Brand new build - pls help me BBB

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No4Mk1

No4Mk1

0
May 18, 2010
10
Missouri City, TX
First, let me say THIS PLACE ROCKS! I have been studying up and need to make sure I am heading in the right direction here. Our brand new ig plaster pool was filled 1 week ago today. I have been brushing 1-2 times a day and adding bleach and acid like crazy to try to keep the fc up and ph down. Water is currently cloudy but not too bad. I can easily see the bottom of the deep end (7ft). Here are my numbers:

FC 3
TC 3
pH 7.8
TA 340
CH 50
CYA 30

From what I have read so far it seems like my first goal should be to get the TA down by continuing to feed this thing muratic acid and then aerate (by running my bubblers), and try to keep the FC around 4. From what I have read I don't think I should shock it until the plaster has had 30 days to cure so I guess it will just be cloudy until then?

Am I doing right so far?

Thanks!!!!
 
Welcome!

If you want to use BBB, you really need a good test kit. Hopefully, you already have one.

Sounds like you have a good grasp of things already. If you filled it with city water and have kept chlorine in it, I don't know that you'll need to shock, unless you want peace of mind.
 
I wouldn't shock for 30 days if you can avoid it. Usually just adding 2-3 ppm of chlorine until it's holding is all you want to do at first. But you can test hourly and add chlorine if needed.

If the FC isn't holding overnight, the cloudiness is something else...
 
Thanks for the feedback! I thought I had a good test kit until I got it home and realized I bought the K-2005 instead of the K-2006. I think I just need to get the FAS-DPD and I'll be in business. I'm going to try the FC loss overnight and see where things stand in the morning. I'll be sure to let you know.
 

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Re: Brand new build - pls help me BBB - Update

As of today:

FC 3
TC 3
TA 250
CH 60
CYA 35

Water is very clear and pretty!! I am adding about 2 gallons of bleach every day, and about 1/2 gallon of Muratic acid per day, and aerating for about 1 hour with the fountains. Seems like the TA is coming down gradually and CH is creeping up. Seems like I can't get the FC level to stay over 3 for anything but it is holding overnight, so I'm not worried at the moment. We have had a very hot/sunny spell so that must be sapping the FC. Would increasing the CYA level be a good move at this point? Can I just add some chlorine pucks to do that and also help me keep the FC level up?

Thanks again for the advice!
 
Trichlor pucks would provide both acid and chlorine as well as CYA so are a fine choice at this stage, but will probably need to be supplemented with chlorinating liquid or bleach since the pucks dissolve rather slowly and it sounds like you're going through a lot of chlorine right now. 2 gallons (not 3/4-gallon jugs, but actual gallons) of 6% bleach in 32,000 gallons would be 3.9 ppm which is quite a lot per day. A higher CYA level should help retain the chlorine better, at least protecting it from the UV in sunlight.

Just be very careful if using Trichlor pucks in a floating feeder that it doesn't get close to a pool surface since the high acidity isn't good when the water isn't circulating. If you have an inline chlorinator, you can use that instead, or if you use a feeder you can try and tether it away from the pool edge.

Keep in mind that for every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm. So at your rate of chlorine usage, you'll be increasing the CYA level by around 16-17 ppm per week, though that rate should slow down as the CYA level rises. So you probably won't need to use the Trichlor for much longer than a week (to get to 50 ppm CYA) or two (to get to 60-65 ppm CYA) at the most. Be sure to follow the Chlorine / CYA Chart to keep the FC levels up to prevent algae growth as the CYA level rises.
 
I would check with the builder/plasterer on the CH and start to think about bringing that up. Water is "aggressive" when the CH is under 75 ppm, so that would concern me a bit at this point. Your range for CH is 200-400 ppm, so shooting for 150, even if you pick some up from the plaster later, would be the route I would take.

Again, check with your builder/plasterer for your area first, and congrats on the new pool :party: :whoot: :cheers:
 
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