Brand New Pool - first time owner could use some advice

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What speed is your pump running normally?
You may not see your pressure move unless you run your pump on high speed.
Also it's not uncommon for there to be some air in pump basket of a VS pump when it runs on low.
 
Sounds like you are off to a good start with the chemistry and Pool School Judge Smails. Welcome to TPF by the way, and Ill be anxious to see how it goes for you.

Also wanted to say I love the handle....one of my favorite quotes: "The world needs ditch digggers too you know" LOL.
 
Brushpup said:
Sounds like you are off to a good start with the chemistry and Pool School Judge Smails. Welcome to TPF by the way, and Ill be anxious to see how it goes for you.

Also wanted to say I love the handle....one of my favorite quotes: "The world needs ditch digggers too you know" LOL.
Click to expand...

It's easy to grin.....when your ship comes in... :lol:
 
Bama Rambler said:
What speed is your pump running normally?
You may not see your pressure move unless you run your pump on high speed.
Also it's not uncommon for there to be some air in pump basket of a VS pump when it runs on low.
Click to expand...

I don't know what the builder set it to. When I had the flow problem, I had to reset it and just put it on speed one, which was the lowest setting it had at 1100 rpm. After talking to the builder, I bumped it up to 1600, where it's been for the past week.

Flow actually seemed better today and less air in the filter.
 
Tonight

FC - 2
CC - 0
TC - 2
Ph - 7.5
TA - 160
Ch - 200
CYA - 30


Got a hit on the CYA test. Seems to be better now but my pool was as cloudy as it's been. I put in all of the bleach I had left, about 120 oz or so. Also added some ph down too help with the TA
 
Even 1600 rpm is pretty low speed. You probably won't have much pressure at that speed because your dynamic head is so low. I'd be surprised if you saw much of a pressure rise until the filter is completely clogged.

You need to backwash the filter good. You want to run the pump about 2700 rpm (or the closest set speed) when doing that. Then once you're through backwashing, note your filter pressure at the same speed. We'll call that your clean pressure. Then once in a while, run your pump at that speed, and notice the filter pressure. Then backwash when it gets 6 to 10 psi above that pressure.

You need to bump your FC up a bit for 30 ppm CYA. 2 ppm is the min and you never want it to get below that.
 
tested again later last night:

FC - 5
CC - 0
Ph - 7.3
TA - 125
CH - 200
CYA - 25


I also found what I believe to be the problem with my pump. turns out I'm an idiot. :oops: the basket was turned a little and a leaf or two had clogged the outside of the basket pretty good. cleaned it out, and the pump reprimed with no problem. no more air in the pump and better pressure from the returns. hopefully this will help my chlorine feeder and keep my FC up around 5. holding off on adding more CYA until I see what the pucks add in and also if it'll go higher with what I added 2 nights ago.

water was still a little cloudy but I expect it to be better today and going forward.


I never did get an answer to what the recommended levels should be for a new plaster pool. Any one have an idea?
 
When you're using the Pool Calc and you set it up for plaster pool it'll give you the recommended levels for everything. There's not a lot of things to do differently on a new pool except brush every day and watch the pH closely.
 

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pool was still a little cloudy last night so I put in a bunch of bleach to reach shock level and see if I lost any FC overnight. I didn't. here are my levels:

FC - 14.5
CC - .5 (we got some rain yesterday. can that be why this is not 0?)
Ph 7.5
TA 120
CH 200
CYA 30


I was going to backwash the filter today to see if that helps. Anything else I can do to lose the cloudiness in the pool? should I keep it at shock level until it clears up?


also, my filter PSI is 6 when I run my filter at 1800 rpm. goes down to 4 at slower speeds and goes up to 10 at 2100 rpm. is this typical? should I backwash?
 
A few things to keep in mind as I have read through your thread - there is is an article in Pool School that talks about New Plaster Start Up that you may find useful.

You should stick with Muratic Acid and avoid PH Down if you can because it adds Sulphates to your water.

With new plaster curing, the PH TA and CH levels will all change on their own the first year. Monitor the PH as you have been doing and target 7.4 and use Muratic Acid. Are you brushing every day?

I'm not sure that shocking the pool right now is advisable. You probably haven't done any harm since it's been a couple of weeks. The easiest way to determine if shocking is necessary is to do an Overnight FC Loss Test. Turn off the chlorinator and add no chlorine during this test. If the FC level holds overnight you are good to go - and the cloudiness could have been from the need to backwash or the flow issue you were seeing. Rule out the organics possibility with the OCLT first before you continue with shocking.
 
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