New 27ft AGP Install

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rockyonekc

0
Jun 5, 2014
15
Blue Springs, MO
After years of dreaming, months of planning, and weeks of waiting for the rain to stop, the new AGP is finally installed. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the knowledge I found here at TFP. I have read and learned so much over the past few months. I had my TF-100 test kit weeks ahead of time. The pool was completely filled by midnight the day of install. I spent the last 2 days adding bleach slowly to raise my FC and adding a 4 lb container of HTH stabilizer via sock on the return jet. The stabilizer was gone from the sock within a few hours. The next day I took my first full set of test data:

9pm - water temp 75f
FC = 5.0
CC = .5
TC = 5.5
CH = 125
TA = 50
CYA = 25
PH = 8.2

I tested FC and CC again this morning and got:
FC = 4.5
CC = .5

I wasn't sure there was even .5 CC, I added 1 drop and couldn't tell for sure if it got any clearer. So it could be 0 = CC too. I'm sure I'll eventually have more confidence in the accuracy of the results with practice.

So my plan is to pick up some more stabilizer and raise it to 50 over the next 3-4 weeks. I am going to go after the PH a little more aggressively. Should I find muriatic acid? Or is the HTH PH Down product OK to use?

I'll post some pictures of the install in my next post to this thread.

-Dave
 
OK, here goes the pics.

Here is the back yard the night before install. I tried to take a lot of photos here because I knew this was the last time my yard would ever look like this. The pool install was going to be fairly intrusive. :eye:

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I used the installer recommended from the store where I purchased the pool and pump. There were 5 of them, and they were a well oiled machine. They arrived at 5 am in order to beat the heat. After a quick walk-thru, the bobcat was starting to grade by 5:30 am.

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A little more than an hour into grading, and it was starting to take shape.

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Here's a shot that shows the guy reading the transom(far right of pic). He would signal and the guy holding the pole would spray paint the result on the ground at that point. The bobcat operator would remove additional dirt accordingly.

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1.5 hrs in, and they were starting to lay out the bottom track.

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At this point, I had a shovel in my hand and was starting to use the excess dirt to tackle some grading improvements around my foundation, so the pictures are fewer and further in between. :(

Here they have all the pavers in and level. They used the same procedure with the transom to get all the pavers perfectly level. Wooden stakes helped hold the bottom track in place as they worked their way around the pool.

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2.5 hrs in, and the pool wall is going in.

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In less than 5 hours, the pool was installed, the crew packed up and on their way. At this point, the pool was more than ankle deep with water.

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The pool was filled by midnight, and I had done a fair amount of back filling knowing that heavy rain was in the forecast. I used the next day to begin playing with the test kit to get a feel for the chemistry of the pool. I made a trip to Lowe's to pick up all the electrical I needed to run the dedicated circuit to the pool pump. My daughter had a dance recital in the afternoon, so it was a good day to take a break from the shoveling and let my tired old body rest. :cool: I easily shoveled 6 yards of dirt the day of install.

On Sunday I build a solid set of temporary wood stairs to link to the wedding cake stairs. I spent the rest of the day playing with the chemistry, and watching world cup soccer. :)

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A different view of the temporary stairs.

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I also pulled a permit to build a partial deck around the pool. It will be a couple of weeks before I start to tackle this project. The pool top rail ended up at a much lower elevation than I estimated, so I need to re-work my deck plans to adjust. Plus I still have 20+ yards of dirt I need to find a home for. :confused: That's probably the biggest surprise from the install.

That feeling of anxiety and buyer's remorse is starting to subside. The few hours of personal time spent hanging out in the pool with my teenage daughter makes me think I made a good decision to add the pool. No phones, no distractions, just floating around and catching up. Good stuff right there. Now to get my 15 year old asperger's boy out of the house and into the water. Oi.
 
The CYA will take a week or so to completely register, so if your number is lower than you targeted, give it time. Don't overdo the CYA or you'll just have to drain your carefully balanced water.

That pH is too high. It might even be higher than 8.2, since that's the limit of the tester. Muriatic Acid is the cheapest fastest way to adjust the pH. Target 7.2. If you're above 8.2 now and you end up anywhere between 7.2 and 7.8, you're good. Just get in the habit of lowering pH when it rises to 7.8.
 
$1,200 for the install. That included the sand and pavers. Total install costs could go up depending on what happens with the excess dirt.

ON EDIT: It was well worth the money spent. If the pool is even 1/2" out of level, I can't tell. Looks spot on to me. It would have taken me weeks to do what they did in less than 5 hours.
 
Richard320 said:
The CYA will take a week or so to completely register, so if your number is lower than you targeted, give it time. Don't overdo the CYA or you'll just have to drain your carefully balanced water.

That pH is too high. It might even be higher than 8.2, since that's the limit of the tester. Muriatic Acid is the cheapest fastest way to adjust the pH. Target 7.2. If you're above 8.2 now and you end up anywhere between 7.2 and 7.8, you're good. Just get in the habit of lowering pH when it rises to 7.8.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help with the PH. I'll find some muriatic acid today and add when I get home tonight. Is it OK to use the pool 30 minutes after adding this like with bleach?

For the CYA, looking at the application table on the side of the container, I knew it was safe to add the whole canister. I estimated it would get me 2/3 of the way to my target.
 
More chemistry questions:

When I got home tonight, I turned on the pump for a bit, then tested for FC. It was down to .5ppm. There was 5 ppm this morning, so I lost 4.5ppm today. I added 90 oz of 8.25% bleach per PoolMath, then got out the vacuum to sweep up some debris that has blown into the pool. I waited an hour and checked FC again. It was back up to 5ppm. based on the 4lbs of HTH stabilizer I added last weekend, I expect my CYA to be around 25, therefore I think my minimum FC should be 2. I went ahead and added 52oz more bleach to try and get the FC up to 7 so that if I lose 5ppm again during the day tomorrow, I will still be around or above the 2ppm minimum. Is my thinking right here?

Also, I measured PH 4-5 times over this past weekend, and each time it was > 8.2. When I measured it today, it was down to 7.5. I haven't added any of the muriatic acid that I bought. I measured PH three times over the course of this evening, and each time it was around 7.5. Any thoughts on what would cause it to read so high over the weekend? I guess I'll just keep an eye on it over the next few days and make adjustments once it levels out and I get consistent readings several days in a row.

Next project is running the dedicated pump circuit and accessory outlets. Hope to have that done by July 4 when we will be hosting some friends for the holiday.
 

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That's how I do it as well. I know how much my pool eats during the day so I add chlorine to make sure it never falls below my minimum. Took some time and watching trends. Also, I had to adjust my pH several times in the beginning but the last few weeks, it has been rock solid 7.5. Not sure why your's would have been high. Just keep an eye on it and adjust as necessary.
 
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