Finally got a pool! Now what!?

[Midcentury Zen]

Hi, I'm Travis. My wife and I bought a house that had a dilapidated inground concrete pool. We always wanted a pool for the kids, so it seemed like a bonus. Then we got the estimates for repair. Ouch! To make this long story short, the pool holds water fine- just needed some water line tile and other various (minor) repairs...should have the plaster redone sometime soon, too.

...but we couldn't stand watching it sit idle all summer (we didn't have the funds to have a pro fix it). So....

I drained it, pressure washed it, re-did all the plumbing lines, rebuilt the skimmer, bought and installed a new pump (Hayward super 1.5 hp), new filter (Hayward 6080 DE), and filled it back up with the garden hose. It looks MUCH better than expected. Everything seems to be working beautifully from a mechanical point of view. I have never owned or worked on a pool before, but consider myself an avid DIY'er with 20+ years in construction. I learned everything I needed to know reading books, watching videos, and talking to the few pros that cared to share their wisdom.

Now I need to apply that same spirit/effort to get the chemistry right. This led me to the BBB method and this site. First thing I did was rush out and buy a Taylor K2006 test kit. I'm about to perform my first test in a few minutes. The pool has been filled with tap water for about 2 days. I used the calculator and determined I have about a 20k gallon pool. I dumped in 4 bottles of chlorine bleach while it was filling....don't know why I did that....just seemed to be the right thing to do.

I'll post my results when I get them, and hopefully I'll be able to make sense of everything....eventually!

Great site. Great forum. Thanks for having me!

Travis.

 

[cramar]

Your on the right track so far, you've got a good test kit so perform the necessary tests and post results here. You should read pool school to understand the process, you should also use the 'pool calculator' to calculate what your pool needs.
The more tests you perform the more proficient you'll become.

One of the first things you'll want to do is get some cyanuric acid in the pool (straight cyanuric acid, not with other things added to it) to hold the chlorine from being burned off by the sun. If your on municipal water you'll probably be able to get the water in line relatively quickly, if from a well it may also go quickly although some people on well's (from reading here) do have to deal with minerals in the water - you'll know more once you get the test results.

Sounds like you did a great job on fixing the pool, post some pics.

 

[PSW]

Travis, welcome to TFP!

I second cramar's advice. Test your water chemistry and post results, and CYA will likely be the first thing to add.

Also, adding your pool specs and equipment information to your signature box will help for future posts.

Lastly, we love pictures!!

 

[Midcentury Zen]

Here's a quick "before-and-after":

Froggy love shack....

As it was filling up....

I have more pics, but this is a start. I'll take some shots of the pump/filter area, too.
The pool isn't perfect...still needs a few tiles and a re-plaster soon, but it's plenty good enough for THIS summer (and THIS budget!!).

 

[PSW]

Nice work! Can't wait to see more pics!!!

 

[XsAllOverIt]

Bottom-line, if it's not leaking and all the mechanical parts are working, BBB will come quickly and it will look AWESOME to you and your kids all summer!

 

[Midcentury Zen]

Just finished my first test with the Taylor K2006. What a nice professional kit that is- full of useful info on testing procedures, etc. Now I know why it is one of the go-to kits out there.

So here's what I got for readings. I'm sure I'll get better at using this as time goes on, but I feel I got fairly accurate results:

FC= 0 (goal=3-7)
pH= 7 (goal=7.5-7.8)
TA= 60 ppm (goal=70-90+)
CH= 70 ppm (goal=250-350)
CYA= 0 (goal=30-50)

pH seems a bit low for a start, and perhaps I should get this up before moving on....I don't know. Obviously, I need to take the great advice that's already been given and get some CYA in there ASAP. What I cannot find (yet) on this forum is exactly how much to dose. I have a 20k gallon concrete pool (no SWG). Where can I find out how much to add of a given product to get the results I want?

Travis.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Pool Calculator!!!
http://www.poolcalculator.com/

 

[Midcentury Zen]

Got it!!! Thanks!

 

[cramar]

Note that the CYA levels will take a bit of time to detect in your tests, the time frame is in pool school somewhere. Once you add it assume the level is where you anticipate until you get an actual reading.

Pool looks great!

 

[Midcentury Zen]

I returned from shopping; got all the stuff I needed. Right now the CYA is doing the sock thing [who knew a pair of purple tights from my daughter's ballet class (years ago) would serve another purpose?]. Initially I dumped the CYA powder in a bucket and poured boiling water on it. About half of it turned to a milky liquid after stirring for a minute. I dumped that into the pool skimmer with the pump running, and the remainder 50% went into the tights. I dropped the tights over the coping in front of a return jet and placed a temporary cinder block on it to hold it in position. I can't imagine it will take more than a day to dissolve, but we'll see....

I don't know if I did this next part right, but it's too late now- I added everything all at once. The water is too cold for swimming, so I figured I would let things settle in for a few days and test the water then.

So far so good...the kids are amped!

 

[Midcentury Zen]

1st pool. BBB from scratch. Advice/opinions welcomed....

After adding all the ingredients to my tap filled pool, here are the first test results:

FC= 5 ppm
CC= 0.5 ppm
pH= 7.2
TA= 70 ppm
CH= 200 ppm
CYA= N/A (comparator tube was cloudy, but didn't quite make the dot disappear)

CYA was added just yesterday via the sock method; it's still dissolving. Pump is still running. I've been told it may take a while to show up on a test. Is this why I'm starting to show signs of CC?

FC registers because I am adding appropriate amounts of bleach until the CYA holds it better.

Initially, my pH was a bit low. I'm guessing that by raising the TA, it boosted my pH slightly (??). I still would like to see it raised to at least 7.5. Perhaps my testing skills aren't completely accurate yet, and that might account for some of the difference.

I need to bump up my CH and pH.

What would you do at this point?

 

[Bama Rambler]

How much CYA did you add? What were you targeting?

A pH of 7.2 is fine. Just keep an eye on it.
Since you have a .5 ppm CC I'd run the OCLT just to be sure there's nothing going on. I don't suspect there is.
Raise your FC for whatever amount of CYA you targeted.
You might want to bump your CH up a little but I'd stay at the lower end of the recommended range.

 

[Midcentury Zen]

How much CYA did you add? What were you targeting?

A pH of 7.2 is fine. Just keep an eye on it.
Since you have a .5 ppm CC I'd run the OCLT just to be sure there's nothing going on. I don't suspect there is.
Raise your FC for whatever amount of CYA you targeted.
You might want to bump your CH up a little but I'd stay at the lower end of the recommended range.

Thanks Bama.

Pool Calc said I needed 93 oz (weight) to target the low end of goal (30). I added approx 95 oz.

Regarding the pH, I didn't add any Borax yet because I assumed raising the TA would alter it a bit. It did, but now I'm thinking I might want to add just a small bit of Borax.

The 0.5ppm CC might be a bit of an exaggeration. It barely registered on the test (actual is probably less than that figure). I'll take your advice- I'll run the OCLT test tonight, just to be certain.

Raise my FC to my CYA target? I want to understand this relationship better. Where can I read more about it?

I'll raise CH slightly, as advised.

Thanks again!!

 

[Bama Rambler]

There are several articles in Pool School that discuss the FC/CYA relationship. You can start with the Chlorine/CYA chart. It's easy to read and understand. The Pool Calc will also tell you what your FC should be based on your CYA.

 

[Midcentury Zen]

There are several articles in Pool School that discuss the FC/CYA relationship. You can start with the Chlorine/CYA chart. It's easy to read and understand. The Pool Calc will also tell you what your FC should be based on your CYA.

Thanks again!

This morning's results:

FC= 4.5 ppm
CC= 0 ppm (<0.5ppm)
pH= 7.5 (added a bit of Borax to get from 7.2 to 7.5)
TA= steady at 70 ppm
CH= 210 (low, but I added more calcium chloride last night- shooting for 250)
CYA= 33 ppm

 

[Bama Rambler]

Looking good.

 

[Midcentury Zen]

Looking good.

I'm happy with that! Now, if I can only maintain these levels.....that (I'm sure) will be challenging.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Not nearly as challenging as you might think.

 

[Midcentury Zen]

So far, so great! We've been swimming a lot lately, and I keep testing and fine tuning to keep levels within range. All is well, and we get compliments on how clean the water is...and that it doesn't smell! I'm a newbie for sure, but I can already see that the key to having a healthy pool is the diligent testing. I was in a local pool supply store the other day- and amazed at all the customers who didn't have a clue about their water chemistry- buying all sorts of bottles and buckets of seemingly senseless product. My wife and I just smiled to ourselves....

Thanks so much for all this forum is, and providing a well paved road to success for newbies like me.