Helping a friend get a new pool ready

[rllackey28]

Hey everyone. A friend of mine recently put in an 18x36 IG Vinyl Liner pool with approximate volume of 23,500. 1.5 HP Hayward Superpump. I'm helping him get his water balanced. His starting pH was 8+ and his TA was over 200. His FC and CC were 0. He knows nothing about pools (he says it's his wife's pool) so he's relying on me and I'm leaning on my experience plus what I've learned on here. We are doing this in steps with lowing the pH/alkalinity with muriatic acid then aerating to raise pH. Rinse, lather, and repeat. We have the TA down to 160 and shooting for 70. Getting pH/Alkalinity under control first before SLAM process. Several questions:

1. How soon after the addition of the acid should we test to see if we can add more? Is there an educated guess? I know we don't want to go below 7.0. 1 gallon of the 31.45% muriatic acid lowers the pH by 1.3 and the TA by 21 per PoolMath.
2. I've read back through about aeration, is there a general consensus on how to aerate? I was going to build the "T" aerator and attach it to a return or is it better to introduce air under the surface via compressor, shop vac, or something else.
3. From my understanding there is no need to add CYA until after pH/TA is under control. Is that correct?

Thanks for the help.

 

[edweather]

No expert here, but I maintained a 25,000 gallon IG vinyl lined pool for several years. Getting the TA down isn't too critical, if the pH is stable. I'd worry about that later if needed. Currently, my TA is very high, at 180, but my pH is stable, so nothing need be done. I would start getting some Chlorine and CYA in now. Dichlor pool tablets (hockey pucks) is a good way to start, because they have CYA in them. One of the side benefits of CYA is that it also lowers pH. So if you just add chlorine and stabilizer you might be good to go. Of course, switch to liquid chlorine when your CYA gets to where you need it, or it will build up too high if you keep using the pucks.

 

[rllackey28]

Bump this up to give an update. I started him SLAMing but he wouldn't stay at it like I told him to do. We had his CYA at 40 and they decided to take a sample to a pool supply place. Guess what. They told him his chlorine was too high (10) and his CH was too low (100). Convinced him to buy Calcium Hardness increaser and clarifier. Thought you would enjoy that.

 

[mknauss]

That helped the algae -------

 

[TomGallopavo]

You can lead a horse to water something something...