1st time pool, new home, long time closed IG pool, Surprising find!

[DanTheFireMan]

Hello All,
First time IG pool owner. Just purchased a new home with a 16x32 rectangle, 3ft shallow 6ft deep. Pool was closed for 3 years! (it was professionally closed) no filtering, no chemicals, winter cover never removed. I was ready to find my very own black lagoon. So I peek into the skimmer when we were shopping the house, looked ok, figured it was just rain water or something. so Im finally ready to have it opened and BAM! Clear as day! I can see some dirt on the bottom of the pool but overall very clean. (see pics). Hayward Perflex extended cycle DE filter and pump. The previous owners agreed to pay to have it professionally opened so I agreed. I did a quick strip test (my Taylor K2006 is on the way) and found all the measurable levels to be non-existent. The company says they will add some liquid chlorine but thats it. what am I looking at in adding chemicals? Should I add some shock? Thanks in advance and Im looking forward to a trouble free pool.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
Pretty amazing to see how clear it is! Don't use that glass jar around the pool ----- no glass!
Once you uncover it you will need to add some CYA (stabilizer, conditioner) to get to 30 ppm. Then add 3 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine/plain bleach each day until you get your test kit.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook

 

[MyAZPool]

Hello All,
First time IG pool owner. Just purchased a new home with a 16x32 rectangle, 3ft shallow 6ft deep. Pool was closed for 3 years! (it was professionally closed) no filtering, no chemicals, winter cover never removed. I was ready to find my very own black lagoon. So I peek into the skimmer when we were shopping the house, looked ok, figured it was just rain water or something. so Im finally ready to have it opened and BAM! Clear as day! I can see some dirt on the bottom of the pool but overall very clean. (see pics). Hayward Perflex extended cycle DE filter and pump. The previous owners agreed to pay to have it professionally opened so I agreed. I did a quick strip test (my Taylor K2006 is on the way) and found all the measurable levels to be non-existent. The company says they will add some liquid chlorine but thats it. what am I looking at in adding chemicals? Should I add some shock? Thanks in advance and Im looking forward to a trouble free pool.

Dan,
Thanks for sharing. Amazing find.. Who would have thought.

Great catch on Marty's part for seeing that glass by the kool decking. Quick story just to elaborate. Friend had a party and someone dropped a beer bottle on the kool decking and glass went into the pool. He had to completely drain the pool, wet dry vacuum and then, rinse-vacuum, rinse vacuum etc. to get all of the glass out. You can see why most have a cardinal rule around their pools. NO GLASS. It's a "day ruiner" to be sure.

Thanks again for sharing and look forward to further good news reports as your water chem levels ship shape.
r.

 

[DanTheFireMan]

Thanks everybody! Yeh I should know better than to use that glass jar, but it was handy and had a tight lid so I could take a water sample to go. Lol. In the future absolutely no glass for sure. Solo cups by the keg will do nicely. ?

 

[Lemonred34]

Welcome to the forum!
Pretty amazing to see how clear it is! Don't use that glass jar around the pool ----- no glass!
Once you uncover it you will need to add some CYA (stabilizer, conditioner) to get to 30 ppm. Then add 3 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine/plain bleach each day until you get your test kit.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook

Are you recommending 3ppm instead of 5ppm because his pool is clear?

Genuinely curious, I’m still learning ?

 

[mknauss]

Are you recommending 3ppm instead of 5ppm because his pool is clear?

Genuinely curious, I’m still learning ?

Right. It does not appear there is active algae so with a 30 ppm CYA a 3 ppm FC is sufficient. Still need to follow the FC/CYA Levels

 

[kimkats]

You can run down to Walmart and get the hth 6 way test kit to get a good baseline on your water. You are SO lucky to find that water that clear!! I would NEVER thought it would be that clear!!! NICE! Good job going ahead and ordering a good test kit!

Kim

 

[DanTheFireMan]

So its opening day! Still amazed at how clear this thing is. The company that opened it said that the clarity is due to the high quality solid safety cover it has. Found some minor repairs needed. The bolts for the railing are stripping, the pressure gauge for the DE filter is leaking due to cracked threads in the tank, and I noticed that the liner is trying to pull away from the corners by the steps. I may try to temporarily fix the gauge leak on my own for now (the pool guy didnt seem like much of a plumber) , but I'm going to look at a new pump/ filter setup in the name of energy efficiency. The PG tried to say I will hate the DE filter any because of all of the "work" it requires. I cant imagine it's that terrible compared to the filter level it offers. Opinions?

 

[kimkats]

In the corners you can see what I think is "liner lock". It is to help hold the liner in the track. If the liner is supple enough you can get it back onto the track. You might need to warm it up with some hot water or such. It might take a couple of people working together to get it back.

Kim

 

[Oly]

I like my DE filter and clean it twice a year out of habit, not difficult and never that dirty. Get a robot cleaner and use skimmer nets to trap small debris from entering your filter and out of your pool water.

 

[DanTheFireMan]

Ok. After a few days skimming brushing filtering ad bleaching I think its time for a SLAM. Test results are as follows
==========================================
Home
------------------------------------------
Build Type: Vinyl
Volume: 17234 gallons
------------------------------------------
Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 0.2 (29 minutes ago)
CC: 0.4 (29 minutes ago)
pH: 6.0 (29 minutes ago)
TA: 10 (29 minutes ago)
CH: 140 (29 minutes ago)
CYA: 0 (29 minutes ago)
TEMPERATURE: 85° (29 minutes ago)
CSI: -2.75 (29 minutes ago)
==========================================
The pH is just a guess because of how far off it was. It was banana yellow(would be nice if there was a conversion for how many drops from the base test to find the true number). I got some soda ash to fix the pH and bought lots of bleach. Was gonna start the SLAM and go find some CYA to add to help slow some burn off. As always thanks for the help and feedback!

 

[DanTheFireMan]

Merged threads -- TFP Mod.
Ok. After a few days skimming brushing filtering ad bleaching I think its time for a SLAM. Test results are as follows
==========================================
Home
------------------------------------------
Build Type: Vinyl
Volume: 17234 gallons
------------------------------------------
Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 0.2 (29 minutes ago)
CC: 0.4 (29 minutes ago)
pH: 6.0 (29 minutes ago)
TA: 10 (29 minutes ago)
CH: 140 (29 minutes ago)
CYA: 0 (29 minutes ago)
TEMPERATURE: 85° (29 minutes ago)
CSI: -2.75 (29 minutes ago)
==========================================
The pH is just a guess because of how far off it was. It was banana yellow(would be nice if there was a conversion for how many drops from the base test to find the true number). I got some soda ash to fix the pH and bought lots of bleach. Was gonna start the SLAM and go find some CYA to add to help slow some burn off. As always thanks for the help and feedback!

 

[IceShadow]

Take pH up to 7.0 - 7.2 range first, and get enough CYA to take you to 30 dissolving in a sock in front of a return jet. Then you can start the SLAM. How is the water looking? You could post pictures as you go. That makes it more fun to follow the thread.

 

[IceShadow]

Also you can use 10ml of water and one scoop of powder for the FC and CC test. Each drop is 0.5ppm. Will save you reagents!

 

[aeh0603]

Your TA is also too low! The soda ash you have will raise both pH and TA, so use pool math to determine how much you need to get pH up to 7.0-7.2 and TA to at least 50 (a bit higher is ok).

pH and TA are linked and should be adjusted in stages. Add about half the amount of chemical you think you need, let the water circulate for 20-30 minutes and test again before adding more chemicals. Repeat as necessary until you reach your targets.

 

[aeh0603]

I also wanted to note, if you get one parameter in the appropriate range (pH or TA) but the other still needs to be raised, then you should switch to either Borax (raises pH without much affect on TA) or Baking Soda (raises TA without much affect on pH).

 

[DanTheFireMan]

Should I add the soda ash straight to the skimmer? I ask because I have a DE filter and dont know if that matters. Lol

 

[IceShadow]

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

" Soda ash is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return. "

 

[frogabog]

You need some CYA. I'd target 30ppm immediately. You can buy stabilizer in many places, but you need to get some in the pool asap. Otherwise, the chlorine you put in will disappear with a quickness.

I don't think you need to SLAM right now. Your CC is below .5ppm. But you do need to get chlorine to stick throughout the day.

Put 30ppm in a sock and tie it to the ladder or by the return. Squish it frequently. Assume once you've got it all squished out that you have 30ppm and your minimum and target will be 3 and 7 daily. Dose up to your target at night, assume you'll be down to minimum tomorrow night. Re-dose up to 7.

I really think you're good. No need for SLAM. Raise pH as noted above.

 

[DoubleEcho]

Regarding DE vs other filters, I personally feel it has more to do with what you're willing/able to put up with.

I started with a DE filter and I found it was a lot of work and cost for DE powder. It does clear a pool much quicker vs cartridge or sand however.

For convenience and water saving (both were important to me being on well water and living rural) I opted for a Hayward C1200 cartridge filter. After my pool got clear and I'm just in the maintaining phase, I haven't had to clean the filter but only 1 time this season with running the pump around 10-12 hours a day (leave at 5am and get home a bit after 5pm). The pressure on my old DE filter would climb quick and I'd have to bump it constantly and empty it to waste when I'd lose suction, and eventually I found that the fingers were shot and would cost way more than my current cartridge filter to replace.

I paid about $350 for my filter and $50 per filter, bought 2 during my SLAM and had them going in tandem, cleaning them every day. Next year I'll open the pool with the filter I'm using now and then swap in a brand new one for the 2020 swim season.

Whether it's DE, cartridge or sand they'll definitely all work, you just have to figure out what's important to you and what best fits your pool setup.