New Pool Finally Full! Initial Test Results

[sbollag]

Pool finished filling around 9-10 yesterday morning, Sunday. pool builder has still yet to come and turn on time clock and get it running. Really annoying. I understood not coming by on Sunday, but now say they won't make it by until later today, which is pretty annoying. But we've had lots of annoyance with them.

Plastered with Wet Edge Primera Stone (Riviera Coast) and love it already (couple of leaf stains that I'm not loving, but seems they might come out, and there was one weird spot that kind of looked like a crack, but plasterer got in and checked it - it's on sun shelf - and said it did not feel like crack, felt smooth like glass, so whatever, as long as it's not going to be an issue, whatever, doesn't look too weird).

Brushed the pool twice yesterday and that was all I did yesterday. Brushed and did first tests this morning, and here were my results:

pH - >8.2
Calcium hardness - 375
Total alkalinity - 220

Wet Edge start up instructions say to also test for metals, but I have the TF-100 test kit and there does not appear to be a test for metals (and in my cursory search, that does not appear to be included in any of the popular kits). So my plan is to take it to a pool store at lunch and have it tested for that.

So my understanding is that our calcium hardness is in the OK range, but the pH and total alkalinity are fairly high. Is this correct? But I'm assuming probably nothing to worry about too much, since it's just been filled and nothing is running yet?

As I was out there this morning, guy from plastering company came by and added two bottles of Regent Metals Out, which I understand is a sequestering agent. He had said that he was going to add acid and the sequestering agent, but after he left I realized he only added the sequestering agent, and we were texting about it and he said that he did not acid because it was already high in acid.

He said he knew this from what I told him, but I'm wondering if we had a miscommunication? From those test results, would you know that acid was high? Seems to me we might need to add some acid to bring pH down? Or maybe won't be necessary after things get going?

Anyway, first pool so I'm just trying to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc. much appreciated. Thanks!

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[Texas Splash]

Based on your TF-100 test:
- pH needs to be lowered ASAP with muriatic acid (MA). You never want pH over 7.8, so do that now. In fact, your TA is also elevated, so the combination of a high TA and new plaster will driver your pH very fast. You might want to consider working on lowering that TA a bit over time following the TFP Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity page. Regardless, new plaster will cause pH to rise, so always have some MA on-hand and ready.
- As a new pool owner, you should become familiar with the CSI information found on the Poolmath Calculator (link below). Enter all of your pool info and test results and it will tell you base on your CH, pH, and TA if you are susceptible to plaster scale or corrosion.
- The sequestrant is a bit of insurance in case there are any metals in your local water supply as the builder doesn't want to have any iron stains develop while the plaster cures.
- You need to test your CYA and FC right away and ensure they are balanced together to prevent algae. The last thing you want in your new pool while it is curing is algae, so post those for us as we can help you there as well.

Lastly, please add your pool info to your signature by going to the top of the TFP web page (just under the Pool School button) and select "SETTINGS". On the next page look to the left for a menu bar that says, “MY SETTINGS” and go to "EDIT SIGNATURE" to enter your pool and equipment info there. Or you can click EDIT YOUR SIGNATURE. It will help us later. This link may also help you: Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post.

 

[sbollag]

Thanks for the quick response. That's what I thought. So maybe he misunderstood something I said. I'll call him shortly to ask about getting some acid in there ASAP.

Ah, thought I might need to wait to test for CYA and FC since we haven't added anything else yet, but will definitely test for that this afternoon and share with all you helpful people.

Added pool info to signature - been meaning to do that for a while, so thanks for reminder. Let me know if I missed anything.

Thanks again!

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[proavia]

Congrats on having water in your cement pond!

Did the plaster guy start up the pump while he was there?

While i totally agree that the pH is way high and acid needs to be added - Don't forget, the PB holds the warranty card here. You will need to follow his instructions for start up. What time are they supposed to be there today to do the start up?

When you supply a full set of test results, please list as follows:
FC x.x
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

 

[Texas Splash]

Don't forget, the PB holds the warranty card here.

That is a very good point, so make sure to follow their advice for now. In the meantime, please feel free to refer to the TFP Pool School - Start-up New Plaster page for some general info about start-ups. It doesn't over-ride your PBs instructions, but may help you understand the process a bit more.

 

[sbollag]

By PB, I'm assuming y'all mean plasterer, right? We contracted the plaster separately, as there is only one plaster company here certified for Wet Edge, and our PB doesn't work with them.

Hence that is why the pump is still not on, PB wants to set that himself. He should be here in 30 minutes or so to get all that going.

In the meantime, I took a water sample to the pool store the plasterer recommended, so here are their results. A bit different from mine. And they don't test for metals, they said we won't have any issue with metals if we add the sequestering agent. So I guess that's alright.

FC .14
CC .49
Total Chlorine .63
pH 8.9
TA 170
CH 170
CYA 10



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[Texas Splash]

Unless your plasterer has a requirement for you to use that specific test facility for the warranty, I would recommend sticking with your TF-100. The plasterer will see the pH is exceedingly high and adjust I'm sure. At the same time your CYA and FC are very low, and it's getting brutally hot, so you may want to focus on increasing FC and CYA levels really quick to avoid an algae situation.

 

[sbollag]

No, not at all. Yes, I plan to. Spoke to plasterer and they are bringing acid tomorrow. That's fine, yeah?

As for the chlorine, I'm assuming that's because we haven't added any yet? I know we're not supposed to put it in the first few days, going to ask plasterer exactly when we can start adding it.

Lastly, on an unrelated note, quick question for anyone who has Primera Stone. As I said, we are quite happy with the plaster job; even my wife, who is quite discerning, really has no complaints. However, the pool builder was just out getting everything going and he said it's streaky and we need to have the plasterer acid wash it. Now the caveat is that he has never seen a pool with Primera Stone, probably never seen any Wet Edge product for that matters, so he's basing his observations on his experience with Diamond Brite. I mean, there certainly are spots where it's a little washed out looking, not as vibrant as most of it, but like I said, it's not really bothering us, so just wanted to see if folks thought that's something we should be concerned about. (What was kind of crazy was when he turned on the bubbler in the sun shelf, it shot out all sorts of chunks of plaster and such, so that wasn't so cool.)

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