Above ground low maintenance pool issues !

[kimkats]

Mikey? It is not working? Well I know of an easy way if you want.....you can become a supporting member and load your pics in our gallery.

I wish I could help you with photo bucket but I am proud of being able to double click

Kim (no cheering on this one)

 

[mikey78]

Just wanna try this last hosting resource :
http://

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I still need a couple of days to level up the ground :
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[kimkats]

That worked! Remember when you level to dig DOWN, not add up. If you add it will get compacted by the water and you will have to start all over

Kim

 

[mikey78]

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Ground levelling : I had to add some coarse gravel and sand on a small area to fill a 1 inch difference in level !!!

 

[mikey78]

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I than put some geotextile on the ground, before spraying some water for compacting the area.

 

[mikey78]

My brother helped me for assembling the pool :


Under the pool bottom I put a light green mat and on the top of it a dark green tarp sheet :
http://[url=http://www.hosting.universalsite.org/share-18555979102134430897022487886998503732355641n-5A80_59227EF6.html]
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Now I need to work on water balancing

 

[kimkats]

What test kit did you end up getting?

We KNOW you need to add some CYA (stabilizer) as it has to be added. You can use Pool Math (see my siggy below for link) to see how much to add.

The other stuff you really need some kind of test kit.

Kim

 

[mikey78]

I end up getting Taylor K-2006 C test kit.
SUMMARIZING :
Water supply FC=0, PH=7,6/7,8, TA=190ppm, CH=120ppm, CYA=0 ...
With this water I filled up 95% of the pool to approximately 4260 liters/1125 U.S. gallons
The same day (sunday) I added 120/130 ml of CYA* , 100ml of bleach** (sodium hypochlorite 14-15%)** and 3 small tabs of trichlor (for a total of 60 grams) and covered the pool with a tarp.
The day after (monday) I went back to my country house to make some tests :
FC= 6ppm, CC=0,8ppm, PH=7,4ppm, TA=180/190ppm, CH=120ppm, CYA=less than 30ppm, water temperature 22°C (71,6 fahrenheit).

*According to the pool math I should have added 185 ml of CYA for a target of 40ppm, but I started adding less because I was afraid of putting too much.
**According to the pool math I should have added 122ml of bleach, but again I put less, because I knew I would have add some trichlor tabs.

Today (tuesday) I'm busy at the office, so have no time for the pool . . .
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will go to my country house to make some more tests and check that everything is ok !!!

I had an issue with sand filter (Intex adapter b missing) so I had to install the small cartridge pump originally included in the pool ...
That pump It's just ridicolous, but at least It was usefull for mixing chemicals, as soon as i get adapters I will change it with the good one !!!

What do you think ? What about my tests ?
Should I add some more CYA (I will be using trichlor tabs untill I get the SWG ready to work) ?

 

[mikey78]

 

[kimkats]

You have a VERY solid plan in place. With the small size of the pool it will be easy to remove and replace the water if you need to use tablets and they push the CYA up too high. TFP is all about knowing what is what with your water. Use what works for you with the knowledge of what it does/adds to your water.

Well done! Too bad you cannot enjoy the pool today

Kim

 

[mikey78]

Thankyou guys for your help
Do you think I should add some CYA ? Or should I wait untill it builds up with chlorine tabs ?
One more question : if FC level goes under 4ppm do I have to use bleach and that's all ?
One last thing I gave a try to the taylor watergram and if i'm correct my saturation index is 0,2, instructions says 0,3 or lower water may be corrosive ... what can I do ? Is it worrying ?

 

[kimkats]

I would add CYA to get it to 30 to help buffer the FC when you are in it. With you using tablets I would watch it monthly to see how fast it is rising. When it gets to 80 or so remove and replace some of the water to bring it back down to 30 and keep up that cycle.

Yep on adding bleach (plain, NOT splashless or pretty smells) to work on the FC levels when needed.

You don't need to worry about your saturation index with this pool. That if more for plaster and heaters. I don't worry about mine at all with vinyl.

Kim

 

[mikey78]

I'm back for my daily question
I keep re-reading the pool school just to make sure I didn't miss anything . . .
This morning I noticed that pool-school says that "if CC is higher than 0,5 there is a problem " and I need to slam . . .
Now my level was 0,8 on monday I will test it again on friday (tomorrow) . . .
Pool hasn't been used at all, I'm still waiting the week-end for my first bath . . .
Do I really need to SLAM ? How come ? What if at the next test CC is even higher (1,0 or more ) ???

 

[kimkats]

First off do the .5 test instead to save on regents. Second it would not hurt to push your FC up to just under SLAM level with it being new water and you might need to "clean" it up just a bit. Now if you next cc is even higher then your test it saying you might need to do a SLAM.

I keep a log of my tests with notes on big weather events. After a while you start to see patterns that will make your pool care even easier.

Kim

 

[mikey78]

"First off do the .5 test instead to save on regents" . . . lenguage issue, I did not understand the meaning :-?, sorry !!!

 

[kimkats]

If you use the 10 ml water sample one drop will be worth 0.5 ppm

What test kit are you using again? If it is the Taylor is should be in the lid it is the NOTE under step 1.

Let me know if this helps! I can go a littler further to explain it if you need me to.

Kim

 

[mikey78]

OK I got it now !!!
I'm still running the original useless cartridge pump , I had some light rain during the past days that very likely made the ph drop from 7,8 to 7,4 ....
Also my area is quite windy in the early afternoon and despite the pool cover some debries and dirt could have gone in the pool, so I added some extra stops to the cover (black rings in the picture).
We'll see tomorrow with a new row of tests ...

 

[kimkats]

NICE! I can't wait for your next question!! LOL



Kim

 

[mikey78]

Goodmorning/night (I really don't know ) guys !!!
I'm back after a few days to share with you my last days test results, I tested water for chlorine, PH and CYA only
because I took for granted that there were not big changes in the other parameters :
22/05/2017 - FC=6 ppm, CC= 0,8 ppm, PH=7,4 , CYA<30 ppm
After initial addition of bleach i put also 3 small (20gr each for a total of 60gr) chlorine tabs

26/05/2017 - FC=13,5ppm, CC=0,5 ppm, PH=7,4, CYA= 25/30 ppm (after testing I added 25 ml by volume of CYA and a couple of inch of water )
Those 3 tabs raised FC levels over slamming level so I took off 2 tabs leaving just 1 tab, and left pool with no cover tarp for all the day.

27/05/2017 - FC=8,5 ppm, CC=0,5/0 ppm, PH= 7,4/7,5
FC drop down to a more reasonable level and I managed to get the sand filter working, was a night and day difference in flow rate.

28/05/2017 - FC=7,5 ppm, CC=0 ppm, PH= 7,4
I made the first bath.

I think I learned the first lesson :
With the pool covered for 24hours a day during the week I have a very low loss of chlorine, I still need to verify if one 20gr chlorine tab is enough or is still to much ...
I accidentally had the pool slammed for a couple of days, but soon after slamming the CC levels drop down to 0 or so.

What do you think about my experience ? Is there any hidden issue ?
As soon as I get good and stable FC readings I'll work on lowering TA, in the meanwhile I'will get ready for SWG !!!

 

[kimkats]

What I see is someone that is REALLY learning their pool and it's needs! Well done!

I have a link for you: Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule adapt as needed for you and your pool.

Kim