New Pool Owner - need to get started

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gzavilla

0
May 2, 2011
23
Lancaster, PA
Here are my test results after letting the pool circulate 24 hours:

FC - 0.5
CC or TC - 0.5
pH - 7.0
TA - 50
CH - 190
CYA - 30
TDS - 800
Copper / Iron - 0/0

I might add that this pool has not ben opened for 1 1/2 years. The pool was a nice green color when we first took the cover off and there were a lot of leaves and sediment on the bottom. You could see clearly down about 2 feet. I tried starting the pump and filter system up however the multiport valve was leaking pretty bad as well as a fitting on the discharge of the pump. I put in some dichlor shock and let the pool circulate for several hours. I also vacuumed some of the debris out to drain and bypassed the filter. A day or two later I added more dichlor shock. The pool went from dark green to a lighter green. The pool then sat for the past two weeks waiting for the valve to be replaced and the leaks fixed.

I now have my multiport valve changed and a couple piping leaks fixed and my filter system is up and running. I had a local pool company run the analysis above this morning. The store recommended a program for me to clear up the pool.

I first added 10 pounds of soda ash and let the pool circulate for 6 hours to raise the pH. I then added 4 pounds of Green and Clear, waited five minutes and added 2 pounds of shock. My instructions from the pool store are to wait 12 hours after adding the shock and if the pool is still green add more shock. I also have the skimmers turned off and am only pulling from the pool drain. The DE filter was backwashed just prior to adding the soda ash.

I am interested to know if I am on the right track or if I just wasted $85?

Any suggestions or advice is welcome. Thank you.
 
AS Richard suggests, you will be far more able to manage your pool when you can do your own testing.

How does your water look now? Can you post a pic or a description?

I would suggest that you not add anymore of the Green and Clear and, certainly, not any more of the dichlor. If it were my pool, I would get another set of test results tomorrow and post them up on this board for help from the members.

You can clear the pool with chlorine only and save some bucks. Read all the basic articles in Pool School and start asking questions. We'll all help get your pool cleaned up.
 
The pool is more of a greenish gray color now. The filtered water returns to the spa and overflows into the pool so the spa looks even better. I will get a new set of numbers tomorrow (and hopefully one of the recommended test kits) and post the results.

Thanks.
 
gzavilla said:
I tried starting the pump and filter system up however the multiport valve was leaking pretty bad as well as a fitting on the discharge of the pump. I put in some dichlor shock and let the pool circulate for several hours. I also vacuumed some of the debris out to drain and bypassed the filter...... The pool then sat for the past two weeks waiting for the valve to be replaced and the leaks fixed.

I now have my multiport valve changed and a couple piping leaks fixed and my filter system is up and running.
Click to expand...

I hope you didn't throw away the "broken" multi-port. Unless there are visible cracks in the plastic, it's possible it just needs new gaskets.
 
The multiport had cracks in the body and both gaskets were bad.

I tested the water again this morning - I got a test kit from Leslie's pool.

FC - 1.5
TC - 5
pH - 7.8 - 8.0
TA - 80
CYA - low - could still see black dot with tube full

I could see the bottom pretty clearly down to about 4 feet this morning. I went and bought my pool test kit this morning.

It had been 18 hours since the last shock treatment so I did another one at 10 AM this morning. I also vacuumed up as much sediment as I could and got as many leaves out as I could. I still think there are leaves in the deep end I can't see. I could see shadows this morning in the deep end but as I started vacuuming I stirred things up. I also backwashed the filter and put a fresh charge of DE back on.

I was wondering if I should throw my Ray-Vac in the pool ???
 
You need to bring the pH down to around 7.2-7.5. I would wait until the shock process was further along to put the Ray-vac in the pool. Use a leaf rake to scoop out the deep end as much as you can.

Bring your CYA up to around 30 and keep the FC at shock level until the process is complete.
 
Had to go out of town a couple days but left the filter running and chlorine tablets in the skimmer baskets. Ran water test when I returned today:

FC - 5 ppm
TC - 5 ppm
pH - 7.7
TA - 90
CH - 200
CYA - 30

The water looked fairly clear. I could clearly see some leaves on the bottom of the deep end. I went after these with vacuum and got most of them. Stirred the water up some in the process but got most all the pool vacuumed before it got too bad to see in the deep end. Backwashed the filter and put a fresh supply of DE in. Chlorine tabs had dissolved so added more to the skimmer baskets. Letting filter run to see how it clears up. Did add six capfuls of Pool First Aid tonight also to finish the Green to Clean program that was recommended.
 
What is in "Pool first Aid" and in "Green to Clean"?

I've never used that sort of product (or any product for that matter) since I follow the TFP methods. With the new tabs you added to the skimmer baskets, what will that bring your CYA up to when they are dissolved? (hint- use the Pool Calculator, at the bottom, add in weight and chemicals in tabs to see that) You ought to be taking notes of what you've put into the pool and the effects on chemistry, although water lost to backwashing and later refilling does change that.

I just want to know about those chems, in case they have copper or alagaecides or extra CYA in them.
 

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anonapersona said:
What is in "Pool first Aid" and in "Green to Clean"?
Click to expand...
Pool First Aid™ is from Natural Chemistry® and is primarily enzymes, but the MSDS also lists "Polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride" (aka PolyDADMAC) at 0.5-1.5% which is primarily a flocculant though also an algaecide somewhat similar to PolyQuat (except that it is a stronger flocculant and weaker algaecide while PolyQuat is a weaker clarifier and stronger algaecide).

Green to Clean® is 100% Disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraaceticaciddihydratediammoniumsulfate which is a disodium salt of EDTA with ammonium sulfate. EDTA is sometimes used as a metal sequestrant, though it also has some algae inhibiting properties, but the ammonium sulfate along with chlorine results in monochloramine which kills algae. Both of these will create a significant chlorine demand, but which will drop in matter of days to a week (the monochloramine can be removed with chlorine in hours, but the EDTA takes longer).

Though neither is needed, Pool First Aid can be useful if one has stubborn organics in the pool that are not clearing up by other means, including oil on the surface of the water. Green to Clean should be avoided and is not necessary.
 
I am now done with all the "pool store recommended" treatments. I have the pool cleared of all the leaves and have been brushing down the sides and bottom. The water is pretty clear but not as clear as it should be. I still have some leaves stuck in the bottom drain that I have not been able to clear with the brush - looks like a cold swim is in the near future. I am going to pull a water sample later today and I will post the results.

Thanks for all the help.
 
Looks good from a chemistry standpoint. What is your CH level? Without that, you won't be able to get CSI (Calcium Saturation Index) from Pool calculator to see if you're at risk of scaling. You don't want that. It's hard to get rid of, much easier to never let it get started. (Too bad my predecessor didn't know or care.)

Now it's just maintain the levels, keep brushing, vacuuming, and filtering. Only a few more days til sparkling!
 
Yes it should have said TC. Here are my numbers for today. The pool is still not "sparkling" and has a little bit of haze to it. I can see the bottom drains just fine but I think it could be better. When I shut off the filter between 4 PM and 1 AM am I losing my DE coating on the DE screen and not getting good filtration when starting back up? I am wondering if I should do a backwash and go back to 24/7 filtering?

Here are my numbers for today:

FC - 5
TC - 5
pH - 7.4
TA - 70
CH - 280
CYA - 30
Temp - 81 F

I also put my Ray Vac cleaner in the pool tonight to see if it was functional. It is circling a lot in the deep end and has a couple small hose leaks that I need to repair. I am still getting 21 psi on my pressure gauge though I also noticed the back up timer has a small what looks like a rectangular hole in the top plate that is spraying out water. My guess is this is not supposed to be there?
 
Just as my pool is getting to be in pretty good shape, I am going to have the tile replaced along the water line at the end of June or early July. This of course means I will need to drain the pool. I noticed on my original pool blueprints that the plaster color was white, however, I have pretty much a light blue tint to most of my plaster. I have a pool heater with copper coils so I am assuming that over the past several years before I owned the house/pool that the plaster has been stained by the copper from the heater tubing.

When I drain the pool for the tile work, what is the best way to clean the plaster? Should I have the pool company doing the tile work do a light acid clean on the plaster or should I do the job myself to save the $1100 for the acid wash? If I do it myself is there a recommended procedure?

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
My test results are dropping slightly:

FC - 2 ppm
TC - 2 ppm
pH - 7.2
TA - 40
CH - 260
CYA - 30

I need to raise pH and FC. I am using trichlor 3" pucks in the skimmer. I am going through about 4-6 per week.

I have two 1 lb bags of 73% cal-hypo left over, Should I put one of those in until I can get to store to get some 6% bleach?

What about pH and alkalinity? Should I go for the soda ash or lots of baking soda. I am looking at pool calculator and it calculates 26 lbs of baking soda or 2 lbs of soda ash.
 
Do not use Trichlor pucks in the skimmer. They can corrode your equipment. They should only be used in a floating dispenser or an inline chlorinator. There are BioGuard® Silk Smart Sticks® that are claimed to be designed to work in the skimmer since they supposedly do not dissolve when the pump is off (so they could still be risky if they dissolve at all when the pump is off), but regular Trichlor pucks/tabs continue to dissolve and are VERY acidic.

Just adjust your TA up to no more than 80 ppm using baking soda. The pH will likely rise some from adding the baking soda.

You can use the Cal-Hypo since your CH isn't too high. Then you can get chlorinating liquid or bleach as your main source of chlorine.
 

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