into the skimmer.

You can add it. Do NOT pour into the skimmer. Put it in a sock or two, tie it off and leave THEM in the skimmer with the pump running. After about 1/2 hour, it will soften and dissolve. You can also squeeze to your hearts content. You can also hang in front of a skimmer. 3 1/4 is right.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Don't pour your CYA into the skimmer. It dissolves very slowly and can clump up if it hits a bend in your pipes, resulting in blockage.

Put the granular CYA in a sock and dangle the sock in front of a return or put it in a skimmer if the pump will be running. Periodically squeeze the sock.

EDIT: I got PoolStored!

 

[nsa]

Great thank you both so much! I don't have a sock, but found a pillow case that I can use.

 

[PoolStored]

Great thank you both so much! I don't have a sock, but found a pillow case that I can use.

That might work, but a pillow case has a fairly tight weave and may be more difficult to get enough water flow through to dissolve reasonably. You can get socks at the Dollar store for a couple bucks. If you decide to use the pillow case, let us know how it works. Nylons also work.

 

[Lake Placid]

Great thank you both so much! I don't have a sock, but found a pillow case that I can use.

I have an old 100% cotton t-shirt I use for this. Pillow case should work out ok too, just may take a little massaging.

 

[nsa]

It's an old pillow case, very thin, so might be ok. I'll head out now and do some massaging

 

[PoolStored]

It's an old pillow case, very thin, so might be ok. I'll head out now and do some massaging

Let is soak 30 minutes. You won't get much out, squeezing when you first put it in.

 

[nsa]

Okay thanks. So while I wait, some beginner questions

I added a 1 lb bag of HTH Shock Advanced about 3 hours ago, do I need to wait 24 hours before swimming?
Is the slippery / slimy vinyl surface typically the start of algae? I didn't see any green color, but given the non-existent FC that's what led me to that conclusion.
Do you know how long SWG like my IC-20 takes to start working? All the lights were off, so I don't think it was doing anything until now.

 

[PoolStored]

Okay thanks. So while I wait, some beginner questions

I added a 1 lb bag of HTH Shock Advanced about 3 hours ago, do I need to wait 24 hours before swimming?

It depends a bit on your CYA (0) and your current FC. What was your FC before you added? If it too was zero, you should be fine after 30 minutes, as your addition added 4.8FC to your pool. If it was appreciably higher, then no.

Is the slippery / slimy vinyl surface typically the start of algae? I didn't see any green color, but given the non-existent FC that's what led me to that conclusion.

Likely. Have you noted your filter pressures lately? Please fill out your equipment list, this will help.

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Do you know how long SWG like my IC-20 takes to start working? All the lights were off, so I don't think it was doing anything until now.

Huh. Why are you adding shock? Did you turn the SWCG off? When you say OFF, you mean not lit? Or Red? Do you have a Salt Test Kit? Taylor K1766? Equipment list in your signature will help. Pictures of your pad, salt cell and controller will also help.

 

[Lake Placid]

Okay thanks. So while I wait, some beginner questions

I added a 1 lb bag of HTH Shock Advanced about 3 hours ago, do I need to wait 24 hours before swimming?
Is the slippery / slimy vinyl surface typically the start of algae? I didn't see any green color, but given the non-existent FC that's what led me to that conclusion.
Do you know how long SWG like my IC-20 takes to start working? All the lights were off, so I don't think it was doing anything until now.

Intellichlor SWG’s operate on a 300 second cycle, so if you set it at 50%, you will see the cell light stay lit green for 2.5 minutes during production and then stay off for 2.5 minutes. If it’s doing that its almost a 100% certainty it’s working.

 

[nsa]

It depends a bit on your CYA (0) and your current FC. What was your FC before you added? If it too was zero, you should be fine after 30 minutes, as your addition added 4.8FC to your pool. If it was appreciably higher, then no.

Likely. Have you noted your filter pressures lately? Please fill out your equipment list, this will help.

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Huh. Why are you adding shock? Did you turn the SWCG off? When you say OFF, you mean not lit? Or Red? Do you have a Salt Test Kit? Taylor K1766? Equipment list in your signature will help. Pictures of your pad, salt cell and controller will also help.

I added shock because my FC was 0. It's an IC-20 SWG, but no LEDs were lit at all until I reset the power earlier this evening. Salt was added 3 days ago (5 x 40lb bags) so I was surprised no chlorine was present.

 

[nsa]

Intellichlor SWG’s operate on a 300 second cycle, so if you set it at 50%, you will see the cell light stay lit green for 2.5 minutes during production and then stay off for 2.5 minutes. If it’s doing that its almost a 100% certainty it’s working.

This is good to know. Is is expected that the IC-20 has no LEDs lit at all when it's off? 5 x 40lb bags was added to the pool (13,000 g) 3 days ago, but my FC readings yesterday and today were 0.

 

[Lake Placid]

This is good to know. Is is expected that the IC-20 has no LEDs lit at all when it's off? 5 x 40lb bags was added to the pool (13,000 g) 3 days ago, but my FC readings yesterday and today were 0.

If no led‘s are lit I’d suspect no power first. Did you check breakers then cycle power? Did it restart?

 

[PoolStored]

I added shock because my FC was 0. It's an IC-20 SWG, but no LEDs were lit at all until I reset the power earlier this evening. Salt was added 3 days ago (5 x 40lb bags) so I was surprised no chlorine was present.

Good to swim if FC=0 and you added 1lb of the HTH. I'm assuming you can see the bottom.

 

[nsa]

if no led‘s are lit I’d suspect no power first. Did you check breakers then cycle power? Did it restart?

Yes all the breakers were on, so I just cycled power (breakers off then on again) and it started, all lit up.

 

[nsa]

Good to swim if FC=0 and you added 1lb of the HTH. I'm assuming you can see the bottom.

Yes it's crystal clear

 

[Lake Placid]

Yes all the breakers were on, so I just cycled power (breakers off then on again) and it started, all lit up.

If it’s powered up and running you should always have a flow light lit, a salt status light lit, and a production % set of indicators lit. Some of those will change to red or flash depending on status, but they should be lit when there is power to the cell. The cell light itself will cycle based on whether its actually producing at that moment in the 300 second cycle time.