EP's 1st Pool Season Thread

[EngineeredPool]

Hello new friends! First time pool owner and ready to take control! Going to use this thread to keep all my testing in one place til I am no longer a newbie!

My TF100 test kit, stirrer, and salt test kit are supposed to arrive tomorrow. While I waited I gathered my pool info (will update my sig once I am not mobile).

Equipment stats:
30,000 gallon swg 20'x44' vinyl inground pool, half the pool is about 3 feet deep while the deep end slopes on all four sides down to 8 feet deep. Has large steps in the shallow end and a swim out area in the deep end.

Pump: Hayward super pump vs model SP2600VSP
Speeds - 1500 rpm, 2400 rpm, 3000 rpm

Heater: propane raypak RP2100
(Probably don't need much with full sun, water temp currently 70)

Filter: Hayward pro series S270T2 sand with vari-flo control valve

Chlorine Generator: Hayward Aqua Rite

Current status: pool company opened on Monday, shocked and ran pump for 48hrs. Told us to take a sample to the store after... I googled some pool stuff and ended up here!! So no pool store sample done! We just finished brushing and vacuuming the pool today.. life with little kids.. and the cheap terrible $20 triangle vacuum. Will be posting another thread about upgrading that situation soon.

Added 6% bleach to the pool this morning to keep it relatively clear til I get real numbers. Swg is off but we are running the pump continuously at the lowest speed to keep the water moving.

Some progress pics, it doesn't look too bad already! (Sharing day it was opened and today)

 

[kimkats]

That is a BIG pool and oh so pretty!! Love the whole pool yard set up!!

Do you have kids? If so make sure they are suited up and ready to jump in when you add salt to your pool. Around here we call it "Diamond Day"! It is so pretty to see as it floats down into the pool. The kids love it and they help mix it in with their swimming and playing!

You are on the right track but with that size pool you might need more that one jug of chlorine LOL Can't wait to see what YOUR test kit says!

Kim

 

[duraleigh]

Kim is right. I would put another full gallon of chlorine in that pool today. Post your test results. Sincere congratulations on having the wisdom to stay out of the pool store. Please read "The "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School

 

[EngineeredPool]

Yes I did the math and I added two of the 6% gallons!

kimkats we have a 2 and 4 year old and they cant wait to get into the pool!! They aren't quite big enough to mix up the salt I think but hoping they will be playing on the steps soon!

Stalking the test kit package and its still saying delivery today so I am hoping to get some results posted up this evening!!!

 

[EngineeredPool]

I updated my signature!! Let me know if I should anything else that would be useful!

 

[EngineeredPool]

Test kit is here!!! Will run the tests after dinner (in an hour or so). Should I run them all? Or just do FC at this point? All to gauge the whole picture right?

 

[EngineeredPool]

First test is in the books!!

So I need to add cya (kinda surprised since I found a lot of pucks in the shed from the previous owners but maybe they are really old)

And need to get my FC up

Any insights??

 

[EngineeredPool]

Do I need to SLAM? Or do the overnight test first? The pool has some dead stuff from brushing yesterday in it but isn't green at all

 

[EngineeredPool]

The only thing we have added since the shock opening (pool guy added shock Monday morning when it was opened) was 2 gallons of 6% bleach yesterday morning. I am actually surprised there is any FC

 

[duraleigh]

I would not SLAM your pool....not just yet and maybe not at all.

Buy enough CYA to get to 30 ppm, Put it in your pool and assume it is in there......no need to test.

Next, (and this is a bit away from standard procedures) I would calculate and dose FC to get to 10 ppm.

After that, I would vacuum the pool to get that dead algae off the floor and brush anything that doesn't vacuum up into your newly chlorinated water. It will subsequently be captured by your filter or perhaps another vacuum episode tomorrow.

Last, I would run a complete set of tests tomorrow and post them here and we'll progress from that point.

 

[EngineeredPool]

Thank you duraleigh!! It would be awesome to avoid a SLAM!!

 

[EngineeredPool]

Does 8lb of dry stabilizer seem right (for 32cya)? And 2.3 gallons of 12.5% bleach (to add 9.5 FC)?

I might be able to make it to the store tonight but tomorrow morning is probably more likely with the little ones

 

[duraleigh]

Those numbers are correct. Put the CYA in a BIG sock and put it into the skimmer.........pump running

"massage" the sock to make it dissolve quickly.

Put the FC in by pouring in front of a return.....pump running.

Tonight is best......tomorrow is OK.

 

[EngineeredPool]

Ok, one kid in bed, gonna try a run to the store!!!

 

[EngineeredPool]

Well made it to the store, added the 12.5% to the pool, took a reading of FC after about 45 mins, not sure if I took the sample deep enough though. Somehow only getting a FC of 4.5 when what I added should get it up to 10... Too tired to try again. Let's see what we get in the morning! Cya in socks!

 

[duraleigh]

Your late night work was probably rewarded with staving on algae and keeping your pool sanitary. FC will diminish some overnight and today also so you may want to add a bit more FC today. (There is no magic in a perfect 10 ppm but you should stay close)

Have faith in your dosage calculations and don't sweat it if they are not yet as accurate as you like.

Vacuum and brush today if you have time. You are close to a sparkling pool.

 

[EngineeredPool]

Well something is up, tested FC again (used both the accurate method and the quick test method) and got 0.5. it was 4.5 when I tested 10 hours ago. The sun hasn't really been hitting the pool again this morning. The water is noticably clearer though. Is this algae still fighting back? Plan to scrub and vacuum after breakfast. Was hoping we were close to adding salt and getting the swg running, dang it.

 

[EngineeredPool]

This is decently fresh right? 40-something days old

 

[EngineeredPool]

Anyone around? Not sure what to do next!

Brushed and vacuumed, added the 1.5 gals of 12.5% liquid chlorine I had on hand to up the 0.5 FC, should have raised it by 6.2 ish. Tested using the quick test three hours later and it's still showing up as above 5 in my opinion which is great since the sun is beating down and the cya is still dissolving. See pictures for test and what the pool is looking like. What do I do next??? And is this safe to swim? (Not going swimming but hoping to be good by Tues).

Help!!

 

[duraleigh]

Regardless of whether you are losing FC to the sun or to organics or your FC strength may be off, bring it back up to 10 ppm and keep it there for now and maybe the next 24-48 hours. Run the pump 24/7, brush and backwash if your psi increases by 25% or more.

Your pool is virtually right on the edge of being perfect so give it some more time for filtering and killing any remaining algae and then let the FC come on down to normal levels and enjoy the summer.

Swim as often as you like any time you like

Anyone around? Not sure what to do next!

Take charge of your pool water management. Read and re-read "The "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. Post a complete set of test results in about 24 hours and we'll go from there.