First water analysis...one week from fill...not sure??

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M

ma23peas

0
Jun 13, 2009
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Here is the rundown...we have a 34,000?? (3.5'-8' 20x40) gallon pool with pebble sheen finish...we filled it with well water last week...here's the chem specs...waiting 30 days to add salt...it was shocked on Monday (5 days ago)

FAC: 2
pH: 7.4
TA: 90
Ca Hardness: 70
CYA: 60
Phosphates: 500

Here is what the pool store lady wants us to do> Never turn off the pump, keep it going 24/7, right now we have it turning over the water once...about 10 hours on...this didn't sound right..

She said to put 45 pounds of Hardness Plus in right now..b/c our water was soft...then add Calcium to bring it up (about 25 pounds) a day later (24 hours apart)..then reshock on Monday (we were told to shock it once a week)...we're testing it every week, but we're about to go on vacation for 12 days and house sitters won't know what to test for..does this sound like the right thing to do?

Thanks!!
Tara
 
Nope, not at all.

Is this a new pool? Is that why r you waiting 30 days?

Why was it shocked... How does your water look? A properly chlorinated pool should rarely need shocking, certainly not weekly.

Ignore phosphates, irrelevant.

Do you have your own test kit? You really need one, the pool store lady is giving you terrible advice. :mrgreen:

Your house sitter will need to test the water each evening for PH and FC and will need to adjust the PH down with acid if it's above 7.8; and then 30 minutes after adjusting PH, they will need to add LIQUID chlorine to keep the FC above the "Min" level for your CYA - refer to the CYA chart in my sig. Right now your chlorine is too low, I suggest you add enough to raise it to 7, and then each night test and add enough to keep it above 5 AT ALL TIMES.

Do you know how to use the Pool Calculator? You'll need to teach your house sitter. :wink:
 
Running 24/7 isn't a bad idea at first, especially if you are adding calcium.

I wouldn't add nearly the calcium she is suggesting, and never just add without letting it circulate and retesting. Pool builders are notorious for overestimating pool volume. I'd add about 30lbs, wait a couple of days and retest, then add what you need to get to where you want to be. Make sure you know how much you add so you can see the effect and start estimating an accurate pool volume.

You need to maintain a higher chlorine level until you get your SWCG going. Check out the Chlorine CYA Chart
for guidance.
 
Yes! New pool, just added water last Friday...we are waiting the 30 days to add salt because that is the recommendation from Pebble Tec..they said many builders across the country add salt within 7 days with no problem, but they say to wait 30 days because you are then assured the finish has completely cured...they say it's a bell curve...60% cured after the first week, 80% after the 2nd and 100% by 30 days or as near as you're gonna get...holding off on adding the salt just makes it stronger...and prevents any minerals that may be present in the salt from pitting the finish??

We're getting so many directions we just want to make sure we're not following everything said without some opinions thrown in! Thanks so much for all y'alls help! I'm having husband look at the chlorine chart!

Tara
 
Well, if you read "How to Start Up New Plaster" in Pool School - our recommendations vary greatly. For instance, we recommend bringing up the CYA and FC VERY SLOWLY... ideally you could have used tablets in a floater to do both, tablets are also acidic which would help keep the PH and TA in check. But it's too late now, so you'll need to learn real quick the basics so you can teach your house sitter to do what I mentioned above.

No worries. I just want to make sure you will understand this enough to explain it to the house sitters. You can always let them post here in your absence and we'll hold their hand/walk them thru it. But you need your own test kit, I can't stress that enough - read about the two we recommend in pool school. :)
 
On the pool sheet we have that was just tested today says FAC should be a range of 2-4..then there is TAC...I don't have a value for that..only the FAC is 2...we do have a test kit that the pool builder gave us...guess we will be testing tomorrow..

We were going to slowly add the hardness to bring it up to 225....since it is pretty low at 70....I guess we'll just put half in and see what happens....then put more Sunday....

So the 'shocking' part is simply these 3 small bags she said to put in and our builder also said to put it in once a week until we put the salt in, then we do not need to shock it? Believe it or not we have both read pool school 3x...just soo much information and we're reading contradicting suggestions :)

Thanks so much! So great of you to help if we can't explain it to the house sitters! They've got their hands full with our farm animals..hoping the pool care won't throw them over the edge! :)

Thanks!
Tara
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
Right now your chlorine is too low, I suggest you add enough to raise it to 7, and then each night test and add enough to keep it above 5 AT ALL TIMES.

Do you know how to use the Pool Calculator? You'll need to teach your house sitter. :wink:
Click to expand...

When I read the Pool School it said Salt water pools need to be at a range of 2-5 (or was it 3-5, but I know the top number is 5)...do I need it to be closer to 7 until we add the salt? Will adding the dichlor (3 bags) be enough or just put one in at a time and retest? I have an engineer of a husband over here panicking and driving me nuts with all the information he's sharing and hasn't a clue...Thanks!!

Tara
 
Correct - until the SWG is operational, you should use the non-swg section of the chart for your goals.
Do not add Dichlor - it raises your CYA and you really don't want it any higher right now. Use liquid chlorine/aka Bleach.
 

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You guys are putting me at ease!!

So you mean just the liquid bleach I buy for my laundry?? Is there a breakdown to let me know how much I need to add? And it won't affect the color of my pebble sheen? I guess I'm just so afraid of streaks from doing something wrong...can I hold off on Calcium until we get back on the 16th? Stuff was added on Monday by our pool builder, he said he 'shocked' it then, but I have no idea what he used...but I'm pretty sure it wasn't liquid bleach...he also hooked up our polaris the 4th day (he came 4 days after the water was filled) and it's been sucking great, but was a bit concerned b/c ps says do not use vacuum...I called pebble tec and they said it was okay not to brush everyday, but I will brush tomorrow..

On a good note, our pool looks crystal clear and I don't see any dust at all...hoping that's a good thing!

Tara
 
Pebble tec IS different from plaster but alot of the advice is the same. I'm not as familiar with pebble tec and whether a polaris should be in there now or not.

Yes, liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite 10-12.5%) sold in pool stores as "pool shock" or Clorox/generic bleach (sodium hypochlorite 6%). Make sure the bleach is "unscented" or "original" on the label - no scented or "other" varieties. I use Wal-mart Great Value brand. As long as you pour it very slowly into the return flow of water, leaving the pump running for an hour or more to mix, then the surface will be unaffected. We always advise leaving the pump running when adding chems.

The Pool Calculator tells you how much to add, that's why I want you to learn how to use it :)

Yes, you can hold off on the calcium.

He probably used Dichlor which is why your CYA is already so high.
 
I just calculated!! I feel very empowered now!! will test it tomorrow...our test kit just says Pentair Pool and Spa Test Kit..says it tests for chlorine, pH, acid demand and alkalinity...we hope to buy the nice one from here when we return from vacation....I wish they could take paypal!

Thanks!!
Tara
 
Tara, we are glad to assist!
Tomorrow post your test results and we'll make sure you are calculating correctly.
(I hope you are adding some bleach tonight - your FC is too low and I'm afraid you will risk and algae bloom if you leave it too long...)
 
I was very excited to get up early and test the water, until I open my Pentair test kit and it does not break out the FC and TAC....it just told me to put water in the vial, add 5 drops of some Chlorine/Bromine solution and according to it, it says my water is just fine...it tells you not to add anything if ppm is more than 1.5 or the darker yellow...according to the color chart it would be between a 2 and a 3....

Our pool guy called us back and did recommend adding some hardness into the water b/c ours was so low, he said harder water makes the pump work harder...so confused...ask 10 people and you'll get 10 answers....why would one kit say add chlorine and the other one say you're fine? ICk....my learning curve is outta the park! :)

Thanks!!
Tara
 
Well, the nice thing about the yellow-drops test is that if it reads zero, you can be absolutely sure the chlorine really is zero. At higher and higher levels, it just keeps getting darker and darker. Unfortunately there's no color guide that goes higher than 5, that I've heard of.

Extensive experience and theoretical work have led us to the Chlorine/CYA Chart and so that's where our recommendations for chlorine levels come from. Other recommendations (like the one in the mid-range kit you have) are based on assumptions that don't necessarily hold in all situations. They especially don't apply to a salt pool, which is what you are going to have.
--paulr
 
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