We purchased a house in November with an indoor in-ground plaster 10x60 lap pool ~16k gallons. Pool is ~25 years old and looks like original plaster. Pool room does have windows along one wall, but doesn't get very much sun hitting the water. I'm just looking for a sanity check from the experts here before I start dumping stuff in the pool. 
The pool was winterized by the previous owner (water level lowered, returns blown out and plugs inserted, filter drained and some pool antifreeze added in some pipes, some "winter chemicals" added and water level re-added to just below the tile). No idea what they added for "winter" chemicals but the water is clear. There were various pool store products left with the pool, including algicides. Yuck. But there was also an old Taylor test kit, so that's a good sign. This is my second pool, but my last one was outdoor in sunny California which is quite different compared to an indoor pool in North Idaho. I'm planning on using liquid for chemicals, so bleach and muriatic acid. I work from home, so it's easy for me to add when needed.
I've successfully opened the pool (removed plugs, added water, brushed, vacuumed and backwashed). Flow meter shows 32 GPM so I have the pump set to run 8 hours a day. Never used a sand filter before, had a cartridge system with the last pool. Pressure in the sand filter was ~5 before I vacuumed and ~20 after, and the flow rate had dropped to ~15 GPM, a quick couple minute backflush and I was back to 5 on the filter and 32 on the flow meter. I have not added any chemicals yet. We have started to have a few warmer days (over 55 degrees in the pool room), so I have turned on the heat pump and the pool has gone from 42 to 52 so far.
Here are my numbers with a fresh TF-100 test kit that arrived yesterday:
FC 6
CC < .5
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 210
CYA < 20
All in all not a bad place to start. I was looking at PoolMath and my pool currently has a CSI of -0.35 "Potential to become corrosive to plaster".
First thing I plan to do is add some calcium chloride to get the CH up to ~300. CSI would be -.22 at current temps, and 0.08 at 85 degrees. Sound good?
Then, I'm considering adding some stabilizer, in small quantities and waiting a week to re-test until I get CYA up to ~20 since this is an indoor pool. Or maybe I'll just leave it as-is and try it out first. It did register when I tested CYA, but I could still see the spot with the liquid past 20.
Thought about raising TA a little, maybe as high as 120, but I may just leave it as-is and try it at 90 first.
So I think my goal is:
FC 3-4
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 300
CYA 20
Does that make sense? Anything else I should be considering? First indoor pool and we sure are looking forward to it getting warm enough to jump in!!!
Best Regards,
James
The pool was winterized by the previous owner (water level lowered, returns blown out and plugs inserted, filter drained and some pool antifreeze added in some pipes, some "winter chemicals" added and water level re-added to just below the tile). No idea what they added for "winter" chemicals but the water is clear. There were various pool store products left with the pool, including algicides. Yuck. But there was also an old Taylor test kit, so that's a good sign. This is my second pool, but my last one was outdoor in sunny California which is quite different compared to an indoor pool in North Idaho. I'm planning on using liquid for chemicals, so bleach and muriatic acid. I work from home, so it's easy for me to add when needed.
I've successfully opened the pool (removed plugs, added water, brushed, vacuumed and backwashed). Flow meter shows 32 GPM so I have the pump set to run 8 hours a day. Never used a sand filter before, had a cartridge system with the last pool. Pressure in the sand filter was ~5 before I vacuumed and ~20 after, and the flow rate had dropped to ~15 GPM, a quick couple minute backflush and I was back to 5 on the filter and 32 on the flow meter. I have not added any chemicals yet. We have started to have a few warmer days (over 55 degrees in the pool room), so I have turned on the heat pump and the pool has gone from 42 to 52 so far.
Here are my numbers with a fresh TF-100 test kit that arrived yesterday:
FC 6
CC < .5
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 210
CYA < 20
All in all not a bad place to start. I was looking at PoolMath and my pool currently has a CSI of -0.35 "Potential to become corrosive to plaster".
First thing I plan to do is add some calcium chloride to get the CH up to ~300. CSI would be -.22 at current temps, and 0.08 at 85 degrees. Sound good?
Then, I'm considering adding some stabilizer, in small quantities and waiting a week to re-test until I get CYA up to ~20 since this is an indoor pool. Or maybe I'll just leave it as-is and try it out first. It did register when I tested CYA, but I could still see the spot with the liquid past 20.
Thought about raising TA a little, maybe as high as 120, but I may just leave it as-is and try it at 90 first.
So I think my goal is:
FC 3-4
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 300
CYA 20
Does that make sense? Anything else I should be considering? First indoor pool and we sure are looking forward to it getting warm enough to jump in!!!
Best Regards,
James
