Soon to be first time pool owner

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Stobes21

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Apr 9, 2016
9
St. Louis, MO
So a week from Monday I close on a house with an in ground pool. I've never owned a pool of any kind so the whole thing is new to me. I've been reading up on the pool school stuff and I think I have a handle on the basic chemistry stuff. I have a TF-100 test kit on order. The current owners are having their pool guy open the pool Friday so it should be up and running when we get the keys. I would like to do maintenance myself if I can.

So here's what I know about the pool for now:

-In ground, plaster walls
-supposedly 40k gallons. That's what the seller put down on the disclosure at least, but I understand that's really big for a residential pool. I haven't actually seen the pool itself though since it's still covered. So I don't know. It is kidney shaped I believe, so I don't know how to measure that.
-salt water generator. Aqua Rite chlorine generator and Hayward T-Cell 15
-Sta-Rite T-240BP-1 sand filter
-Challenger 1.5hp pump. I think the model number is 34-3234 and it says it is self priming
-There is a heater as well but I apparently neglected to take pictures when I was there for inspections.

So that's what I know. Any thoughts on the equipment? Any idea whether the equipment is consistent with a 40k gallon pool? If I get a chance to talk to the pro who has been maintaining the pool what should I ask him? And what other information should I get or pictures should I take so I can ask you guys a ton more newbie questions?

Thank you so much!
 
Welcome to TFP and congrats on the new pool!

There is a pool volume calculator toward the bottom of Poolmath. Yes, 40k is very big for a residential pool. The SWG is rated for 40k gallons, but we normally recommend sizing an SWG 2-3 time bigger than your pool. Like my swg is rated for 40k but my pool is 20k.

Take pics of the pool and the equipment, upload them to photobucket, copy the IMG code to the right of the pic and paste it into your thread.

You might have them show you how the valves work on the equipment pad, how to turn the pump on and off and how to operate things. But, we can help with that also.

Have you read this a few times? Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

And here is the water chemistry for a saltwater pool, Pool School - Water Balance for SWGs
 
If you haven't already, it may be wise to include some language to protect yourself in the event that there is an issue with the pool. If it is covered and all of the equipment is not functioning, there is no way to ensure that everything is in good condition. Pools are wonderful features, but a damaged pool can be a pit!
 
Yes, the pool was inspected and all the equipment is working. There's no warranty or anything though. Learned a bit more info. Pool was built in 1984 and had new gunite plaster in 2008. Heater was replaced 2 years ago, the pump and filter are of unknown age. I will take pictures of the plumbing on Friday when I walk through. How do I determine how long to run the pump every day?
 
I took some pictures at the walk through of the plumbing. It appears to me the water comes from the skimmers (there are two) up the two pipes from the ground on the left, join into a single pipe which goes to the pump, then goes to the filter, from where it can drain out the front for backwash, or go to the heater on the right, then through the SWG cell back down into the ground through the pipe between the heater and filter. Right? But why does it split before it goes into the ground with one pipe having a shutoff but not the other? And what is the capped pipe coming up there?

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Ok, so I took ownership today officially. The pipes coming up to the pump are labeled "D" and "SK", so I assume that's the bottom drain and the two skimmers?

Also did my first chem test. Results below:

FC: 2.5
CC: 0
CH: 450
TA: 150
pH: 8.2
Salt: 3060

I couldn't really get a read on the CYA test. I filled the whole tube and still could see the black dot at the bottom. It was cloudy but visible. Does that mean I have no CYA?

On a possibly related note, my pump doesn't have a timer on it, just an on/off switch. My realtor says it's supposed to run 24/7. That can't be right, can it?
 
Here is my "new pool owner" set up.............

Here are some links you will need when you are starting up a pool.


Print these out:

Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels


Bookmark these:

Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry


Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.


Look up post #7 and you will see where I linked to the pump run link. Pumps do NOT need to run 24/7. I do not have a timer (one day I will) so just turn it on when I get up in the morning and my husband turns it off when he gets home. It works for us.

If you had any clouding at all for the CYA test I would say it was 20 for now and add CYA to shoot for 40. Use Pool Math (link in this post) to get how much to add. I would rather you shoot for too low as it is easy to add CYA but the only real way to lower it is to drain water.

You need to bring your PH down to the recommended level. Look in the recommended chemicals to see how to do it. Again use pool math to know how much to add.

Good job on the tests! What is fun?

Kim :cat:
 
Stobes21 said:
Ok, so I took ownership today officially. The pipes coming up to the pump are labeled "D" and "SK", so I assume that's the bottom drain and the two skimmers?

Also did my first chem test. Results below:

FC: 2.5
CC: 0
CH: 450
TA: 150
pH: 8.2
Salt: 3060

I couldn't really get a read on the CYA test. I filled the whole tube and still could see the black dot at the bottom. It was cloudy but visible. Does that mean I have no CYA?

On a possibly related note, my pump doesn't have a timer on it, just an on/off switch. My realtor says it's supposed to run 24/7. That can't be right, can it?
Click to expand...
You have a little bit of CYA.... maybe 10 ppm. Probably the only reason you have any FC at all is because the pump and SWG are running 24/7. If you cut the pump time down, the SWG will also run less, and you'll soon see zero FC.

The pH is also tremendously high. It might actually be higher than 8.2, but that's as pink as the reagent gets. Break out a tape measure and verify the pool volume. Then let poolmath give you the acid dose to get from 8.2 to 7.4. Tip: down at the bottom it says Effects of Adding Chemicals. Plug that amount of acid in and see what it should do to the TA. Check the pH and TA the next day and see if you overshot or undershot. It will help you calculate the exact pool volume.

You also need to add some CYA. Work up to your target, because you don't know for sure how big the pool is nor exactly how much residual you have. Maybe shoot for 40 and give it a couple days to dissolve and mix and then retest it and go from there.

We'll discuss timer options once you get comfortable with the chemistry and how everything works. Don't get overwhelmed. Once you start doing, the chemistry starts to make sense and gets really easy.
 
So a full gallon of muriatic acid brought my pH down to 7.2. My FC is also up to 4.5, I assume my SWG is working better because of the adjustment? I'll measure TA later today and confirm, pool math says it should go down by 17, which would put me at about 130. I'm using 30k gallons for calculations and at least for pH that was spot on. So perhaps that's a better estimate of my volume. I picked up a 4lb jug of CYA without calculating how much I need. When I ran the numbers it looks like I'll need at least 2 more. So that went in yesterday afternoon and I'll get more tonight.
 
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