1st day new plaster pool

I have read the post and added 2 gallons of bleach and 60 oz of acid which after a few hours raised my chlorine level to 5 and the PH lowered to 7.5.

I did add 4 lbs of the stabilizer from Lowes (it was in the back corner of the landscaping department with a lot of dust on it).

I haven't had a chance to run a CYA or other tests today, but will tomorrow.

Right now my N2 is empty of mineral cartridge and chlorine tabs/pucks. From what I've read on this site I'm hoping to not use either. The builder said to put some chlorine tabs in the chlorinator portion of it and to wait a month to put the mineral cartridge in.
 
It will take a week or so for your CYA to fully register, so if you added the amount suggested by pool calc, don't get discouraged and add more if you test and it is lower. I made that mistake and over shot my CYA, luckily not by much.
 
We've been doing some CYA testing behind the scenes, and based on a variety of testing methods have all-but concluded that once the granules dissolve, you can just about assume the CYA is ready and should show fairly soon - shortly after 24 hrs. When I say a variety of tests, I mean .... like Mythbusters amount. :) I suspect our instructions will be updated in the near future. In any case, you added the required amount, so it should be good. As for the pucks, as you know we normally advise not to use them... HOWEVER :) ...... during plaster start-up they bring with them the advantage of assisting to keep pH down (acidic). But you have to watch the CYA. So if your CYA ends-up being a little low after the granules in a couple days, you can use a tab or two for a while, but use the calculator to keep track of how much CYA you may add with each puck (close to 8-9 ppm probably).
 
Ok, nice work, numbers look good!

It is OK to buy dusty CYA, it doesn't break down over time. But, it is not OK to buy dusty bleach/liquid chlorine, it loses its strength over time. I usually buy my bleach at Kroger. Store brand, unscented, concentrated 8.25%, no easy pour and no splashless.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far, Mrs. Murray here :) Another noob question - we want to get something to store the chemicals in - probably will keep it in the garage which is enclosed, but not climate controlled. Is it okay to put the various chemicals - bleach, muriatic acid, stabilizer, etc together in a cabinet? Should we really look to a "chemical locker?" I've seen them by rubbermaid, but know there's metal cabinets at Grainger and probably others as well.

Is bleach the only chemical recommended here that breaks down and shouldn't be stored long term? I thought about writing the purchase date on the bleach bottles to ensure we're rotating stock properly - any other suggestions with regard to chemical storage?
 
One thing's for sure ... I would keep the acid away from everything else. It's highly corrosive. If you have one of those Rubbermaid-type containers or sheds that would be great. But make sure you have nothing metal around it. It will rust anything nearby in no time. I keep my acid outdoors in a rubber container behind my the shed. All my other products I simply keep in my laundry room, but a garage will work as well. I believe bleach is the most sensitive to heat.
 
Thanks for the storage tips, no kids living here, but expect there will be visitors, so we'll keep the acid secured and separate.

Just did all the tests in the test kit. CYA is still not registering. The water was a bit cloudy, but I filled the entire cylinder and could still see the black dot. My husband did add the stabilizer as suggested - maybe we need to let it build a little while before adding more? From what I've seen, we do NOT want to go overboard on that or we'll be dumping pool water. The other readings are becoming more in line with what they should be.

Thanks for this site, very very helpful
 
That's correct. You don't want to go too high on stabilizer/CYA. We've done more (recent) testing and determined that CYA should register almost 100% by 24-48 hours. Seeing the black dot when the tube is full means the CYA is still quite low, so definitely watch that closely. Very low CYA means your FC will disappear in the day quickly under the sun. You can safely operate with CYA in the 30-40 range. If you have any other questions about CYA or any other testing, please let us know.
 

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The CYA was added Apr 15 in the afternoon. Is it fully dissolved from the sock already? If so, that was likely yesterday afternoon or this morning. So, it probably hasn't been 24 hours since the CYA has been dissolved in the pool. I would wait another day or so. Then if it isn't reading 30 ppm I would add another 10 ppm and see where that gets you.
 
Okay - the stabilizer was granular and put in the skimmer basket (per label instructions) on Friday (2 days ago). I did full tests a little bit ago and entered the info in pool math:

Cl-3
pH- 7.5
Chlorine drop: 3ppm FC; 0 CC
CH-200
TA-60
CYA - I didn't get a reading, water was cloudy, but could still see the dot. I entered 20 just to put something in.

I *think* I set pool math up correctly. I used 24000 gallons (per builder and it makes sense using the calculator) and selected goals from TFP and plaster and bleach as the source of chlorine. I even noted the temperature of 61 degrees. The suggestions from pool math:

add 50 oz of 6% bleach or 3.5 oz of trichlor
add 225 oz by weight or 190 oz by volume of baking soda
add 213 oz by weight or 170 oz by volume of calcium chloride

The bleach I understand. The baking soda I understand, but need to run to Walmart. Just regular old arm and hammer like mom used to put in the fridge for odor control. But the calcium chloride. What should I buy for that? And does it sound like I'm using Pool Math correctly?

Again, thank you for this site. I really want to learn this and know/understand what I'm doing.
 
Okay - the stabilizer was granular and put in the skimmer basket (per label instructions) on Friday (2 days ago). I did full tests a little bit ago and entered the info in pool math:

Cl-3
pH- 7.5
Chlorine drop: 3ppm FC; 0 CC
CH-200
TA-60
CYA - I didn't get a reading, water was cloudy, but could still see the dot. I entered 20 just to put something in.

I *think* I set pool math up correctly. I used 24000 gallons (per builder and it makes sense using the calculator) and selected goals from TFP and plaster and bleach as the source of chlorine. I even noted the temperature of 61 degrees. The suggestions from pool math:

add 50 oz of 6% bleach or 3.5 oz of trichlor
add 225 oz by weight or 190 oz by volume of baking soda
add 213 oz by weight or 170 oz by volume of calcium chloride

The bleach I understand. The baking soda I understand, but need to run to Walmart. Just regular old arm and hammer like mom used to put in the fridge for odor control. But the calcium chloride. What should I buy for that? And does it sound like I'm using Pool Math correctly?

Again, thank you for this site. I really want to learn this and know/understand what I'm doing.
I don't think you added enough CYA if the 4lbs that Murray16 mentioned is all you put in. 4lbs will only add 20ppm to a 24kgal pool, or 14ppm to a 34k gallon pool (not sure which you have, Murray16's avatar says 34k).

What levels are you entering for your goal? I would keep the TA on the lower end to help slow the PH rise from the curing plaster.

Calcium hardness can is raised with calcium chloride or calcium chloride dihydrate. I got mine at the pool store since it's fairly seasonal item at the hardware store.

Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
 
Carla when you say "put in skimmer basket" do you mean you poured it into the the basket so it went through the pump into the filter? What kind of filter do you have? (can you add that to your signature please?)

Kim
 
Thanks again. The pool is 24,000 gallons. I'll have a chat with Murray to correct that. :) The filter is a Jandy DE - is there more info needed than that? Sorry, this is completely new and foreign to me!

Yes, as you described, Kim, put the loose stabilizer in the skimmer basket. I wasn't with him when he put the stabilizer in, but when we put DE in yesterday, we closed the skimmer in the deep end and the main drain, so it was only pulling from the shallow end skimmer. I believe he followed that same method putting the stabilizer in the pool.

After reading through some old posts on here, I found some Tetra Flake Calcium Chloride online, I think it was just under $50 for a 50 lbs bag delivered. Given some of the numbers I saw in those older posts, I didn't think that was too bad. Our level wasn't tragically low (in my opinion, but again, this is all new!) So I didn't think I was hurting anything by letting that wait a couple days for the stuff to arrive. Please correct me if I am mistaken. If I have to drop some $ at the pool store, I will. We're just trying to learn the way from y'all. I don't want to be the person who brings a sample to the store every week and then walk out with whatever they tell me. I want to know and understand what my pool needs and how to do it.

A couple more questions if any one can help answer. I do realize this may be a little subjective, but I think you all can give me some guidance. I've seen different durations for the plaster to cure. It was done last Monday, April 11. Estimate the guys finished at noon and started filling the pool, it took about 31 hours to fill (24,000 gallons with 3 garden hoses). The builder told us to brush 2 times daily for 2 weeks and then 1 time a day for another 2 weeks. We divided the labor on that, I usually brush in the early morning and then my husband in the afternoon. The first few days, we both reported seeing lots of dust while brushing, but the past couple days, I don't really see anything, neither does my husband. Maaayyybe there's a tiny bit of water cloudiness sometimes, but really only a tiny bit. I'm usually brushing in the dark with the pool lit up, so I feel like I can really see well. I seem to recall that the builder told us 2 weeks to cure before going in the pool.

So my questions related to plaster curing:

1) We have a dog who is interested in the pool. We have put the orange netting around it to keep her out for now - at what point in the process is it safe for her to go in and not damage the plaster? As for chemicals, as long as things are within a reasonable variation of goal, she'll be okay going in? She's all black, so I don't want her to have white residue on her either!

2) We have had/are having a ton of hardscaping done in the yard, around the pool. The guys doing that weren't able to finish everything before the pool got plastered and the builder suggested having them wait at least 2 weeks after the plaster was done so that dust from cutting the stone and the sand (grout) doesn't get into the pool while the plaster is curing. Would you agree with that time frame? Wait longer? Not as long? I would normally never suggest doing something like this sooner, but with the lack of dust, I thought maybe the 2 week number was already an exaggeration.

3) I'm noticing a few "stains" in the plaster - I think. A couple of them look like perhaps some kind of organic matter, like a small spot, but I can't brush it away. The other thing is like patches of a slightly different color, but only slightly. Is this an indication of something? It is not dramatic by any stretch, but not a plain white sheet either. I'm not sure if I only see it because I'm standing over the pool brushing and looking closely. I suspect someone just hanging around by the pool would never even notice. Just thought I'd bring it up and ask.

Thank you!
 
It is most important to follow the instructions regarding plaster from the company who is providing the warranty and to try not to do anything that might allow them to void your warranty. Most commonly it is recommended not to swim for 30 days, as indicated here, Pool School - Start-up New Plaster. Your PB's brushing schedule and recommendations are pretty typical for a plaster pool. Is your pool plaster? Pebble? Quartz? Please add to your signature.

Yes, DE filter is what Kim is asking. More here on what info should be included in your signature, Pool School - Read This Before You Post

This page, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals tells you what pool chemicals are, what they do and how to add them. It covers your question about Tetra Flake. It also covers that we do not recommend pouring CYA into the skimmer basket. As I advised in post #14 above along with a link to the chemicals page, we recommend putting CYA in a sock and hanging it in front of a pool return. Your CYA is now caught in your filter. If you have backwashed your filter before it dissolved then it is gone. Or if the CYA went to a lower flow area in the filter it could take a week or more for it to dissolve.

If the stains are an off white color it is possibly calcium scale due to very high PH. Can you reach it? Does it feel rough like sand paper? More here, Pool School - Calcium Scaling
 
Thanks everyone. I've been busy building a deck the past few days so Carla has taken over on managing the pool. She is correct, it is 24K, I'll update my signature.

The only thing the pool company said do was brush twice a day, add acid every other day and put some chlorine tabs in the chlorinator portion of the N2. After a week take a sample to a pool store (any) and do what they say. We are checking the Chlorine and PH daily and sometimes twice daily and adding bleach for the chlorine and acid for the PH. We do lose a lot of the chlorine during the day, but from what you're saying that is because of the CYA.

For the stabilizer the instructions said to pour slowly in the skimmer and let it dissolve, which it did fairly quickly and yes we did backwash 2 days after. So we'll add some to a sock and hang it in front of the return this time. It's granular so it may dissolve quickly but I'm guessing that's ok? Should I go with another 4 pounds?
 
If I understand correctly, your CYA is zero, so go ahead and add the 4 lbs of stabilizer to a sock and hang in front of a return and give it a few squeezes a few times a day. This should get you to 20 ppm based on your pool size. It is best to undershoot your CYA number and add more stabilizer incrementally, but overshooting involves replacing water to lower your CYA.

Retest your CYA a couple days after it fully dissolves and add the required amount to 30 if you fall short.

We love pictures and would like to see your deck!
 
Murray/Carla----duh just figured out what was going on here! Two people with one pool! Yeah me head was not awake this morning or last night LOL.

Lets have you both have the same siggy. Murray you with correct gals and Carla with filter added please.

Okay so my guess is that when you added the CYA following the label directions it kind of all settle in the bottom of you filter THEN when you did the back wash there is went :( OUT with the water.

When you go to add this set of CYA please put it in a sock and hang it in front of a return with the pump running. You can and should give it a squeeze or few to help it along the way. I found if I let it sit in the sock for about 15 mins then go back to squeeze it it goes much faster. There will be a white cloud coming out when it is starting to dissolve.

When you do things the TFP way you are using YEARS of science based studies AND real life usage on THOUSANDS of pools! I wish it was as easy as follow the directions on the bottle but we have found "better" ways of the years and share them here for all to see and use. I feel sorry for people who have not found TFP and have to go it on their own :(

Now Carla since you have the pretty badge by your name your job is to share pics of the pool and deck! Murray your job is to go find Carla's cutest socks to add the CYA in the pool with! :slidehalo:

Kim
 
Sorry! Yes, two people, one pool. It's big enough for us both, I think.

The deck is not even half done, but it is looking good! The whole yard has been a construction zone for about 6 months now. We will all be very happy when this is over. And I will be too proud to not brag with pictures. I would just rather wait until it's at least a little bit prettier.

I think I fixed my signature now. I thought I did last night too, but obviously, I was wrong.

This whole thing is very overwhelming. There's conflicting info all over the place. I think we are going to trust the info here, with an eye toward what the builder said. I noticed they have a sidebar on the 'calendar' Murray mentioned that says for the first 14 days, we should have the pH between 7.2 and 7.4. So when I tested this morning, I added a tad extra muriatic and 2 hours later it was right at 7.2. Maybe a hair over.

The one area where I notice the 'discoloration' the most is about 3' below the water line, so I can't reach that. But I did feel around another spot where I noticed it yesterday (but don't today) and it feels totally smooth. I am probably being paranoid.

Oh and Murray had better not use my cutest socks! I'll find one in the mismatched sock bin, that will work much better. However, if we hang it in front of a return, won't it be laying kind of against the sidewall? That's okay? I don't know if the CYA is zero - when we tested the first time, I think it stayed very clear. When I tested yesterday, it was cloudy, but never cloudy enough to obscure the dot. Also seen on the sidebar with chemistry for the first 14 days - CH up to 200 (I forget the lower end) so we should be fine with that, but I'm glad I bought some anyway for future use. CYA was a range as well, with the lower end at zero. If we're going to follow the chemical recomendations of the builder, I think we're doing quite well thus far. Definitely have to keep an eye on the pH though, that really does climb - as everyone has told us it would.

The builder did put on our calendar to add 8 oz of the Jacks Magenta stuff (sequestrant) tomorrow. Since I'm sort of dangling between what the builder said and what y'all say, do you think I should put the Magenta in? I would think it can only help with any stuff that may be in the water but we don't necessarily WANT in the water.

I will say this, it looks beautiful. Clear and inviting. Even though it doesn't really warm up enough for swimming here for a little bit, I know I'll be diving in as soon as it is safe to do so!
 

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