High FC with new plaster

[Ada.Davis0817]

Moved from here.
I have a question for you Kevin, you helped me before...the guy doing the startup for my pool has the levels of the chlorine very high but he says he haven’t added any chlorine to the pool yet and that I should not being concerned about ruining the finished because the Sun will burn it out very fast. Is that true? At this point I am considering very serious your advise of taking care of the pool myself but the truth is that I don’t know anything about the salt system do you have any resource that I can take a look at it? or can you give me some advise?. It has been 7 days so far with the pump running last thing he did was added calcium.

 

[kevinskii]

Hello Ada, I'm glad your pebble job appeared to turn out well. I'm pretty confused though. You say that the pool guy has the chlorine levels very high, but he hasn't added any chlorine? Did you test the water yourself and see the high levels, and he denied adding any? I don't get it.

Regardless, I suggest reading the "ABC's of Water Chemistry" on the Pool School tab. It's on the left side of this website. You'll also want to get yourself a proper water test kit, even if you ultimately decide to keep the pool guy. The two which are most used on here are the TF-100 from TFTestkits.net and the Taylor K-2006C, which you can get on Amazon. It's the same chemicals in both.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post a new thread in the forum.

 

[Ada.Davis0817]

Thank you so much Kevin for your response again. Yes he denied it. he said has added calcium only, the reason behind of his statement is that the day I hired him I specifically said no matter what you do no chlorine or salt in my pool for 28 days. Also the SGW is not running yet just the pump for the past 7 days so I don’t know what is going on. He also said, don’t worry it won’t affect the finished but at this point I am not sure. I have a kit from a local pool store named “all clear” but was from the prior owner so I don’t know if it is expired but 3 days ago I used and the levels were fine. I will get one of the ones you recommended. What do you think? photo from this morning

 

[ajw22]

I specifically said no matter what you do no chlorine or salt in my pool for 28 days. View attachment 327850

Why did you say no chlorine?

No salt for 28 days is correct. 3 to 5 ppm of chlorine is needed in the water or you will have a green swamp in 28 days.

Were you given a plaster startup guide?

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

You should add some muriatic acid to lower your pH into the 7s.

 

[Ada.Davis0817]

Why did you say no chlorine?

No salt for 28 days is correct. 3 to 5 ppm of chlorine is needed in the water or you will have a green swamp in 28 days.

Were you given a plaster startup guide?

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

You should add some muriatic acid to lower your pH into the 7s.

I did read the guide actually but in my defense I have to say that there is a lot of information out there so it is hard to determine what to do or not to do, anyways I read that chlorine will bleach the finished because is not cured yet (maybe a myth?) and that is the last thing I want to deal with after spending all this money. Thank you for telling me chlorine is fine though because it is really high right now

 

[ajw22]

I did read the guide actually but in my defense I have to say that there is a lot of information out there so it is hard to determine what to do or not to do,

That is why manufacturers publish specific startup guides so you don't need to rely on what you read out there.

anyways I read that chlorine will bleach the finished because is not cured yet (maybe a myth?)

No, what you read, that was written by me in the other thread is that high levels of chlorine can bleach out color in curing plaster. Following the startup guides do not cause any problems.

The thread you originally posted in was about not adding chlorine for the first 48 hours, not for 28 days.

Thank you for telling me chlorine is fine though because it is really high right now

I doubt your chlorine is really high now. Although you need to get a good test kit that we recommend to know your precise chlorine level.

I suggest you buy the TF-100 Test Kits or the Taylor K-2006C.