Start up pool guy threatening to add “special chemicals”

Slmcveigh72 · Jun 27, 2020

We have a new pool - completed construction and had water trucked in on 6/11. My hubby was worried about the start up and we agreed to having a company come to “start it up” and then we would take it over. The start up consists of coming out 3 times a week, brushing the pool, and getting the chemicals right for 4 weeks.
We have not added salt to the pool yet.
Yesterday when he was here, he said “if the green tinge doesn‘t go away by Monday I will add some special chemicals to get it right. Your pool is being stubborn“.
I asked him what the special chemicals were and he either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me....he would just say “We only use them in special circumstances“, ugh.
So here are my readings this am:
FC-3.0
PH-6.8
TA-70
CH-200
CYA-60
It recommends Borax, but I am nervous. The water cost us over a thousand dollars to fill the pool, and we don’t want to screw it up

Any advice would be much appreciated!
Thank you in advance.

duraleigh · Jun 27, 2020

One of the founding tenants of TFP is to NEVER put anything in your pool when you don't know the outcome.

He may have a good idea but until I understood what that idea was, he wouldn't touch my pool....period. Mysteries are frequent among pool pros and often masks ignorance instead.

Now, calculating enough borax to get your pH off of 6.8 up to about 7.4 or so is a good idea. Use Poolmath to do that.

Secondly, you need to keep your FC a little higher I like 5-7 and the TFP FC/CYA chart suggests 5-9 ppm. Don't let it get below 5 ppm.

I see no "green tinge" in your pool, do you? Looks like hazy blue to me.

To start clearing that haze, I would suggest you add enough chlorine now to get to 7 ppm and then perform an OCLT tonight to see if you have excessive chlorine loss. Post those results and we can go from there.

Are you running your pump 24/7 and vacuuming/brushing once each day?

Slmcveigh72 · Jun 27, 2020

Thank you!
Yes, we are running the pump 24/7 and brushing at least once a day, sometimes twice a day if we think about it.

Leebo · Jun 27, 2020

Have they added any chemicals to deal with metals?

Slmcveigh72 · Jun 27, 2020

Leebo said:
Have they added any chemicals to deal with metals?

Not to my knowledge.
We had the water tested as soon as it was filled, it came back with no copper or Iron.

Flying Tivo · Jun 27, 2020

You need to track CSI with PoolMath and keep it a little positive Startup New Plaster. You will also need to add some CH. The VS pump does not need to run full power, aim for 1200-1500rpms. Congratulations.

Leebo · Jun 27, 2020

I would ask if that's what their concern is. Metals in the water often don't show up and could cause the water to appear greenish. While normally metal products aren't a must, for new pools they're a requirement. This is because the plaster is somewhat "soft" right now and if stains appear as the plaster surface is hardening it'll be almost impossible to remove. You can read more about this and start-up techniques in this article.