New AGP filled, no pump yet, advice needed....

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J

jcw74801

0
Jul 11, 2007
8
Hi folks, new to the site, new to pools.

Installed a Intex 18x48 metal frame last weekend. Filling with well water was completed about 3 days ago. I am installing an outdoor electrical outlet for the pool pump but the ridiculous amount of rain we are having in Oklahoma is filling my trench with mud for the third time. It will be several more days before the pump is running. So I have a 6300 gallon bag of water sitting in the yard and no way to circulate it!

I am adding bleach and removing debri daily. The water is clear. I could use some advice on how to proceed.

Here are my numbers followed by some questions. Testing is with Walmart's HTH 5-way drop kit:

CL 1-2ppm (this morning before adding any bleach for the day)
PH 5.5 (this might explain why my copper plumbing in the house is eroding and springing leaks)
TA 30
CYA 0
temp 75 deg f.
pool volume 6423 gallons
region: Oklahoma, normally hot by now but not yet...

1) Obviously, I must bring all of my numbers up. I have the BBB chemicals and CYA. The consensus seems to be that the pump should be running when adding chemicals. Should I keep adding only bleach and wait until the pump is operational before adding anything else?

2) When I do start adding the other chemicals, what should I start bringing up first or does it matter? CYA first?

3) Regarding PH, since PH and TA are both low and related, should I add soda ash until one of the numbers is corrected then switch chemicals to bring the other the rest of the way up?

The water has not changed color since adding bleach so perhaps I will not have a metals problem with the well water...

thanks in advance for any advice or comments,
John
Bethel Acres, Oklahoma
 
jcw74801 said:
PH 5.5 (this might explain why my copper plumbing in the house is eroding and springing leaks)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum! I don't recall the HTH kit measuring pH below 6.8. Are you sure of the number?
 
Welcome to TFP!

You should get the PH up right away! Since you don't have circulation you could predisolve the borax with water in a bucket and then add that to the pool and try to stir it around some. That will bring the TA up as well. Go in small steps and adjust amounts as you go. With that large a PH change to make it will be difficult to calculate the correct amount to use.
 
I have that same pool, it's all vinyl (3 layers) with metal pools at the top and metal poles as pillars every so often holding up the poles on top, right?

what pump are you thinking of using?

I bought a Hayward 18 sand filter and Hayward max-flow 1/2 hp pump for mine cause the pump that came with it was useless....

I would say my pump circulates the water (6288) gallons every 2 hours or so, and the pump that came with the pool stated every 6 to 8 hours which I think was false.
 
John, if I were you, yes I'd take steps to get the PH up in range immediately. Low PH is very hard on vinyl liners. Even though your pump isn't running you should be able to get enough dillution and agitation by stirring the water somehow. I've never had to address upping PH, so I defer to someone who has. You may be a perfect candidate for using Borax, getting some borates in your water for algae prevention as well as getting PH up without having to add acid to bring it back down. Someone coming along shortly should know :)


I'd also keep adding the bleach like you've been doing as you DON'T want algea to take hold.

I agree, if you still have clear water with the bleach you've been adding, chances are good you don't have metal issues.

Good luck :)
 
JohnT, you are correct about the test kit ph, it is way off the scale. I also have a digital ph meter and that is where I got the reading...

rpgman, I am going to use the cartridge pump that came with the pool. I'm just having trouble getting electricity to the site...

Jason, since PH and TA are both low would soda ash be better? Or does Borax raise PH faster? I have both...

thanks everyone!
 
jcw74801 said:
JohnT, you are correct about the test kit ph, it is way off the scale. I also have a digital ph meter and that is where I got the reading...

rpgman, I am going to use the cartridge pump that came with the pool. I'm just having trouble getting electricity to the site...

Jason, since PH and TA are both low would soda ash be better? Or does Borax raise PH faster? I have both...

thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

I hope that pump works for you, it didn't do very much for me and forget about using it for vacuuming (mine also came with a vacuum), it just couldn't pump the stuff off the bottom.....so that's the reason I upgraded, now it circulates the water well, and I can vacuum by hand which I now rarely do cause this year I bought a Hayward Aqua Critter that vacuums the entire floor for me in about and hour and a half.

also, I'm able to backwash and release water if the rains fill the pool up to much.

now, people might say I'm stupid for spending another 300 and something dollars on the sand filter and pump when the pool cost about the same amount, and some might call my sand filter and pump overkill for the pool I have, but trust me it has saved me time and energy and beats dealing with that pump that came with the pool.

I still have that pump that came with the pool and it sits in my garage unused
 
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