Finally, we can swim!

[tsunami]

After a year and 2 weeks, the pool's complete! It took 24 hours and 26,000 gallons to completely fill on Saturday 9/12/09. The Pebble Tec is beautiful!

The PB will maintain for the 1st month, but I have my TF 100 Test Kit and will be to monitoring, just in case. I used the 5 drop Taylor K-1000 Test Kit to test the fill water. The results were CL 1, Br 2, pH 7.8 and the filled pool tested the same. The next day, the pool tested Cl 1, Br 2, pH 8.0. I didn't add any chemicals since the PB will be maintaining. The pool temperature has been varying from 81-83 deg. during the day without solar.

The pool service guy showed up today 9/14/09 to start the pumps and hooked up the cleaner(Hayward Navigator). I wasn't home, but understand that he added 1 gallon of chlorine and some pool conditioner. We later ran the waterfall and the spa jets for about an hour. Tonight the chlorine/ bromine tested clear( I'm guessing it's Cl 0, Br 0) and the pH was 8.2.

If he doesn't show tomorrow, I think it's time for me to add some muriatic acid and more chlorine. I don't want things to get out of hand. Tomorrow, I'll try my hand at the TF-100 and post results. Oh yeah, I've been brushing twice a day and the water looks good so far.

 

[duraleigh]

Hey, tsunami,

You're off to a flying start. Testing early is an excellent way to get the mechanics of it under your belt so, when you make adjustments, they'll be very easy for you.

As an aside, the yellow side of the comparator tube in the K-1000 tests both CL (chlorine) and Br (bromine). Since you only use chlorine, only report the chlorine result.....you have no bromine in your pool.

Again, you're off to a great start. Post any questions you have....lot's of folks here to help on testing. Congrats on the pool!!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Congrats ! Be sure to call your PB and discuss the PH with him - so that you don't do anything to void your warranty. The PH will rise quickly and needs monitoring as you suggest - you just don't want them to use that against you, so discuss your concerns with him and tell him you want to monitor the levels and will be adding acid for the PH as needed....

 

[tsunami]

Yesterday, I took a pool sample to Leslie's. He tested Cl 0, pH 7.6, CYA 0, phosphates a little high @ 500? He recommended a sequestrant for a newly filled pool, conditioner, and Chlorbrite. He said he wouldn't recommend Jack's Magic because it has phosphates in it.

I'm not exactly sure what the pool guy used for start up, but in addition to the 1 gallon of liquid chlorine and conditioner, I found an empty quart of Jack's Magic "the Pink Stuff", and two 3" tablets in the skimmer. I'm not sure what type of tablets they are. There's also a bucket of granular conditioner, but it's almost full--he couldn't have used much. Also, the dosage for the pink stuff on a 26,000 gallon pool would be 2 and a 1/2 quarts, but he just used 1? I still haven't heard back from the PB. My pump is currently set to run for 9 hours from 8 am to 5 pm.

Today, using the TF 100 Test Kit, my results were:

CL 0
ph 8.2
TA 150 maybe? it looks more like pink to me
CH 170 to 250 depending on how blue is blue :lol:
CYA 0

I still haven't heard back from the PB. More phone calls tomorrow!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Jack's is one of the best products on the market.

Phosphates are completely irrelevant provided you maintain proper FC levels.

Tablets are fine and a good way to add chlorine, CYA and maintain PH when you are in a new plaster situation. But make sure the pump runs 24/7 - because tablets being acidic can damage equipment and skimmer parts if they sit in the skimmer with the pump off, as the water there becomes highly acidic.

I would suggest more than 2 tablets - it doesn't appear like 2 is enough to maintain a FC level. Try 3 or 4 if they'll fit without restricting the waterflow, and if the pump isn't running constantly, invest in a floater. Make sure the tablets aren't the "dual" action type that contain copper.

Get some Muratic Acid in there to get the PH down to 7.4. Don't worry about the TA.

I'd go ahead and use the pool calc to determine enough bleach to raise the FC up to 2ppm. Pour it slowly in front of the return with the pump running. Make sure you are maintaining at least 1-2ppm in the water to avoid algae....you may find you need to add bleach a few times a day to keep the level up.

 

[PaulR]

Today, using the TF 100 Test Kit, my results were:

CL 0
ph 8.2
TA 150 maybe? it looks more like pink to me
CH 170 to 250 depending on how blue is blue :lol:
CYA 0

You're not looking for an exact color so much as for the color to stop changing. With the TA test I see the green go through a grey stage and then pink/red; if it stops changing color at that point then you're done. With the CH test it can be harder to tell just because it goes so slowly, but again if it stops changing then you are done. Are you getting a purplish endpoint instead of blue? That (and what to do about it) is described here.
--paulr

 

[tsunami]

Thanks everyone! Yesterday, I finally contacted the pool service who did the start up and will be maintaining the new pool for a month. I voiced my concerns about no cl, no cya, and high ph. He said that on a new pool it wil fluctuate quite a bit which is why they do the start up instead of the owner. He said not to worry, everything will be fine, and we can swim. After the 1st week is when they'll add the granular cya and he'll try to get here on friday to add more chemicals.

Well, friday came and went with a no show. The tablets are just about gone with Cl 0, pH 8.0, and cya 0. So tonight, I followed the pool calculator and added a little more than the required amount of 10% liquid Cl to reach 2 ppm. I also added a little less than required amount of the muriatic acid to lower the pH to 7.4, just in case they come tomorrow and add a gallon blindly to the pool.

I think that visits once a week is not enough to stay on top of chlorine loss and pH. But at least the pool is still clear!