Above ground low maintenance pool issues !

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Hello guys,
I’ve just bought the Taylor K-2006 C and, hopefully, I’m receiving it at the beginning of May !!!

Now I’m about to buy Intex pool, sand filter and SWG . . . and because it’s a fair amount of money, I want to ask one last time if the sand filter(mentioned above ) is ok for size/flow rate ???
I’ll buy them in Italy and this time shipping time is few days. I’m gonna wait for tests to fill up the pool, so I can check my water supply and see what is the situation like !!!
 
I would like to use glass filter media for my intex pump,
because I've read that it makes a better filtration and is less likely to block the pump
or make the pump pressure rise too much (I won't have the possibility to check it every day) !!!
What do you guys think ? Is there any cons ?
 
Mikey, we have one member that I know has used it (others may have but I don't know for sure). He says he would not pay the extra for it again as it has not done what the marketing said it would :(

Any filter will have a rise in pressure if it is doing it's job. That is it's way of saying "time to clean me".

Kim:kim:
 
Goodmorning guys !!! (or goodnight I just don't know :confused: )
Finally I received some stuff : pool, filter, swg, and a few other things .
Unfortunately I'm still waiting for taylor tests kit ... I cannot fill the pool up, until I test the water and make it balanced !!! :mad:
In the meanwhile I have a little question for you :
I roughly need 18 kg of salt for my little pool .
Salt is usually sold in 25kg bags ... Do you think I should buy more than one bag for my first (3 months) season ?
 
My dry place to store salt is not so dry !!! In my area Kitchen salt becomes a bit weet in few weeks . . .
I'm not going to buy extra salt if I don't need it and,
as long as I understand , if I don't add new water I don't need new salt . . . Am I correct ???
 
Here in FL we put uncooked rice in our house salt containers to keep it from clumping up so I know what you mean. Salt systems are my weak area so I will let you do some searching and maybe make a new thread asking that question to make sure you get the correct answer.

:hug:

Kim:kim:
 
You'll generally only need to add more salt if you have to backwash or drain your water. If you also have a lot of splash out you may need to add some as a top up.

If it is difficult to get hold of pool salt I would get another bag or so and store it. It shouldn't matter too much if it clumps up it'll dissolve when you put it in the water anyway.
 
Goodmorning guys ,
I'm quite happy today . . . I managed to get all things I need (more or less ),
I've my brand new pool, sand filter, swg, and also finally received the taylor k-2006C test kit !!!
At the moment I’ve no chemicals and because I’d like to buy what I really need without wasting money, I’ve some few questions for you, just to make sure I do not make any macroscopic error:).
I’ve performed a quick test about my water supply, I took a bottle of water from the tap and went home for testing :
CYA I did not test for CYA, because is the same drinkable water that goes in my kitchen and I assume there is no acid (did I make the first mistake ?).
FC I started testing chlorine but after having added some reagent drops I did not get any color change so I have deduced there was no chlorine in the water sample (second mistake ?).
PH Itwas around 7,6 and 7,8
TA Itwas about 190 ppm
CH Itwas around 150 ppm


Now comes the funny part,
Please help me in this step by step process :bowdown:!!!
After having filled up the pool,
I need to shock the water adding liquid chlorine to reach shock levels but, before doing that :
1st I need to raise CYA to 70/80 by adding x amount of cyanuric acid.
2nd I need to lower a little bit ph from 7,6/7,8 to 7,2/7,5 by adding a ph down/reducer (problem is that I’ve read that with swg pools ph down/reducer shouldn’t be used, is that correct ? What can I use ?:confused: )
3rd With CYA at 70/80 and with PH at 7,2/7,8, finally next step is adding liquid chlorine !!!


  • Shock levels for a swg pool is between 28 and 31 (depending on the CYA levels),how long should I keep this levels for ?
  • Numbers 28 and 31 are ppm ? (Unit of measure issue)


I think for now it's enough … too many questions,so sorry !!!
 
Good news, it sounds like you have all the bits you need to get it all setup.

For CYA, you did good by not testing for it. You are correct that there won't be any CYA in your fill water. You will need to add it.

For FC, depending on the test you used, the color should have changed: to yellow (OTO) when you added the drops OR if using the FAS/DPD test, the powder should have turned the liquid pink. For either method, if it remained clear after adding the reagent, then you don't have any measurable chlorine in your fill water. If you are on a well, then we expect that result. If on city water, then <1ppm is expected. Regardless, with either result we move forward the same way.

pH, TA, CH are within range for now but you may find that you want to bring TA down after you get thinks started.

0. Your biggest concern is getting some FC in the water so you don't get off on the wrong foot. Bring FC up to 4ppm for now until you can get your swg up and running.

1. For CYA, go to PoolMath and see how much is needed to get to 30ppm. Put this in a sock and hang the sock in front of your return. You can hang it from a broom handle or other long handle to help hold it there. Give the sock a squeeze every once in a while to help it dissolve. This will get you started for now. You can bring it up to 70/80ppm once you get the swg up and running. Depending on fill water temps, you may not be able to turn the swg on right away.

PoolMath: add pool volume on top (no commas or periods). left side is the tested values, right side is the desired values. Down toward the bottom there is a setting to choose TFP methods and vinyl liner. pick bleach for now until your swq is up and running.

2. You can lower pH down a bit, you are at the upper end of the scale but that isn't critical at the moment. THe best way to reduce pH is with muriatic acid. This will give you the least side effects. You can usually find it in the Hardware store in the paint section. It way have "concrete" somewhere on the label as well since it is used in that business as well. Make sure acid additions a re 30 mins apart from chlorine additions.

3. I moved adding chlorine to step zero. That should be the first thing you do.

4. You didn't ask, but you can add salt at any time.

For your question on SLAMing, since this is a first fill, and assuming the water hasn't been sitting for a few days, you shouldn't have to SLAM / shock. There really shouldn't be anything growing in there yet. I wouldn't bring the FC up above 10ppm until you get some CYA in there and then only if the FC loss shows there is something growing in your water.

This will get you started. You should see things move more quickly now :D and hopefully you will be swimming ASAP.
Don't worry about the questions, it is NOT to many! Ask away...
 

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Thankyou very much for your helpTeald024, I really appreciate :)!!!


Summarizing this will be my next steps:


1)Filling the pool up and getting the pump filter running
2)I don't need to shock the pool (because it's a first fill with city water )
3)Bringing PH on the lower end of the scale, let's say 7,4 ppm (with muriatic acid)
4)Adding some cyanuric acid untill I get to 30 ppm
5)Bringing FC up to 4 ppm (with bleach )


Having done that am I ok ?


Because you said questions are never too many ... I'll keep asking :


"You can bring it (CYA) up to 70/80 ppm once you get the swg up and running. Depending on fill water temps, you may not be able to turn the swg on right away.":confused:
Could you explain it better ? I really need SWG working from the beginning because I can not test and add chlorine on a daily basis !


I'd like adding salt straight away after having filled the pool up, and then proceed with the above schedule, is this going to affect in anyway water testing and/or the other parameters ?

Many Thanks again :D
 
SWG and water temps-some SWG do not work if the water temp is below 60 some if it is below 50. So what is your pool water temp?

If you already have and cannot return the PH down you can use it. Muriatic acid is cheaper and faster so buy and use that if possible.

You are SO on the right track!

Teald024 has been doing a GREAT job guiding you! Thanks T! :hug:

Kim:kim:
 
mikey78 said:
Having done that am I ok ?

Because you said questions are never too many ... I'll keep asking :


"You can bring it (CYA) up to 70/80 ppm once you get the swg up and running. Depending on fill water temps, you may not be able to turn the swg on right away.":confused:
Could you explain it better ? I really need SWG working from the beginning because I can not test and add chlorine on a daily basis !


I'd like adding salt straight away after having filled the pool up, and then proceed with the above schedule, is this going to affect in anyway water testing and/or the other parameters ?
Click to expand...

Yes, that sounds good. Work on step 3 (pH adjustment) last though. It is the least critical of those 5 points.

For the SWG, check your manual. The water temp needs to be above a certain threshold, usually 60 degF (16 degC). If the water temp is below this, the SWG may not work. You may have to "open" your pool using bleach first until the water temperature goes up enough. It may be OK from the start, you will just need to check.

You can add the salt right away if you want. The salt will not cause any testing errors and will not cause any other issues starting the pool.

You can do add the additions right after another, except the acid. You always need to wait 30 minutes between adding chlorine and adding acid.

Another item to add about the SWG. Check your manual to see if it has copper ion electrodes. If it does, you should disconnect these if possible. Adding copper to your water is not needed and can cause many issues. See https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/135137-Remove-copper-from-swg this thread for more detailed information.

Yes, keep the questions coming...:grin:
 
I keep updating you about this childbirth :laughblue::laughblue: !!!
Yesterday I went to the Store to look for bleach and muriatic acid :

This is the italian classic unscented bleach, is the chemical composition OK ?
View attachment 60815

... and this is (I suppose :confused: ) the "muriatic acid", despite the label says hydrochloric acid ...
View attachment 60817


One last thing,
because I'm going to open the pool without swg, and because I can not add bleach daily
( I live in a city and the pool is in the countryside house ),
can I use chlorine tablets untill the water temperature reaches 60°F ?
 
mikey78 said:
I keep updating you about this childbirth :laughblue::laughblue: !!!
Yesterday I went to the Store to look for bleach and muriatic acid :

This is the italian classic unscented bleach, is the chemical composition OK ?
View attachment 60815

... and this is (I suppose :confused: ) the "muriatic acid", despite the label says hydrochloric acid ...
View attachment 60817


One last thing,
because I'm going to open the pool without swg, and because I can not add bleach daily
( I live in a city and the pool is in the countryside house ),
can I use chlorine tablets untill the water temperature reaches 60°F ?
Click to expand...

Don't forget to take pictures along the way, we like pics! :)

I couldn't see the pictures you posted.

For the bleach, you want to read the label for Sodium Hypochlorite. This is the active ingredient in bleach. (NaClO). Plain, unscented, NOT the splashless kind.

Mutiatic Acid is the same thing as Hydrochloric acid (HCl)

For the tabs, it's ok in this case to have the trichlor tabs on hand. The tabs do add CYA, but in your case, it's not a huge issue since you will increase CYA from 40 to 70/80 when you start the SWG.
 
one more shot

dM0Hv5
 

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