Questions after recent refurbish

[ScottinTX]

Hello all...., new member with my first post. We just finished up with some refurbishing and upgrades 3 weeks ago on our 12 year old pool (new plaster/quartz, new coping, concrete decking replaced and expanded). Prior to the work, I was the guy who just loaded up the float with tablets, shocked every once in awhile, added acid when I remembered to, and added whatever the local pool store sold me when I took a water sample in. I'm now wanting to get more involved and take control.

We just had 8 inches of rain in the last week. Today I replaced all my DE filter grids and tested the water with my new TF-100 kit. Here are my results:

FC: 2
PH: 7.8
CC: .5
CH: 250
TA: 200
CYA: 20

Should I work on all these at once or try to pick off a few at a time? Is it best to just enter everything in PoolMath and tackle them all at once? Our water looks crystal clear right now but our swim season is pretty much over now. Thanks in advance!

 

[JamesW]

You're in pretty good shape. I would bring up the CYA (cyanuric acid) some and keep the fc (free chlorine) at about 7.5% of the CYA.

Be vigilant about brushing and keeping the pH from getting above 7.9.

New plaster has a tendency to have the pH rise from calcium hydroxide in the new cement.

Put your numbers in poolmath to check your CSI. Keep the CSI in the -0.3 to 0.0 range for best results.

Start working the TA down by keeping the pH toward 7.2 until the TA gets to about 80 and then you can keep the pH at about 7.8.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Scott, I'd start with your FC and CYA. They both can be worked on immediately and at the same time. Since you may have some of those pucks on hand still (do you?) you can use them to raise your FC and CYA at the same time. But you need to know how many you can add before you need to stop or the CYA level would get to high. Use PoolMath app at the top to help.... look at the bottom for the "Effects of adding chemicals"

More commonly we suggest obtaining some granular CYA and using the PoolMath app ask it to tell you how much to add to go from 20ppm to 30ppm. Put that amount in a sock and hang it off a broom stick near a water return. Don't let it touch the pool sides as its sort of acidic and you don't want to accidentally mar your finish.

If you go with the straight CYA you'll then add liquid chlorine (aka "plain, unscented, unthickened, non Cloramax'd bleach). Again using PoolMath to tell you how much based on 30ppm CYA. Here is a reference for you --> [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Add some liquid chlorine daily to every other day.....when ever your testing finds the FC dropping down close to your minimum, get it back up again to a safe level. Since its getting cold (brrrrrr! Wet & Cold in Texas this week, huh?!) you'll find chlorine lasts longer than in warmer times of the year.

Next, say a day or two after the CYA, try to work on lowering that TA some with the use of Muriatic Acid. After you fix that (per James' recommendation above) add some calcium. You're going to want your calcium up higher than you currently have it and that helps protect your plaster finish. When you add Calcium don't add anything else that day. Add enough to get to about 325 and then re-test. You don't want to overshoot if you can help it. Go slow.

As you're learning, test FC/CC and pH daily at first....then when you start seeing things hold steady you can extend the testing a bit. Test your TA/CH about every other week at this point or after making any chemical changes to those chemicals. Check after additions just to see if you met your goal?

You'll get the hang of this in no time and you've got a great kit to help you. Holler back for any other questions

Maddie