Opening soon, critique on my thought process?

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Unknownhavoc

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Bronze Supporter
May 24, 2016
23
Lehigh Valley, PA
Hello all!
I am planning to open up my pool this weekend, and just wanted to run down the process that I am planning to use. This is my first year with a pool, my wife and I bought the home from the owners who originally put it in. They left some chemicals behind, including an inline chlorinator and a "Pool Frog" mineral cartridge, they also have a 25lbs jug of Calcium-Up. I don't have the cover off yet, but I have peeked under and the water looks pretty clear, I can easily see the bottom.

My process is going to be:
-Removal of cover and set up of equipment.
-Test water immediately
-Begin filling
-Start pump and let run for 24 hours over multiple days
-Adjust PH and SLAM if needed


I want to test the water right off the bat to see how much CYA is in there. I'm not sure how the pool was treated, and I'm a bit worried they just used chlorine pucks, so my CYA levels might be high. It appears as though they drained the pool about half way, a good 3-6" under the skimmer.

The pool is set facing NW, and is in the sun from sunrise to sunset. I was thinking of starting at 50 CYA to help offset FC loss.

Any suggestions?
 
I see the shock levels for FC are hugely different. I will have to evaluate CYA. I am slightly concerned the previous owner was "pool stored" and the CYA is going to be high, that is the reason I want to test the water right away before adding any, just in case I need to drain some.

I'll post my numbers tomorrow when I get the pool cover off.
 
Normally we suggest filling and circulating before testing, but I see your point. Why even start filling if CYA is astronomical? You'll just end up draining it all out again in a few hours. You may also have metal buildup from that frog system.

You could give it a good brushing as soon as the cover is out of the way, to ensure things are well mixed. Then draw a sample from down deep. Maybe a long piece of pipe used as a pipette? Test the CYA and CH right then. If either or both are too high, lose some water before you start filling. You're above-ground, so siphoning is easy. I recommend connecting the vacuum and setting it in the deep end, then fill the hose and haul it over the side to get the siphon going. It'll flow many times more water than a garden hose will.

Just as a point of interest.... above ground pools are vinyl-lined, so there's no plaster to damage if CH is too low. The previous owners got pool-stored with the purchase of the Calcium-Up.

I hope you've read enough about the pool frog to know to remove it or empty it. If not, use the search box up in the corner.
 
I spent a long time trying to research the Pool Frog system, it's relatively hard to find information, in fact that searching is what lead me here, so I guess the Pool Frog was good for one thing! He has the whole system apart, so I'll just leave the inline chlorinator off when I hook up the pump and filter.

Am I correct in assuming if my pool is 50% full, I would divide my CYA and CH by 50% to equate for the new water (so long as the new water is free of both)?
So if my pool is at 50% water, and the CYA is 100 and CH is 400, adding 50% water would bring CYA to 50 and CH to 200?

- - - Updated - - -

poolnewbies5874 said:
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's best to circulate water first before testing things. Also check the water temp as CYA readings aren't as accurate in lower temps..

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

What temp is best for accurate CYA testing? I didn't read this bit of info anywhere, still have so much more to learn!
 
You're almost correct. Tap water will have no CYA, so it's a straight dilution ratio, as you figured. Tap water usually has some CH in it. Let's say the pool is 50% full and you test 400 CH. Your tap water is 100 CH. The math is (.5*400) + (.5*100) = 250. You could also just average the two, but if the pool is 60% full that no longer works.

The CYA test reaction is slowed by cold water, so it doesn't get as cloudy as it should, which makes it read lower than actual. Set a sample aside and let it warm up to 70F or better. It's reliably rumored that heating the sample in a microwave to get it up to 70-80 will also work.
 
Well, I got it all opened up! It turned out to be significantly easier than I had thought.

It looks like at 60% full, right when I took the cover off, the CYA was around 60. So I decided to fill it up. According to PoolMath, I should be right at my target of 40 CYA after getting the pool filled. If it's a little higher, I'll just tough it out this season, and drain more when I close the pool if it's still high.

I just re-read Richards post above, I forgot to warm my water up, so my CYA might be higher than I had thought. :(



I just have one quick question. My pump is a two speed, when operating on high, the PSI is 18, on low, it's around 4. Do I clean the filter when the PSI goes up to 5 on low, or 22-23 on high??

Thanks! I'll update with pictures and test results after the filter has been running for a little while.
 
Unknownhavoc said:
Well, I got it all opened up! It turned out to be significantly easier than I had thought.

It looks like at 60% full, right when I took the cover off, the CYA was around 60. So I decided to fill it up. According to PoolMath, I should be right at my target of 40 CYA after getting the pool filled. If it's a little higher, I'll just tough it out this season, and drain more when I close the pool if it's still high.

I just re-read Richards post above, I forgot to warm my water up, so my CYA might be higher than I had thought. :(



I just have one quick question. My pump is a two speed, when operating on high, the PSI is 18, on low, it's around 4. Do I clean the filter when the PSI goes up to 5 on low, or 22-23 on high??

Thanks! I'll update with pictures and test results after the filter has been running for a little while.
Click to expand...
High speed, as if you were running an old-fashioned single speed. A lot of people show no pressure at all at low speed, so they'd never know.
 
Well it took all day, from finishing the filling to getting the Chlorine in. It was quite a day, when I had initially tested, after getting my pool filled, the results were:

FC - 0
pH - 6.5
TA - 20
CH - 150
CYA - 40

I had some left over pool store PH Plus and used roughly 4 pounds in total. I started with about 2 pounds, and got my pH up to 7.2 and my TA was 40. I used the other 2 lbs and got my pH up to 7.5 and my TA at 60. I then added about 1.5 gallons of 10% liquid Chlorine and left the house for a bit. Got back and checked it, had my FC come in at 10, and my CC 0.5. I added another 3/4 Gallon and will test it before bed. I'm guessing it'll pass the OCLT, so hopefully tomorrow I can be in the pool! Very exciting!!

I'll be adding pictures as soon as I can get them on my computer.

Thank you all so much for knowledge and advice, it really has been a major blessing. :D
 

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