Construction complete...then no instructions

[setsailsoon]

Jay,
This plaster startup guide should be a helpful reference for you. As for the pH meter that I found very reliable it was the one I've pasted below. Hanna makes two of these models. One is accurate to .1 pH unit the other is accurate to .01 ppm. The .1 unit is plenty accurate for pool chemistry. It sells for about $40 and is very reliable for about 18 months. At that point the probe becomes inaccurate because it is not refillable like the larger lab testers. I have to use this unit because I have a male type of color blindness in the color ranges of the pH test above about 7.7. If I didn't have this I would not mess with the pH tester. Thankfully for me they do work reliably if you get one of the better ones. The very low end units are very sensitive and failed for me within a week or two. I checked mine with calibration fluid about once per week and rarely found it out by more than .1 within a month or so. A bottle of calibration fluid lasted me about a year. There are a couple of other brands that sell units comparable in the one I've shown below and they have been used by TFP members with success as well.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris

 

[geonjay]

We are now three weeks into our new pool - and the chemistry seems to be settling somewhat. The 1.85 HP pump is still running at 80% for 21 hours a day - they have it programmed to run from 6am-3am. I didn't want to change it while they are still managing things. At 80% power and the sheet descent turned OFF, it moves about 60 GPM. With the waterfall turned on, it moves at around 70GPM - so the 3 returns are the bottleneck...but at 60GPM it's still turning over the volume of the pool about ~5 times a day. I'm adding ~10oz of muriatic acid every other day to achieve a pH of ~7.4. They PB originally added 2 chlorine tabs to the skimmer - but at 80% the tabs were dissolving in about 2 days instead of the 6 that they projected. So I'm adding 1 tablet every 2 days and the FC is staying around 4ppm - I'm testing at 8am every morning.
The water looks perfectly clear when you look down into it - I mean it's crystal clear. However, when I put goggles on and look under the water - I can see a LOT of fuzz / snowflakes. It seems to be getting worse day by day. CH is still floating around 170ppm, so I don't think it's calcium flakes. Is this normal? I know the cartridge filter should start filtering more once it gets a little "dirty" but I assumed with all the plaster powder getting cleaned out, the filter would be dirty enough by now. I've only used 1 bag of shock since they added the chlorine tabs - the PB provided it and told me to use it after a heavy swimmer load. We had folks over on Saturday so I added the shock on Saturday night. It's called "Super Shock-IT 73" - could the white specks be related to that?

 

[Bperry]

We are now three weeks into our new pool - and the chemistry seems to be settling somewhat. The 1.85 HP pump is still running at 80% for 21 hours a day - they have it programmed to run from 6am-3am. I didn't want to change it while they are still managing things. At 80% power and the sheet descent turned OFF, it moves about 60 GPM. With the waterfall turned on, it moves at around 70GPM - so the 3 returns are the bottleneck...but at 60GPM it's still turning over the volume of the pool about ~5 times a day. I'm adding ~10oz of muriatic acid every other day to achieve a pH of ~7.4. They PB originally added 2 chlorine tabs to the skimmer - but at 80% the tabs were dissolving in about 2 days instead of the 6 that they projected. So I'm adding 1 tablet every 2 days and the FC is staying around 4ppm - I'm testing at 8am every morning.
The water looks perfectly clear when you look down into it - I mean it's crystal clear. However, when I put goggles on and look under the water - I can see a LOT of fuzz / snowflakes. It seems to be getting worse day by day. CH is still floating around 170ppm, so I don't think it's calcium flakes. Is this normal? I know the cartridge filter should start filtering more once it gets a little "dirty" but I assumed with all the plaster powder getting cleaned out, the filter would be dirty enough by now. I've only used 1 bag of shock since they added the chlorine tabs - the PB provided it and told me to use it after a heavy swimmer load. We had folks over on Saturday so I added the shock on Saturday night. It's called "Super Shock-IT 73" - could the white specks be related to that?

What is your chlorine level along with the rest of the other levels?

 

[geonjay]

This morning's results are representative of the last 6 days - with the exception of the pH, which I'm adjusting every other day
pH = ~7.4
FC = 3.2ppm (the morning after I shocked it, it was 7.4)
CC = <.2ppm
TA = 40
CYA = 0? The water doesn't get cloudy at all, only CYA from the tablets has been added. PB says they'll add that when they add salt
CH = 170ppm

 

[Bperry]

This morning's results are representative of the last 6 days - with the exception of the pH, which I'm adjusting every other day
pH = ~7.4
FC = 3.2ppm (the morning after I shocked it, it was 7.4)
CC = <.2ppm
TA = 40
CYA = 0? The water doesn't get cloudy at all, only CYA from the tablets has been added. PB says they'll add that when they add salt
CH = 170ppm

Assuming you are using one of the recommended test kits, your FC will disappear quite fast without any CYA in the water. So algae could be causing some cloudy ness. But I plugged your numbers into poolmath and it gives a CSI of -.67 which is getting corrosive. Consider increasing the CH and get some CYA in the water and maintain it according to the FC/CYA chart. If you are using anything other than the Taylor FAS-DPD kit for testing then ignore everything I said until you get one. Then download the poolmath app and track your CSI along with the rest of the levels.

 

[geonjay]

I do have the recommended test kit - Taylor 2006C + Salt. CYA test is still pretty clear - the black dot never disappears. This morning FC was 3.0. Today was a REALLY sunny day. At 4:15pm I got a sample of the water - FC was 2.6ppm. 2 weeks ago the PB said they would adjust for TA once the pH was more stable.