16 July 2024 Finishing Up my OB Pool

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setsailsoon said:
FC still 0 so added another gallon
pH rose a little to 7.5 as expected

Brushing moved the dirt/powder on pool floor easily water is very clear but has the yellow-green tint.
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Dirt/powder is likely plaster dust. The purpose of brushing a new pool is to keep the plaster dust from settling on the surfaces and hardening. Brush and stir the water to keep the dust in suspension in the water so it can be filtered out.

Confirm your filter pump is running 24/7?
 
2 pm update first day of operation

pH stable at 7.5
FC 0
CC .5

Pool appears to be clearing a little... not just my imagination, Robin mentioned it also. Added another gallon of 10% liquid chlorine. I also still have the floater loaded with tri-chlor that was added late last night.

Also noticed when I pulled the hose out and let it run on the pavers it definitely stinks like the sprinklers. It normally runs 2-3 ppm S so it should stink. But the pool has no odor at all. I'm guessing some off-gasses naturally, some is oxidizing from the FC, and the tannins are also oxidizing just like @JoyfulNoise predicted.

I have a pipe I want to re-route on the filter pump so it may be later today before it's running.

Chris

Pool Now on left Pool 6 hr ago on right
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I've been hooked on this thread ever since your 1/16", demand for excellence scratched that perfectionist part of my brain. Along with your great treatment of the team of people you have working for you, by far one of the best OB threads I've read! Not to mention your set up is beautiful. One day after I win the lottery I'm gonna do a OB too and refer back here for tips! Yay water time!
 
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niagra falls GIF
 
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Taking a break on pipe re-route... almost done so took more readings:

pH 7.5 and holding makes sense as the water off-gasses to lower pH I'm adding 20 gpm of 7.2 pH water.
FC 1 Finally!

Pools definitely clearing... there's hope I may have my clear TFP pool back some day again!
I'll add another gallon and should be in that 2-4 ppm range.

Chris

Deep end at the step out
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Shallow end by the steps

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kne said:
I've been hooked on this thread ever since your 1/16", demand for excellence scratched that perfectionist part of my brain. Along with your great treatment of the team of people you have working for you, by far one of the best OB threads I've read! Not to mention your set up is beautiful. One day after I win the lottery I'm gonna do a OB too and refer back here for tips! Yay water time!
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Thanks for the kind words and I'm really excited to see the performance test. Whatever happens on that, this pool is a LOT better because of all the superb help from TFP members.

Chris
 

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setsailsoon said:
Taking a break on pipe re-route... almost done so took more readings:

pH 7.5 and holding makes sense as the water off-gasses to lower pH I'm adding 20 gpm of 7.2 pH water.
FC 1 Finally!

Pools definitely clearing... there's hope I may have my clear TFP pool back some day again!
I'll add another gallon and should be in that 2-4 ppm range.

Chris

Deep end at the step out
View attachment 580033

Shallow end by the steps

View attachment 580036
Click to expand...

pH rises with carbon dioxide offgassing. Your pH is increasing because the acidic water is hitting the alkaline surface and the calcium hydroxide is neutralizing the acidity. Eventually, once you stop filling, your pH is going to take off. Between the high TA and the plaster curing, I wouldn’t be surprised if you are routinely seeing 8.0.

Filtering will help to clarify the water.
 
pH 7.5
FC 1.5

Water seems about the same and much better than 24 hrs ago. We're clearly consuming chlorine with something. I'll add another gallon before I run the pump. PVC glue is drying then we're ready to start. Fingers crossed!

Chris
 
Without CYA the sun is consuming your chlorine.

See if the water holds chlorine once the sun sets.
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
pH rises with carbon dioxide offgassing. Your pH is increasing because the acidic water is hitting the alkaline surface and the calcium hydroxide is neutralizing the acidity. Eventually, once you stop filling, your pH is going to take off. Between the high TA and the plaster curing, I wouldn’t be surprised if you are routinely seeing 8.0.

Filtering will help to clarify the water.
Click to expand...
Yep, I saw this a couple weeks ago playing with the fill water. pH 7.2 with sample at night. Then just sitting in a glass for 12 hours it was 8.1 or a little higher. I'm sure I'll be burning through the acid soon... better get a couple more gallons. I'm planning to watch this like a hawk. If I need to check every 4 hours 'till it stabilizes I will but I'm trying hard to follow the plaster curing you and @onBalance have put together. I need this plaster to last a LONG time.

Chris
 
Filter Pump in Service!

Yes, took a little bit to back prime the line and even then there was still a lot of air. OK I also have to admit it would have taken a lot longer except after a couple primes Robin said "shouldn't that big o-ring be somewhere other than on the ground next to the pump?" I hate it when she gives me that "how many engineers does it take..." look. Pretty soon water was gushing in the suction container and all the air was out. Just like many of you pointed out there's already a bunch of stuff in the suctions strainer. We're flowing to two returns from in the pool and I have it set to 3000 rpm. Another huge milestone behind us!

Chris

Here's a link to a short video...

Look carefully and you'll see the plaster chips plus other stuff
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This is my surprisingly well constructed 425 sq ft filter from Dohaney's

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setsailsoon said:
OK I also have to admit it would have taken a lot longer except after a couple primes Robin said "shouldn't that big o-ring be somewhere other than on the ground next to the pump?" I hate it when she gives me that "how many engineers does it take..." look.
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Good thing you have her onsite to watch over you. :poke: :hammer:
 
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FC 3.5
CC 1.0
pH 7.6
So over night FC loss was only .5. It was partly cloudy yesterday and even with that we likely lost 2 ppm FC due to sun burn off (good catch Allen). Pump ran all night at 2000 rpm. Water is more cloudy, still greenish.

Today I'll try to get the main pump running.

Chris
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ajw22 said:
Dirt/powder is likely plaster dust. The purpose of brushing a new pool is to keep the plaster dust from settling on the surfaces and hardening. Brush and stir the water to keep the dust in suspension in the water so it can be filtered out.

Confirm your filter pump is running 24/7?
Click to expand...
Allen, just realized I didn't reply. Yes, running at 2000 rpm 24/7. It seems to be working. Today I noticed some white powder around the drain as well as some darker stuff. Water was much clearer today in the pool although still light greenish. But I could see when I brushed the very light white power got sucked right into the drain. Also the darker stuff is sand. We still have a lot of that and will cover with sod asap. But we have to get a pre-final grading inspection first.

Was missing a fitting to get the big pump running so I decided to do a level check. Level is extremely critical for the gutter and infinity wall to work properly so I blocked the gutter at both ends and filled up to overflow at 20 gpm. I'm pretty happy with the results in photos below. Today wind swung around to southwest so areas that were dry are now wet and vice versa compared to yesterdays NE-N. Photo's below are giving me a preview of what it's going to look like.

pH is starting to creep up ~7.7, FC runs 0-4 ppm, CC .5-1, CSI is ~.46.

We are definitely burning up 3+ ppm FC with sun. This morning we had 3.5 ppm. By 3 pm it was 0. CYA is on order and I'm getting a tiny bit with the floaters. Last night I accidentally left one of the floaters in the spa so I'm guessing it got pretty high. This morning it was crystal clear - photo below. I put the hose in the spa to reduce FC as quick as possible. But I'm hopeful the spa clarity is something I can achieve in the pool this week.

Chris



Spa this morning
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setsailsoon said:
.Last night I accidentally left one of the floaters in the spa so I'm guessing it got pretty high.
Click to expand...
Like I have said, plaster can stand a lot of abuse during startup and turn out fine. Keep trucking.
 

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