Filling the pool on Friday

Jump to latest Follow Reply
C

chavez35

0
Jun 3, 2015
12
Chardon, Ohio
Hi Everyone,


I've been lurking the forums here for a few weeks now and have been very impressed with both the knowledge of the members and the friendliness everyone has towards one another. Kudos! Not to mention, after seeing some before and after "swamp" pictures posted by various pool owners, I'm certainly a believer in the TFP community and methods!


So, here's my story...


I bought a new home last October and it came with a pool. It was certainly one of the selling points, but now I'm cramming as much information about pool maintenance that I can. The pool is currently only half full and was closed by the previous owner. After the bad winter we had here in Ohio, I must have lost some water to "heavy cover displacement". So, as I began to unearth the pool, I noticed that the skimmer box and return port were all caked with clear caulking. The skimmer wasn't even sealed very well between the inside and outside of the pool walls. When I attempted to tighten it, it had no bite left. I ended up replacing both parts with all new rubber gaskets and fillings. I also hooked up the pump and filter to get the water moving (with hosed dipped in the pool since it's below the skim line) and get an initial test reading. There is little to no debris in the pool thankfully. Here are the test results (K-2006).

CYA 70 (previous owner used tablets)
pH 7.6
FC 0
CC 0
TC 0
TA 120
Ch 140

So with the CYA being on the high side, is it safe to assume that CYA will be proportional when the new water is added? So for example, my pool is currently at half capacity and reading 70 CYA. When it is filled on Friday, will this dilute the CYA proportionally to 35? I plan to test again after it is filled and circulated for a bit, but I was simply curious.

Also, can/should I do anything at the moment to begin the SLAM process with the 10.5k gallons already in the pool? I think the CYA may limit my success, but I will ask the experts here. The water is currently slightly cloudy to mostly clear. I have 8 gallons of 12.5% bleach ready to go! :cool:

Let me know your thoughts and any other things I may have overlooked. I appreciate your time and assistance! :D
 
No doubt you need and should add some bleach in there right away since your FC is at 0. But understand there's no guarantee that your CYA will diminish exactly in half to 35% following the fill. CYA doesn't always change evenly on a water exchange like that. So you might be advised to wait until you have an "accurate" CYA after the fill before implementing the SLAM. As you may already know, the FC and CYA are absolutely critical to know to have an effective SLAM. Good luck Jeremy, and I'm sure others will post on this thread as well.
 
Here's the pool this morning. I added about a half gallon of 12.5% bleach yesterday just to get something in there. Once the water is in the pool and circulated for a while, I'll retest the CYA.
Anything else? Should I put in another half gallon of bleach after the water is delivered?

attachment.php
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 20150604_070138.jpg
    20150604_070138.jpg
    87.8 KB · Views: 150
  • 20150604_070212.jpg
    20150604_070212.jpg
    92.2 KB · Views: 148
EDIT: Pool math says the 1/2 gallon of 12.5% bleach will raise your FC by 6ppm (assuming pool is half full). with a CYA of 70, your target FC is 8ppm, and minimum is 5ppm, so you are good.

keep your current pool volume at the target FC and above the minimum. when you add water, both the CYA and FC is going to be diluted by 2 roughly so you are good.
 
It looks full. Why are you adding more?

Just get the water circulating and check for leaks on all your repairs. Make a lap around the pool with the brush. Let the pump run half an hour minimum. Then test CYA and add what you need to target bleach-wise. I'd question whether a SLAM is even necessary with water that clear. Do the walls feel slick or is there something growing in the water we can't see in the pictures?
 
It probably is a bit unnoticeable, but the water line is about 20 inches below the midpoint of the skimmer. The walls don't feel slimy and there isn't any noticeably growing.

Richard320 said:
It looks full. Why are you adding more?

Just get the water circulating and check for leaks on all your repairs. Make a lap around the pool with the brush. Let the pump run half an hour minimum. Then test CYA and add what you need to target bleach-wise. I'd question whether a SLAM is even necessary with water that clear. Do the walls feel slick or is there something growing in the water we can't see in the pictures?
Click to expand...
 
chavez35 said:
It probably is a bit unnoticeable, but the water line is about 20 inches below the midpoint of the skimmer. The walls don't feel slimy and there isn't any noticeably growing.
Click to expand...

maybe you wont have to SLAM then, but you still need to keep FC above the minimum for your current CYA.

once you get it filled, raise the FC up and do a OCLT. that will tell you if you need to SLAM
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
CYA test was below 30 after the new water was introduced. When I filled the entire tube to the top, the black dot disappeared (<30). So I added 1lb of cyanuric acid in a sock and dissolved it in front of the return around 6pm yesterday. I'll check CYA again next week. I'm targeting a CYA between 30-40, FC between 4-5.

Performing the OCLT...

Readings at 10pm yesterday:
FC=4.4
CC=0.2
pH=7.7
TA=150
Clarity=A bit cloudy

Readings at 6am this morning:
FC=4.2
CC=0.2
pH=7.7
TA=150
Clarity=Clearer

I seem to pass the OCLT test except for maybe clarity although it is pretty clear. There is some silty residue that has collected in spots on the bottom. I probably need to vacuum today as this may be prohibiting the water becoming crystal clear.

Skipped the CH test since its been holding around 120 in past attempts. I'm going to add about 6.5oz of bleach to get the FC up to about 4.5 today.

Should I worry too much about the TA or is this in the normal range? The recommended level is 70-90+, I'm guessing that the 90+ means anything higher than 90?
 
Just keep up with what you're doing and leave the pump run. That residual cloudiness will clear up in a few days. I'd say you're off to a fine start! If your CYA is still indeed below or at thirty you'll want to start creeping it up to around 50. Put the CYA granules in a sock or panty hose and hang in skimmer or in front of return. Then give it a squeeze now and again to speed it along. Just make sure you keep your FC in range. The sun will eat FC and organic debris will eat FC.
 
chavez35 said:
CYA test was below 30 after the new water was introduced. When I filled the entire tube to the top, the black dot disappeared (<30). So I added 1lb of cyanuric acid in a sock and dissolved it in front of the return around 6pm yesterday. I'll check CYA again next week. I'm targeting a CYA between 30-40, FC between 4-5.

Performing the OCLT...

Readings at 10pm yesterday:
FC=4.4
CC=0.2
pH=7.7
TA=150
Clarity=A bit cloudy

Readings at 6am this morning:
FC=4.2
CC=0.2
pH=7.7
TA=150
Clarity=Clearer

I seem to pass the OCLT test except for maybe clarity although it is pretty clear. There is some silty residue that has collected in spots on the bottom. I probably need to vacuum today as this may be prohibiting the water becoming crystal clear.

Skipped the CH test since its been holding around 120 in past attempts. I'm going to add about 6.5oz of bleach to get the FC up to about 4.5 today.

Should I worry too much about the TA or is this in the normal range? The recommended level is 70-90+, I'm guessing that the 90+ means anything higher than 90?
Click to expand...

i wouldn't worry too much about TA with your CH so low. the higher TA will keep your pH higher. if you want to lower it, keep adding muriatic acid to push the pH down to low 7s, then aim your return jets at the surface to aerate the water. this will raise you pH back up. then repeat the cycle. this will lower your TA. I recently lowered my TA from 120 to 80 using this method, but I did it because my CH was high and was worried about leaching. not really a concern with your numbers

And congrats, great news you wont have to worry about a SLAM! just keep your FC near the target number and enjoy a low maintenance, algae free pool!
 
then need to plug the skimmer and return line. I would do that, and then go to home depot and get some ball valves and install them on both sides of the pump. wont take long to glue them in, and save you time in the future when you have to clean your pump
 
Pic of water clarity and silt.
attachment.php


- - - Updated - - -

DaninFLA said:
then need to plug the skimmer and return line. I would do that, and then go to home depot and get some ball valves and install them on both sides of the pump. wont take long to glue them in, and save you time in the future when you have to clean your pump
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip!
 

Attachments

  • 20150605_074332.jpg
    20150605_074332.jpg
    22.2 KB · Views: 53
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