New Pool -- Don't know a thing

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tfrazier

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Sep 4, 2007
6
This is my first and probably only pool. Water was put in 6 days ago. It is a fiberglass free form, 15,000 gal. The water looked wonderful, then the concrete crew came to do the coping. As the person worked his way around to do the brush finish, he kept dipping the broom into the pool to rinse it off. After he left my beautiful water was so dark I couldn't see the bottom. I have run the filter (cartridge) since he left, stopping it only long enought to take it out and hose it off. My question is what do I need to be looking for? I have the Goldline SWG and the PB said it should take care of everything, but that doesn't make sense to me. He gave me a small water testing kit but have not used it yet. What should my first steps be? Thanks.

Terry
 
1. Test your water and post your numbers here and we can be of further assistance!
2. Read all the stickies here (link in my signature)
3. Order a good test kit. (link in my signature)
4. Keep filtering, and brush your pool to keep the stuff suspended so your filter can get it out.
5. An SWG will not take care of everything. It it simply used to chlorinate your water. You will still need to adjust your pH with acid, probably weekly, and you need to know your other water parameters.


Welcome to TFP, and congrats on your new pool!
 
Welcome to TFP!

They should absolutely not have been rinsing their broom in the pool. If there is any long term damage, which there probably won't be, they should be held responsible.

You need to keep an eye on the chlorine level, to make sure that if chemicals that got into the pool create any extra chlorine demand the SWG can keep up. You should also vacuum the bottom occasionally, even if you can't see it, and clean the filter regularly while it is clearing the haze.
 
Yes, get water test #s:

Free Chlorine (FC)
Combined Chlorine (CC)
pH
Total Alkalinity (TA)
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) or Stabilizer
Calcium Hardness (CH)
Sodium Chloride (salt or salinity)

Also, tell us a little about your equipment:
type (brand) of filter
pump

This info will aid in your assitance.

WELCOME! you've come to the right place!
 
I am getting the feeling this isn't going to be easy, but here goes. Our pool is a CPC or Viking fiberglass unit. We have a Whisper Flo 2 speed pump, 1.5 hp I think. A Sta-Rite 150 cartridge filter. A Goldline PS8 automation controller with the T-15 SWG cell. A Heat Siphon heat pump for the cooler months, and two 12 volt Colorlogic lights. I think that's it.

When I got home tonight I put some water in a clean plastic bottle and asked my wife to take it to the pool equipment store to have it analyzed. I'm going to give the results but I think they might be tainted because she gave them the wrong number of gallons of our pool. She told them it is 25,000 gallons when it's actually 15,000. The company sells it as a 15,000 but the guys that installed it and the ones that brought in the water truck said it really holds only 13,000. So when I give you the results of the water test, let me know if this skewed the results. Here are the results:
Saturation Index .39
Total Disolved Solids 0
Free Chlorine 0.9
Total Chlorine 1.2
Combined Chlorine 0.3
pH 8.0
Cyanuric Acid 25
Copper 0
Iron 0
Total Alkalinity 99
Adj. Total Alkalinity 99
Calcium Hardness 131

I have two other questions. My pump feels very hot. After running for 6-8 hours it is very hot to the touch. Is this normal? Also, when on high speed my filter has a reading of about 16-18, but when I put it in low speed it drops to 2. That seems like an awful small amount of pressure. I've been trying to get the water clear every since the concrete man kept rinsing his broom in the pool, so I'm having the pump run about 10 hours a day. I learned earlier today that I probably rinsed out a part of the stabilizer by cleaning the filter on the 4th day after the salt (8 40# bags, and one 4# jar of stabilizer) was put in.

I've been a pool owner now for less than a week, but it seems like months. I really do appreciate all of the knowledgeable comments I've received so far. Keep them coming, I feel I've got a lot of learning to do.

Terry
 
i run my pump 24/7 all the time, i think you should do that until your pool is clear, also my pump get warm to touch and its fine like i say its shut off once a week to back wash it and it runs fine.

but you should run your pump 24/7 on Filter until it is clear.
 
Hi, Terry,
Hot pump is normal...almost all of them are HOT to the touch.

I don't have 2-speed pump but my sense is the psi readings you posted are pretty normal. Others will have a more accurate opinion.

Now, your water. Keep running that pump 24/7, backwash as necessary, and brush often to assist your filtering system. Don't add any more CYA 'til your pool clears or if you can go without backwashing for at least five days.

First thing tomorrow, get some muriatic acid and take your pH down into the 7.2-7.6 range...8.0 is too high. Before you go get the acid, however, you need to crank up your SWG and raise your FC to 3-5ppm. Your FC is too low and you are inviting algae into your pool Your pool size has no affect on the test results and the rest of your tests are pretty good.

Reading back, I sorta' went backwards in order of importance so:

1. Get your FC up
2. Get your pH down
3. Keep running your pump, backwash, brush, etc.
4. Disregard hot pump

Lastly, (this is a shameless plug) you need a good test kit to test your own water. Your results will be more accurate and it'll pay for itself in no time at all......it's a terrific investment for the consciencious pool owner. The Taylor K-2006 and mine are both really good kits. I normally don't mention buying a kit because of the obvious conflict of interest, but your post really indicates an interest (and a need) in taking charge of your own pool.
 

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