Help with newly plastered pool

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edny20

Member
Nov 4, 2024
12
Austin, Texas
Pool Size
18000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
We just had our pool plastered with quartz. I'm excited to have a fresh start with new water. I was previously dealing with very high cya which led to algae issues and constant backwashing. I want to do it right this time and save money on chemicals. My current chemistry is..

Alkalinity: 70
Ph: 7.4
Chlorine: 2.0
Hardness: 170
Phosphates: 900 (I just added phos free to lower )
CYA: 22

I have been brushing 3 times a day and adjusting the ph as needed with muriatic acid and adding liquid Chlorine as required. I'm at the 2 week mark. How should I go forward? Should I use Chlorine tabs or just use liquid Chlorine and muriatic acid to maintain the pool going forward. Any suggestions would be appreciated
 
Brushing the pool several times a day, first 48 hrs adjusting ph and alkalinity, then Calcium hardness (mine was very low to start) , then adding liquid chlorine ... I did add phos free as well ( phosphates reading was 900)
 
edny20 said:
Brushing the pool several times a day, first 48 hrs adjusting ph and alkalinity, then Calcium hardness (mine was very low to start) , then adding liquid chlorine ... I did add phos free as well ( phosphates reading was 900)
Click to expand...
Does your “traditional startup method” say to check and adjust phosphates or are you making this up as you go along?

There is a science to the chemistry for the first 28 days to promote the dense curing of the plaster. Nothing you posted demonstrates you are following proper startup methods.
 
No I'm not making it up as I go with the exception of the phos free. I added that because I had some algae forming on grout in between the rocks that were below the water line. I was concerned about staining. Judging by your comment I made a big mistake. I was referred to the npt website for startup in instructions and was told what to do by my plaster guy. I was told to prioritize adjusting ph and alkalinity first and then adjust Calcium hardness because it was at 70 to start. All chemicals were diluted in a 5 gallon bucket and added gradually. After that gradually increase cya followed by chlorine in small increments.
I obviously made some big mistakes, any help with what I should do next would be greatly appreciated
 

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edny20 said:
My testing kit wasn't registering any cya. I brought it in to leslie's
Click to expand...

We don't believe in what Leslie says when they just throw out a number.

If your test kit doesn't register any CYA then it is 0.

Add stabilizer and get your CYA up between 20-30 ppm. We round up so if the dot disappears between 20 and 30 you call it 30.

Have you downloaded PoolMath?

Use it to calculate your CSI. During curing your CSI should be between 0 and +0.5. to get there your pH needs to be higher.

And get your CH up to at least 250.
 
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My pool was replastered with Ivory Quartz over 1month ago. I've been brushing and testing everyday. My ph is still fluctuating upwards. I have to add acid every few days. I think all my numbers are good except for my cac which is 2.5. From what I've read..in order to reduce my cac I have to slam? I'm reluctant to do so because of the new plaster. My current numbers are as follows. 18,000 gallon pool Taylor 9 way testing kit.
Fac 1.4
Cac 2.5
Cya 30
Calcium hardness 250
Alkalinity 80
Ph 7.4
Phosphates 960 according to leslie's test...

Should I slam or not? Weather is cooling off here in Austin, Texas. Nobody is using the pool.
I also have a few Calcium deposits on the bottom of the pool...what should I do with those?
 

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