prime pump/filter???

[oasis1]

FYI, the pool started filling Tuesday 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Wednesday 7:30 am to 7:00 pm
Today 11:00 am to still filling right now

Our water level is right below the return. I'm not sure on everything we need to do before running the pump/filter tomorrow.......
I know there is a little orange lever on top of the filter that we have to turn to let air out of filter so it fills with water (we're supposed to turn the lever back when water starts coming out).
Is there anything else we need to do to the pump and filter before we turn it on tomorrow?
Do we need to look at the gauge thing that is on the filter?
Which tests do I need to do? All of them or certain ones?
I will post test results tomorrow after running the pump for a few hours.

I have no idea, please help!!!

 

[joel0711]

Im sure some very knowledgeable people will be along shortly and help you. Hang in there,it's sorta overwhelming at first. I'm just starting my second full season and still have a long ways to go but it's slowly coming together. I can say,get yourself a good test kit,that's the key just about everything you need to accomplish.

 

[oasis1]

Im sure some very knowledgeable people will be along shortly and help you. Hang in there,it's sorta overwhelming at first. I'm just starting my second full season and still have a long ways to go but it's slowly coming together. I can say,get yourself a good test kit,that's the key just about everything you need to accomplish.

Thanks for the reassurance...I do have the TF-100 test kit, which I believe is the "best of the best" It definately is overwhelming, the pool installer really didn't give us a lot of information on the pool, pump and filter. I guess the pool store just sells it , the installer puts it up, and we're left guessing. :x I'm soooooo glad this forum exists, I've been on here for a couple years, just trying to get as much information as possible before finally deciding to get the pool this year. So I just need a lot of help and reassurance until we get used to everything. The whole balancing of the water is kind of scaring me....I'll post results and wait for help about that when the time comes.

 

[JasonLion]

You need the water more than 1/2 way up the skimmer before turning on the pump, other than that the only thing you probably have to do is let air out of the filter. Some pools have valves that need to be in the correct positions, but most above ground pools do not.

The gauge should go from zero to something above zero once the pump is running. You should note the number the gauge settles on once everything has been running for a few minutes and you verify that there is good water movement. If the water does not start moving after a minute or two, turn the pump back off and try to figure out what went wrong. That filter pressure is your base pressure. When the pressure goes up by about 6 psi from where ever it is then, it is time to clean the filter.

The first two tests to do are PH and TA. The starting FC and CC levels don't matter, and CYA will start at zero. It is nice to check CH at some point but you don't need to do that one right now. There are various things you might need to do, depending on the PH and TA levels. If you are feeling adventurous, test FC, CC, and CH as well, but don't bother if you are feeling overwhelmed.

 

[oasis1]

Thank you so much Jason!!!!!!!!
I will post the results tomorrow. Should I do that here on this topic or start a new one elsewhere? I just turned off the water and it is almost in the middle of the return. I'll turn water back on in the morning. Hopefully fully it will be 1/2 way up skimmer by the time the electrician is done with the work tomorrow.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Just keep everything in this thread.

Starting and AGP is pretty straight forward because most of the time the pump/filter is below the waterline. While filling just open the air bleed valve and let everything fill up and when the water runs out of the air bleed shut it off. By that time everything should be fairly full of water. Then just turn the pump on and watch for water to come out of the return. There may still be some air come out of the return for a few minutes but don't worry about that.

Then follow Jason's advice about testing the pH & TA.

Once you start doing things it'll come easier to you the more you do it and soon it won't be intimidating at all.

 

[oasis1]

The pump is running....the psi is 2.5 I believe, it's the first black line...does that sound about right? At first it was a little under that line but now it's pretty much right on that line. I have the pump on low. I had the guy put it on high but the water was going crazy in the pump and air was shooting out of the return. Why would that happen? I can't imagine running the pump on high...even with it on low setting the water is really moving. There is a lot of dirt on the bottom and bugs floating, (we are backfilling tonight) Is it okay to leave the pool as is (other than chemicals) until the water warms up? Also, how long should we leave the pump running? I'll test the water in about an hour (if I should wait longer, let me know) and post the results. FYI, on the pump it says its 2.25 HP.

Anything else you can think of, please let me know.

Thanks

 

[Bama Rambler]

Blowing out air could be a suction side leak or just that the filter wasn't completely full of water. Open the air bleed valve and let the air out until it runs only water.

Right now I'd leave the pump running on low 24/7 for a few days until you get everything lined out and cleaned up.

 

[JasonLion]

If the pressure is only 2.5 psi, then clean the filter when the pressure goes up to 4 or 5 psi.

A 2.25 HP pump is a pretty big pump, low speed should be plenty for normal circulation. You were probably getting air in the returns because it was such a large pump that it was sucking some air in through the skimmer.

It would be a good idea to vacuum the dirt off the floor, but no need to do that today.

Testing the water after having the pump running for a hour is a great idea.

 

[oasis1]

TEST RESULTS
I used the Basic kit for chlorine, bromine, and ph
PH 8.2
Cl 2 its very difficult to pick which color it's closest to
Br 4


TA 60 (it turned kind of a dark pink)

 

[dmanb2b]

OK...let's flex those TF100 muscles eh?

Br - don't need that...it's a chlorine pool, not bromine

The yellow OTO TC test is good to check for chlorine presence, other than that I am also yellow color blind

Your PH at 8.2 is too high. You'll want to reduce that to around 7.4.

TA is also on the low end, but not by much. If you plan on using liquid chlorine, you may want to bump it up to around 70 with baking soda.

Now...back to the TF100

FAS-DPD test will give you

FC and CC (TC = FC+CC)
PH - you got that
TA - you got that
CH - not too imprtant in a vinyl pool, but you should test this now in case your CH level is really high, like mine
CYA - This is important to determine what FC level you should maintain, but I understand this is a new pool so waiting a few days for the CYA to dissolve before testing would be a good idea.

That's it

 

[oasis1]

Thanks dman, I ran out of time tonight. I will do all the tests tomorrow. I will need to be told how to get everything to the correct levels. The tests themselves are overwhelming. I know I'll have them memorized before I know it, but right now I just have to take a breath and slow down. I did get the magnetic stirrer with the TF-100. when do i use that? This is probably a silly question....after you do the tests do you dump the water on the grass? (we have dogs and i wouldnt want them to get sick) Do you have to rinse it out with tap water before doing another test?

 

[JasonLion]

Always rinse throughly with tap water after doing a test, and then rinse lightly with pool water before doing the next test.

It is best to pour completed test samples down the sewer/drain, though I doubt anything would actually happen to the grass or the dogs.

 

[oasis1]

Today i tested everything

CH 250 turned pinkish
TA 9
FC 0.5
CC 4.5
TC 5.0
PH 7.8
CYA the black dot didn't disappear..how would it disappear through a clear solution??? I'm obiously doing something wrong.

I'm heading to town now, what do I need to buy to correct my levels?

I have the Taylor magnetic stirrer, can i use that for all of the tests?

Can I use one container(only using it for pool water) to get a big sample and fill cylinders for each individual test?

 

[JasonLion]

For TA, I hope you mean that it took nine drops to change the color, in which case the TA would be 90. TA at 90 is just fine, TA at 9 is way too low (and the test kit only reports levels as multiples of 10).

CC at 4.5 is a problem. That might be a testing error, so double check. Assuming CC really is greater than 0.5, you need to shock the pool.

When the solution is completely clear it means your CYA is zero.

Yes, it is handy to get a cup or small bottle of pool water and then do all the tests from that. I like to use a hair color applicator bottle, which gives a very slow easily controlled jet of water that makes it easy to fill the tubes to exactly the right level.

You need some cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer or conditioner, to raise your CYA level up to around 50. It seems likely that you will want some muriatic acid, or dry acid, to lower the PH soon. You also need enough chlorine to shock the pool, liquid chlorine or household bleach (no scent or other additives or special features) are both good.

 

[oasis1]

For TA, I hope you mean that it took nine drops to change the color, in which case the TA would be 90. TA at 90 is just fine, TA at 9 is way too low (and the test kit only reports levels as multiples of 10).

CC at 4.5 is a problem. That might be a testing error, so double check. Assuming CC really is greater than 0.5, you need to shock the pool.

When the solution is completely clear it means your CYA is zero.

Yes, it is handy to get a cup or small bottle of pool water and then do all the tests from that. I like to use a hair color applicator bottle, which gives a very slow easily controlled jet of water that makes it easy to fill the tubes to exactly the right level.

You need some cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer or conditioner, to raise your CYA level up to around 50. It seems likely that you will want some muriatic acid, or dry acid, to lower the PH soon. You also need enough chlorine to shock the pool, liquid chlorine or household bleach (no scent or other additives or special features) are both good.

Jason, I did do the CC and FC test wrong, i think i filled the tube to 25 instead of 10....new results are
FC 1
CC 1 this one may be .5 but the 2nd drop came out to fast before i could look at the water with only 1 drop.

How many gallons are in my pool? The pool came with starter chemicals, should i use these and how much? How much bleach do I need?
How do I add these things to pool, dissolve in water before adding to pool water, add directly to pool water?

thanks

 

[JasonLion]

Your pool is probably around 12,000 gallons.

In that case, don't worry about CC until you have had an appropriate FC level for 24 hours and then test the CC level again to see if it is going to be a problem or not.

You can use the Pool Calculator, see the link in my signature, to calculate quantities.

For the starter chemicals, it depends on what they gave you.

Nearly all of your questions are answered in the first couple of articles in Pool School. You might want to start with Recommended Pool Chemicals, which also tells you how to add each one to the pool.

 

[oasis1]

Do I onlly worry about one test at a time? What order do I go in? I'm afraid of adding something the wrong way.

 

[JasonLion]

All you really need right at the moment is chlorine and CYA, which you can do in either order or both more or less at once.

For tonight, and every evening until 24 hours after your add CYA, add 2 ppm of chlorine. As soon as you have a chance start raising CYA up to around 50. Starting 24 hours after you add CYA, start testing raising FC to around 7 each evening.

When PH shows any sign of going above 7.8, lower it back down to 7.5.

 

[oasis1]

I am adding the Stabilizer tonight...I have 4 lbs of stabilizer (100% Cyanuric Acid) I beleive the pool calculator said to add 5 lbs. 10 oz. by weight or 3 quartz by volume....is that right? So would I add the whole container of stabilizer at once into the skimmer? Also, I have a 182 fl. oz. bottle of bleach. how much and when and how do i add that?