Chemical levels for new plaster pool

[old_monk]

Hi, I'm at day 5 after the fill. Test results from this morning: FC 3, pH 8.2, TA 70, CH 200, CYA 30. Added MA per the poolmath recommendation to lower the pH. Couple of questions I have that I need some clarity. Chlorine is burning off pretty quickly during the day so have been adding bleach after the sunset. I added 4lbs of CYA couple of days back to raise it to 30. Shall I add another 4lbs to raise it to 60? PoolMath says my range is 60-90, but not sure with the new plaster. Any recommendation?
Also I raised the CH to 200, PoolMath says my range is 250-650. I'm following NPT guidelines (as asked by my PB) and it asks to keep CH at 200. Shall I leave it at 200 for 30 days and then raise it or can I raise it slowly now to 400s? I'm not sure if high CH can cause scaling on a new plaster.
Thank you.

 

[PoolGate]

Are you running your SWG yet? If so, yes, raise CYA to 60. Also try to target 10% of your CYA for FC.

CH is fine at 200. I would let that go and test again in a month and see where it's at. My CH is also just below the min because my fill water is low CH. I occasionally add CH but infrequently.

 

[Mdragger88]

First* add chlorine when the pool needs it BEFORE fc falls below minimum for your cya - whether that is day or night does not matter.
You cannot add salt for 30 days which means until then you will be manually chlorinating & following the liquid chlorine FC/CYA Levels until your swcg can take over.
So you can increase cya a little (maybe to a solid 40 or so) but you must increase your fc level as well. You can always add more later.
Its best to add cya in stages anyway so you don’t overshoot.

Before contemplating raising ch much more test your fill water’s ch. unless its quite low your ch will increase over time as you replace water due to evaporation.

 

[Mdragger88]

Are you running your SWG yet? If so, yes, raise CYA to 60. Also try to target 10% of your CYA for FC.

He’s only on day 5 of startup- so not yet.

 

[old_monk]

Correct, not running SWG for 30 days. I can raise the FC but it's burning off pretty quick during the day. A gallon of clorox performance bleach burns off in few hours. I'll be adding a lot of it everyday, is that expected? I'll try to raise CYA to 40 to help it.

 

[ajw22]

What plaster startup guide are you following for the first 28 days of your new plaster?

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[old_monk]

What plaster startup guide are you following for the first 28 days of your new plaster?

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

NPT one, its listed in TFP wiki as well

National Plasters Council Procedure | NPT Pool Finishes | NPTpool.com

If you’re a builder, remodeler, or home owner with a brand new plaster pool finish, it’s critical that you follow the steps in this guide to protect and prolong the life of your pool finish. Visit NPTpool.com

www.nptpool.com

 

[ajw22]

NPT one, its listed in TFP wiki as well

National Plasters Council Procedure | NPT Pool Finishes | NPTpool.com

If you’re a builder, remodeler, or home owner with a brand new plaster pool finish, it’s critical that you follow the steps in this guide to protect and prolong the life of your pool finish. Visit NPTpool.com

www.nptpool.com

Great. Follow it.

 

[old_monk]

Just tested for FC and it is back at 0, bright sun all day so far here. Heading out to pour another gallon of bleach.

 

[old_monk]

Also raising CYA from 30 to 40.

 

[ajw22]

Just tested for FC and it is back at 0, bright sun all day so far here. Heading out to pour another gallon of bleach.

Test your FC 15 minutes after adding the bleach and see what level your addition is getting the FC to.

 

[Mdragger88]

You cannot really make up in the evening for falling behind on fc during the day- you’re inviting algae & a SLAM Process is not something you want to do with new plaster.
Clorox performance bleach has Cloromax (polymers) which is also something you don’t want in your pool.
It is also a lower strength - 6% or so- than dedicated pool chlorine so it takes more to do the same job.
Get some dedicated pool liquid chlorine which is unadulterated & usually 10% -12% in strength.
It Can be found at Walmart, lowes, Home Depot, ace, menards, etc in the pool area.

 

[ajw22]

Get some dedicated pool liquid chlorine which is unadulterated & usually 10% -12% in strength.
It Can be found at Walmart, lowes, Home Depot, ace, menards, etc in the pool area.

Liquid Chlorine - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ajw22]

And check the date codes on all chlorine you buy. Don't buy any more then 90 days old.

Chlorine Date Code Decoder - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[old_monk]

Test your FC 15 minutes after adding the bleach and see what level your addition is getting the FC to.

Just tested it, yellow shade is more closer to 5 than 3.

 

[old_monk]

Liquid Chlorine - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

My home depot is showing some in stock, I'll grab a box.

 

[Mdragger88]

Just tested it, yellow shade is more closer to 5 than 3.

Use the fas/dpd test in your kit

 

[Mdragger88]

My home depot is showing some in stock, I'll grab a box.

Get several gallons so you have it on hand.
For reference- Average daily fc consumption can be anywhere from 1-4ppm depending upon conditions. (High uv days etc.)
1 gallon of 10% liquid chlorine adds a little over 5ppm in your pool volume.

 

[old_monk]

Use the fas/dpd test in your kit

That says FC is 2.5

 

[ajw22]

Just tested it, yellow shade is more closer to 5 than 3.

You should be testing with the FAS/DPD drop chlorine test.