Newly plastered pool and plaster dust- many questions!

[feinerl]

10 days ago my 35000 gallon IG pool was re plastered using Pebblefina sapphire galaxy. The pool wash acid washed before filling. The pool looked very streaky after it was filled and after reading other posts and speaking with my plasterer, we decided to acidify the pool. He put in 3 pumps and added 15 gallons of muriatic acid. The color looks good now. The Ph was off the scale low and TA was 0. I added 50 lbs of bicarbonate at his recommendation over about 5 days while monitoring ph and ta and brushing often. pH is now 7.0 and TA is between 60-70. Ca hardness is 550 now. I haven't had to add anything over the past 2 days but the pool water became quite cloudy. It is clearing now as the TA came down from 100 to 70. Is the plaster going into solution as TA goes down?

I reactivated my pump and DE filter(Hayward DE-600). The clean filter has a pressure of about 18 PSI and about every 2 hrs when pressure increased to 30 I would backwash. I was worried about running the pump hard overnight and did not load it with DE and noticed that the pressure went up over about 3 hours. I backwashed and it came down again. It makes me wonder what the point of using DE is when the pool water is basically clean except for calcium precipitates. I have been backwashing but not using DE for the last 36 hours and the pool is clearing finally. Am I hurting the system? I figure the worst that happens is the filter membranes scale and can acid wash them once things have settled down but would love an expert opinion.

Any recommendations about where I should keep TA levels?

Thanks
Len

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Len. TA of 70 is probably just fine. Now that you are running your system and adding chemicals, can you post a full set of test results? That might explain the sudden cloudiness and need to constantly backwash your filter. You might be struggling with algae. How do you chlorinate and how often? Please post the following:
FC
CC
CYA
pH
TA
CYA
Post using your TF-100 or Taylor K-2006 if possible. Also, please try to add your pool info to your signature for future reference. Thanks.

 

[feinerl]

Hi Pool temp is 55 degrees in here in NJ. No chlorine has been added as I have read no shock in a new plaster pool. I have just added 4 tricolor pucks in now to slowly add cya. Pump is circulating continuously. Why is resistance increasing through the filter if the filter doesn't have DE? Any thoughts?
FC 0
CC 0
CYA 0
pH 7.0
TA 70-80

 

[Texas Splash]

A few things come to mind .... Once your plaster dust settles and you neutralize the massive acid dumps, you then start your pump to circulate and can add chlorine. You just can't add high "shock" levels for a while. So immediately upon starting the circulation, it's ideal to add stabilizer to the ideal target level and a corresponding FC (see the Chlorine/CYA Chart link below). With no chlorine, it's very possible algae has started to grow, starting with cloudiness and overwhelming your filtration system. That's my guess at the moment. I have to leave my computer, but I'll check back in a while. Others will post I'm sure as well. Hang in there.

 

[Texas Splash]

In addition, if you haven't seen it already, check out the TFP Pool School - Start-up New Plaster page. Since your pool was only done 10 days ago, you may also be battling with residual plaster dust which could be the problem. But if you have the pump running, definitely add stabilizer for a target of about 30 ppm. The pucks will take too long. Use the "sock soaking" method. Also use regular bleach to increase your FC to 3 for today, then take it to about 5 tomorrow. Try to keep it there while you continue to work on the plaster dust (if any). Keep us posted on the condition of your water and if the filter condition continues.

 

[pooldv]

I believe that running a DE filter without DE is a big no-no. I am not 100% sure but I think it can damage the grids.