Opening Nightmare

Jump to latest Follow Reply
O

overwhelmed2

0
May 14, 2014
11
virginia
Hi,
I just had our pool opened and closed last season by a reputable pool company...only to find our 10 month NEW pool covered in calcium/ scale????

The company performed a no drain acid wash (8gallons of M Acid )for 4 days and it appears the blue plaster is smooth, however, the blue comes off a little On my hand when I wipe across the plaster, also I am now getting rust or brown spots on the pool floor and when I turned the fountains on the water was slightly cloudy, as if we were stirring up dust. I have been instructed to now add 50lbs of alkalinity plus, 40 lbs of calcium increased, 10 lbs of calcium hypochlorite, 4lbs of stabilizer and 5 bags of ez ph.

My current test results are now-
Cya 48
Total chlorine 6
Free chlorine 6
Total alkalinity 149
Adj alkalinity 135
Total hardness 334
Salt 2900
Now they want me to add
4lbs on ph reducer
2 more lbs stabilizer
2.25 scale inhibitor
52 lbs salt
17oz algae remover

Our pool is swg,de filter,26,000 , blue plaster, shot Crete , IG...

Please help!!!
I plan on order the test kit recommended on this site and taking over the care but I'm absolutely overwhelmed with this process , not to mention the cost already involved. I'm very concerned of the integrity of my plaster now.
I appreciate any advice!
Thanks,
Overwhelmed
 
Welcome to TFP!

After an acid wash you should brush the plaster daily until dust/color stops coming off. Some slight dust and associated cloudiness is to be expected.

The brown stains sound like iron stains. To verify that you can put a vitamin C tablet on a stained area. If the stain lifts right around the tablet they are indeed iron stains.

I'm a little confused about the order of events. They had you add 50lbs of alkalinity plus and then you took the readings, or are the readings from before that addition. Also below the test results you list a second set of adjustments they asked you to make. I want to make sure I understand what order these happened in and what you have already done and what is yet to be done.
 
Welcome! :wave:

After an acid wash, you essentially have fresh plaster because all the old surface has been stripped away. So the blue rub-off isn't that alarming. You'll need to brush the whole pool at least once a day until the filter can pick out all that dust. Expect your filter to clog. And don't backwash onto the driveway or patio or they may get stained blue.

If (Big if) those readings are accurate, it doesn't look too bad. Concentrate on pH and maintaining FC. I hope you've ordered your test kit already; get it in soon and it will likely ship today, and that's one less day of blindness.

Startup new plaster
 
JasonLion said:
Welcome to TFP!

After an acid wash you should brush the plaster daily until dust/color stops coming off. Some slight dust and associated cloudiness is to be expected.

The brown stains sound like iron stains. To verify that you can put a vitamin C tablet on a stained area. If the stain lifts right around the tablet they are indeed iron stains.

I'm a little confused about the order of events. They had you add 50lbs of alkalinity plus and then you took the readings, or are the readings from before that addition. Also below the test results you list a second set of adjustments they asked you to make. I want to make sure I understand what order these happened in and what you have already done and what is yet to be done.
Click to expand...

THANK you for your quick reply and assurance!
I added the first list of chemicals and did not add the second list.
My ph last season(first season of new pool) was always HIGH, I added acid weekly to keep it in check, any other ideas?
I will try the vitamin c , what is the iron spots from?
I want to maintain the pool myself , as I have not had much luck with a company doing anything better than myself haha!
I will look on here to find weekly maintenance tips...again, I appreciate your help!
 
Richard320 said:
Welcome! :wave:

After an acid wash, you essentially have fresh plaster because all the old surface has been stripped away. So the blue rub-off isn't that alarming. You'll need to brush the whole pool at least once a day until the filter can pick out all that dust. Expect your filter to clog. And don't backwash onto the driveway or patio or they may get stained blue.

If (Big if) those readings are accurate, it doesn't look too bad. Concentrate on pH and maintaining FC. I hope you've ordered your test kit already; get it in soon and it will likely ship today, and that's one less day of blindness.

Startup new plaster
Click to expand...

THANK You!!!

Can I buy the kit local or is it only mail order?

Is the pool swimmable now?

I have the Polaris cleaner on...it seems like it has less suction from the pool attachment hole now...and it appears to be making swirl lines on the blue plaster?

I am obsessed with this forum and appreciate all your support and guidance ...I want to maintain the pool myself and feel very lucky to have found this forum!
 
overwhelmed2 said:
I just read the start up plaster...does all this apply NOW?
Click to expand...
Not really. Mostly just the pH, brushing, and monitoring filter pressure. You're not likely to leave ruts in the plaster if you vacuum since the plaster is cured. But you can see that it's like a newborn baby, it needs a lot of attention. More than you ever imagined. Fortunately, the pool grows up a lot faster.

If your pH always went high last year, you should have checked it and adjusted it more frequently. And if the pool store had you adding various overpriced powders to raise alkalinity (Hint: it's just overpriced baking soda) that just aggravated the pH rise.

Have you ordered a test kit yet? Seriously, without one, it's like trying to paint a portrait in the dark. You'll get paint on the canvas for sure, but the final result will not be pleasing. Working blind doesn't do anything but line the pockets of the pool store owner.
 
Welcome to TFP. You definitely need a reliable test kit to take control of your pool and get away from the pool stores. Please read Test Kit Comparison and order a TF100 XL as it is the better of the 2 kits.
 
Well, it's been 2 weeks since they "opened " the pool, 1 week since they did the 4 day no drain acid wash and we are constantly dumping more $. They showed up Thursday and added two bottles of magic mike magenta for scale and stain with an invoice of $65. The stains are still there. The blue plaster is still wiping off and plaster dust is still visible. I don't have official test results as I am on my way back to pool store to test but my chlorine levels are higher than the standard test color and ph is at least 8 per color on test container.
 
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Click to expand...
There certainly can be but that light may be slow coming to you as it seems you are dependant on the pool store and others to fix your pool.
I am obsessed with this forum and appreciate all your support and guidance ...I want to maintain the pool myself and feel very lucky to have found this forum!
Click to expand...
If you really want to maintain the pool yourself you will need to stay out of the pool store. read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. That'll help you with the basic chemistry and then you need to decide if you want to self-test and follow what we teach or continue to depend on the poor advice (and likely poor testing) of others.

My apologies to be so harsh but we would like to see you get on the correct track.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I hired this pool company to close the pool. Why did all this calcium form? Am I naive to think that I hired them as the professional and they should be responsible for this mess? I paid them $400? To close, $400 to open and so far $310 in additional chemicals and my pool is still not the way it was prior to closing :(

- - - Updated - - -

I just want to be done dumping chemicals and $ and enjoy our pool the way it was prior to closing/opening this year.
 
overwhelmed2 said:
I just want to be done dumping chemicals and $ and enjoy our pool the way it was prior to closing/opening this year.
Click to expand...
The fastest, cheapest way to achieve this goal is to order a good test kit, ditch the pool company, read and learn as much as you can from Pool School and the other users on this forum, and take charge of the pool yourself.
 
I just retested and here are the current results
Cya 91
Total chlorine 1.7
Free chlorine 1.5
Ph 8.5
Total alkalinity 159
Adj total alkalinity 132
Total hardness 346
Salt 3000

They recommend
1 gallon acid
2 quarts scale inhibitor ( I already added 2 on Thursday $65)
43 lbs salt
 
I totally understand I was just trying to get it balanced and opened and then I can take it over. I don't want to play catch up all season.
I just retested and here are the current results
Cya 91
Total chlorine 1.7
Free chlorine 1.5
Ph 8.5
Total alkalinity 159
Adj total alkalinity 132
Total hardness 346
Salt 3000

They recommend
1 gallon acid
2 quarts scale inhibitor ( I already added 2 on Thursday $65)
43 lbs salt
 
You need to lower the pH with the acid. Use PoolMath to determine how much acid you need. You can also use PoolMath to determine how much liquid chlorine to add for your CYA level until your SWG is up and running. Add 1/2 the amount of salt the pool store recommended and test again in a couple of days.
 
Thanks for your help! I added muriatic acid and the ph appears to be in the 7.2 range :)

Am I too concerned about the plaster? After the no drain acid wash 2 weeks ago , the blue plaster appears to be rubbing off even after brushing twice a day?
 
Unfortunately, this is not going to happen by relying on the pool store. It's just not.
Think about this > The pool store exists to MAKE MONEY - Their business IS to sell you whatever they can talk you into buying, whether you need it or not.

Thier computerized testing and recommendations of adding 100's of dollars of stuff is 90 percent marketing gimmick. Nothing more than that.
If you do not get a good test kit, which has already recommended, then you are at the mercy of the folks with their hand in your back pocket.

Now think about 1 more thing > No One on this forum is here to sell you anything - at all.
Just some good folks here and most have been exactly where you are now...... and dont want to see it happen to others like yourself.

overwhelmed2 said:
I totally understand I was just trying to get it balanced and opened and then I can take it over.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply