Filling pool for the first time

[nwardoh]

It got late before we were able to start filling today. Got about 2” in before it got dark. It’s supposed to storm all week on and off. I put the coping, stabilizers, and top rail on it so it would stand up to the weather. The liner is quite snug and has air behind it. It needs to stretch as it fills. As long as I leave the skimmer and return holes open the air will find it’s way out right? I’ll throw the hose in it during the warm parts of the day. Do I need the sun on it or if it’s 80 ish and raining will it be ok to keep filling?

Not sure if ever buy an oval again that’s for sure. Horrible install process and gonna have a couple wrinkles to deal with.

 

[Texas Splash]

With no replies I wanted to follow up to see how the install was going. Has the liner stretched and fit against the walls as you would have hoped? Do you still need help? We'll keep poking the forum to get more eyes on your install if needed. Post pics too if you think it will help.

 

[nwardoh]

Picture really doesn’t show much. The hose is back in it. There’s like 2” of water now. I don’t see how it wouldn’t come out as it fills. My only worry is if the skimmer hole will work for the air to escape. Really don’t want to have to take all the rails off to burp it at the coping strips.

 

[Texas Splash]

I wonder if the ShoVac trick would apply to your situation? @Mdragger88 your thoughts?

 

[nwardoh]

We foolishly tried the shop vac before the top was stabilized and pulled the wall out of the track. A little hesitant to do it again even though it should be fine now that it is stabilized. When we did do it the air did come out so I’m hoping it will come out on its own now. We are halfway to where we would be turning it off anyway. For now I’m gonna just keep filling and watching it. Liner only has like 2.5” of overlap so absolutely can not loosen it up.

 

[Mdragger88]

With everything stabilized the shop vac shouldn’t cause any issues

 

[nwardoh]

Ok, I’ll see what I can do. It’s supposed to rain, literally, all week so it may or may not be able to happen.

 

[Mdragger88]

Any wrinkles on the floor probably won’t come out with the amount of water u have already in the pool. Vacuum or not. You can try to carefully use a pool brush to push them towards the wall. The walls wrinkles are a different story . The vac may help. As it fills closer to the top , if u see a larger amount of slack in one area you can undo the top rail there & pull the liner over more. If u plan to put a deck or something - definitely deal with that 1st or it will be a pain later (my liner is saggy in places & I wish I would have made them come back & fix it before the deck.) it’s much easier to just do it initially.
Use 2 hoses to fill if possible to speed the process - during the day (even if it’s a little cloudy). Always Turn them off at night. Keep an eye on things while filling & if an area looks overly tight, slow down the fill rate.
Be sure to get a little liquid chlorine in the water now & daily so nothing grows while you are dealing with the prolonged fill.
About a quart of 10% liquid chlorine now for the amount of fill u currently have (1500 gal). Pour it in slowly near the running hose. You can also use a floater but be careful that it doesn’t rest on the liner anywhere. Some people tie them off.
It took 2 full days of sun up to sun down w/ 2 hoses to fill my 26k gallon pool. Yours should be around 12k gallons. Rain is free water so that’s a positive!

 

[nwardoh]

Free, soft water!!! I never thought about chlorine now. We will be using a swg when it’s full so don’t have any on hand. I’ll see if I can get some. When should I start adding salt?

I definitely done foresee any sag to the liner. It’s pretty much dead even all the way around and the floor is within maybe a half inch in all spots but I’ll watch it.

 

[Mdragger88]

Wrinkles only hurt the eyes as @Casey says

Even though u will use a swg- you will need to use liquid chlorine to reach your fc target level daily according to the FC/CYA Levels until its ready to turn on & take over. They are good maintainers but they take time to produce fc - u don’t want nasties growing in that time. You will need liquid chlorine on hand while u are dialing in run times/% of your swg as well. Always dose to target & then allow the swg to maintain.

Fresh fill contains no cya- You will need some cya to protect any chlorine u or the swg adds from the sun. Eventually 70ppm or so since u have a swg.
Start with 40ppm then re test after 24 hours of circulation & add what’s needed to reach your target. U don’t want to overshoot your target as the only way to lower cya is to replace water. Use the sock method —> Put dry cya/stabilizer in a sock/knee high & hang it infront of the return or the hose (don’t let it rest on the liner) As soon as u add any cya - immediately chlorinate to the corresponding target on the FC/CYA Levels

Your fill water likely has a negligible salt level but you might want to test it to be sure. You can add salt anytime. The swg must remain off until it has had a day to dissolve when adding start up amounts.
Only add about 3/4 of what PoolMath calls for then re test in 24hrs & add the rest to reach your target. Allow it to dissolve/ circulate a day then re test. Then u are are ready to turn on the swg. You don’t wanna overshoot this either as water replacement is the only way to reduce the salt level.

Use PoolMath to calculate all additions.

You don’t list a test kit in your signature.
If u don’t have one - get it ordered ASAP so u can start your pool journey trouble free & properly care for your new investment.
The two recommended on this forum are the Taylor K2006c Salt (@amazon & other retailers) & the TF100/pro Salt (@ www.tftestkits.net)

When your kit comes you can post all your results here & we can help u along if u have questions.

Until then here’s some reading
Pool Care Basics

Water Balance for SWGs

Saltwater pools are becoming more and more popular. We discuss How salt generators work and water balance tips for SWGs to run them.

www.google.com

 

[Mdragger88]

Wrinkles only hurt the eyes as @Casey says

Even though u will use a swg- you will need to use liquid chlorine to reach your fc target level daily according to the FC/CYA Levels until its ready to turn on & take over. They are good maintainers but they take time to produce fc - u don’t want nasties growing in that time. You will need liquid chlorine on hand while u are dialing in run times/% of your swg as well. Always dose to target & then allow the swg to maintain.

Fresh fill contains no cya- You will need some cya to protect any chlorine u or the swg adds from the sun. Eventually 70ppm or so since u have a swg.
Start with 40ppm then re test after 24 hours of circulation & add what’s needed to reach your target. U don’t want to overshoot your target as the only way to lower cya is to replace water. Use the sock method —> Put dry cya/stabilizer in a sock/knee high & hang it infront of the return or the hose (don’t let it rest on the liner) As soon as u add any cya - immediately chlorinate to the corresponding target on the FC/CYA Levels

Your fill water likely has a negligible salt level but you might want to test it to be sure. You can add salt anytime. The swg must remain off until it has had a day to dissolve when adding start up amounts.
Only add about 3/4 of what PoolMath calls for then re test in 24hrs & add the rest to reach your target. Allow it to dissolve/ circulate a day then re test. Then u are are ready to turn on the swg. You don’t wanna overshoot this either as water replacement is the only way to reduce the salt level.

Use PoolMath to calculate all additions.

You don’t list a test kit in your signature.
If u don’t have one - get it ordered ASAP so u can start your pool journey trouble free & properly care for your new investment.
The two recommended on this forum are the Taylor K2006c Salt (@amazon & other retailers) & the TF100/pro Salt (@ www.tftestkits.net)

When your kit comes you can post all your results here & we can help u along if u have questions.

Until then here’s some reading
Pool Care Basics

Water Balance for SWGs

Saltwater pools are becoming more and more popular. We discuss How salt generators work and water balance tips for SWGs to run them.

www.google.com

 

[kimkats]

You can try to use a toilet plunger to get the floor wrinkles out. A bit at a time towards the closest wall.