First time Opening a Pool Newly Installed in 2022

[Steve-D]

This will be the first year we open our pool, and the wife insists on having that done by a pool company. I'm hoping that will change, going forward but it was her money that paid for the pool, so...

We have a safety cover that will come off for the season on Friday when the pool is opened. I will be dropping the solar cover in place when they are done to try and minimize the pollen and spring debris that will be coming. I restocked my test kit and tested last night (logged in PoolMath) so I know what I need to add to get things to the proper balance. I'm low-balling what I bought by about 10% to start and will add more of whatever is needed once levels are stabilized. The Pool Co. is only adding shock/chlorine so I will be picking up Salt, Stabilizer and Calcium Increaser @ Walmart after work today. I already have a gallon of MA to try and tackle the pH (currently too high to read accurately). We are supposed to hit the 80's today and tomorrow in my corner of the wold and then it will drop back down to more seasonal temps. I will probably also get some stabilized Chlorine granules since I need to to both boost the stabilizer level and manually attend to Chlorine until salt levels are at the point where the SWG can manage the daily need.

The filter cartridges are cleaned...Am I missing anything here?
And is there a best practice to follow in the order of adding the necessary chemicals when starting levels are so low across the board?
Thanks!

 

[Newdude]

And is there a best practice to follow in the order of adding the necessary chemicals when start levels are so low across the board?

If it's a mesh cover, you're testing the stratified rain water on top. It needs to mix for a full day before you can trust it.

Then post up your results and we got you.

 

[Steve-D]

If it's a mesh cover, you're testing the stratified rain water on top. It needs to mix for a full day before you can trust it.

Thx for that...this is one reason I'm not overstocking on the chemicals.
I estimate that between what we drained at the end of last season and what I drained in February to keep the water below the tile line the pool probably only has about 2/3 (best case) of previously treated water...which is in line with my salt measurement. I plan on doing another round of testing Sunday and Monday and running the pool cleaner for much of that which will also help to mix things up.
...And I think I found the answer to my "Adding Pool Chemicals" question here (in Pool Care Basics).

 

[Mdragger88]

Watch what they do & take pics/notes so you know how to do the opposite at closing & how to open next year.

 

[Steve-D]

Watch what they do & take pics/notes so you know how to do the opposite at closing & how to open next year.

That was my plan...but my wife rescheduled the 5/1 opening for tomorrow, and now I can't take the time to watch and learn. I also don't have the equipment needed to force air into the system at closing to blow out the remaining water before plugging the returns and the skimmers....is that still needed if I'm draining to below the lowest return jets?

 

[Mdragger88]

Some people use a shop vac & there’s the cyclone thing you can buy too. After 1 use they usually pay for themselves depending upon how much you’re getting charged for closing. @Newdude has a post about it, can’t find it right now.

 

[Newdude]

It worked well. You need the big shop vac though.

Closing with shop vac.

Today was the day for closing and it went great with a 6HP shop vac. I hooked my blower up for fun after, and there really wasn't much left but some spray. Anywho I wanted to do a write up for all the folks wondering if they could save a chunk of change and tackle their own closing...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Steve-D]

It has been almost 2 weeks since pool opening so it is time for an update.
The pool company finished up 2 Fridays ago (14th), adding only shock chlorine so we left the pump running while we were away for the weekend. There was of course some debris but at 52-55 degrees the water was pretty clear and algae free. Once we returned there was much skimming via the net, then running the pool cleaner once FC was down from initial shock levels.

After about 50 hours of pump runtime we tested the water and started adding chemicals:
4 bags (160 lbs) of salt, 1 lb of dichlor (stabilized, since we had 0 CYA), 4 lbs of calcium chloride and 24 oz. of muriatic acid to start attacking the high pH. Our one "oops" was mistaking about 3 lbs of leftover Alkalinity increaser for Calcium increaser...That hasn't helped our efforts to bring down pH and TA, but lesson learned. All of that was added with proper separation and mixing, so not all at once.

Over that 1st week we added more dichlor, another bag of salt, more calcium chloride, finished off the leftover MA and started with adding stabilizer in 2 lb increments using the "sock method." By the end of week 1 salt was high enough for the SWG to take over.

This past weekend I added one last bag of salt which should carry us through the season (4000 ppm). We continue to add Calcium Chloride and "stabilizer socks" and have upped our regular dosages of MA to try and bring down pH and with it TA. We replaced the solar cover so now the water is shielded from direct sunlight so we've dropped the SWG for minimal output since FC is stable and CC is mostly non-existent. Calcium levels are at the bottom. end of OK so we will continue to work on that. I'm also taking the slow and steady approach with CYA.

The big battle will be getting pH and TA under control. I bought an extra "quick connect" adapter for the pool cleaner hookup and my plan is to attach to it some fashion of a standard garden hose connecter. Using that I'll rig a fountain for aeration, and maybe even a DIY passive solar heating box (I made one for our above ground pool at the "old" house). We are not planning on using the pool before Memorial Day weekend unless we get a good hot stretch . It is just too expensive to use the heater bring it up to temp from where it is right now so we'll give nature a chance to get started on that for us!