My 1st pool & testing results

[DLSDO]

Help please. Startup at about 5pm yesterday. They were movin' fast but I know they dumped in MA and liquid chlorine. Also 3 bottles of The Blue Stuff. They filled up the chlorine feeder w/3" trichlor tabs and its on the highest setting. Here are my numbers from this morning.

Outside Temp 53
Water Temp 82
FC 16
CC .5
pH less than 6.8?
TA 0? It never turned green with the 1st reagent
CH 200
CYA 0? The black dot never disappeared

I have been brushing. It was alittle green before they started now its looks fair. No green. Just alittle cloudy. Can easily see the bottom. The polaris and filter are running continuously on high 24/7.

Add baking soda? re low TA
Add chlorox? re CC .5
Will the pH drift up on its own due to the new plaster?
Should I just be patient?
Is it okay to let the kids swim?!

Thanks for the help

 

[JasonLion]

There are several special considerations when starting up a pool with fresh plaster. From your numbers that sounds like an acid start. With fresh plaster you sometimes start with very low PH to control the plaster dust.

Fresh plaster will raise the PH, raise the CH, and raise the TA rapidly over the first several weeks. One good way to deal with that is to use trichlor tablets, which will lower the PH, keep TA from rising too quickly, raise FC, and raise CYA. You stick with trichlor until the CYA is where you want it. You don't worry about TA or CH for the first three or four weeks, and instead let the plaster curing bring them up naturally. You do need to keep a close eye on the PH, making sure it never goes above 7.8. Starting at some point over the next week keeping the PH under control may require adding acid twice a day. You also want to brush the surface frequently.

 

[duraleigh]

Can't add much to what Jason already posted except to say I would be in pretty close contact with the PB for a few weeks. Let him help you understand what he's doing when he puts chemistry in your pool and it's intended effect.

Acid starts get outside normal pool water balance (for a while) so the typical standards don't apply. Good communication and understanding between you and PB will help the process.

I have no idea what "The Blue Stuff" is and, if you don't either, start that dialogue with PB soon.

 

[waste]

Just a quick addon to the excellent advice from Jason and Dave -

The blue stuff could be a flocculent or a copper based algicide (then again it could be something else ) You really should talk to the PB as Dave suggested!

If the TA test is going straight to red, the pH is lower than 4.5 (perhaps 3.5 - chem geek discussed this somewhere - below 4.5 (3.5), the reagent changes and is red instead of green) as such I don't think letting the kids swim would be very good for them

Please keep us posted as to the PB's intentions for your start up -- and keep brushing it as Jason said - the more you brush it now, the better a finish you'll end up with! Good luck with the new pool!!

 

[DLSDO]

Wow! Thanks for all the fast replies.

The blue stuff is from Pebble tec. Its "Jacks magic" and they recommended 1 bottle per 10k gallons. I assume I still need to look after the FC. I had some CC so should I add more chlorine aside from what the chlorine feeder is supplying?

 

[duraleigh]

I had some CC so should I add more chlorine aside from what the chlorine feeder is supplying?

No. CC's of .5ppm is common in balanced water plus your FC of 16 is gracious plenty to handle any sanitizing issues with the pool.

Here would be my first question to PB......(because I don't know) "At what point (low pH) do I need to worry about the metal parts touching the pool water?

 

[DLSDO]

I had some CC so should I add more chlorine aside from what the chlorine feeder is supplying?

No. CC's of .5ppm is common in balanced water plus your FC of 16 is gracious plenty to handle any sanitizing issues with the pool.

Here would be my first question to PB......(because I don't know) "At what point (low pH) do I need to worry about the metal parts touching the pool water?

Dave,
I am not sure what you mean? Your concerned about the low pH precipitating out and staining the pool and damaging the equipment? Yes? Sorry if its a silly question. This is all new to me. Would you suggest I raise the pH or just let it increase on its own?

Remember it has been less than 24 hrs since they started up the pool and those values I posted reflected testing about 12 hrs after startup. Not sure if that changes anything. I will recheck and repost tonight.
Thanks

 

[JasonLion]

There is a potential risk to metal parts from the PH being lower than 7.0. Copper based heat exchange coils in many pool heaters are at the greatest risk, though other metal parts can also be affected eventually. With an acid start the PH is brought well below 7.0 for a fairly short time. Normally the plaster curing brings the PH back up again quickly enough (a few days) that this is not a significant problem.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have a heater and the PH stays below 7.0 for more than a couple of days. If you have a way to bypass the heater, most people don't, that would be a good idea.

 

[DLSDO]

Alright. That makes sense. I rechecked the water this morning (36hrs since startup) and the pH is still less than 6.8 but it looks like it might be rising (a little less yellow?). TA is still zero.

Should I wait it out a few days or otherwise?