Moving.. Going to do a DIY Build.

[Dirk]

Fill Water:

Build Type: Plaster
Volume: 11000 gallons
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Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 0.0 (3 minutes ago)
pH: 8.2 (3 minutes ago)
TA: 90 (3 minutes ago)
CH: 140 (3 minutes ago)
CYA: 0 (3 minutes ago)
TEMPERATURE: 65° (3 minutes ago)
CSI: 0.21 (3 minutes ago)

Going to add acid and calcium. Will this drive CSI negative?
Due to the low temperature both air and water I'm not adding chlorine yet.

Good job. Some tips:

- You never have to test fill water for CYA, there will never be any.
- FC is OK to know, but mostly irrelevant. FC in fill water will not really affect your strategy of testing and dosing chlorine in your pool, so testing FC in fill water is also not really necessary.
- pH, TA and CH in fill water, especially the last two, are what affect the chemistry in your pool the most.
- In Pool Math you can create as many "pools" as you want. You'll have one for your pool, or course, but you can create a second one and call it "Fill Water" or something equally clever. Then record all your fill water test results in that "pool."

You might test your water a few times a year, just to see if it changes, or changes from year to year. Where I live, my city has multiple water sources, so the chemistry of the fill changes with the seasons. This might be important, say, if you have to regularly perform water exchanges to keep CH in check. If your fill's CH changes throughout the year (like mine does), you'd want to do your water exchanging when the CH is lowest. That way, you'll be able to exchange the least amount of water.

It's a fine point, and may or may not be worth pursuing, just depends on the cost of your water where you live, and if it changes from season to season. I have three Pool Math "pools," one for my pool, one for my fill water, and one for the water coming out of my water softener. I use Pool Math to strategize water exchanges. And I track my water softener's performance, to let me know if and when it poops out.

My pool is already down to 59°, so it won't be long before I have to put my SWG into hibernation for the winter... it's a sad time of year...

 

[ShallowWater]

BTW, I only tested pH, CH and TA. The rest defaulted to 0 because I didn't put in a number but are still important on tracking CSI, no?

Additionally, these numbers are not out of the hose but rather from samples pulled from the pool itself after filling it.

 

[Dirk]

BTW, I only tested pH, CH and TA. The rest defaulted to 0 because I didn't put in a number but are still important on tracking CSI, no?

Additionally, these numbers are not out of the hose but rather from samples pulled from the pool itself after filling it.

It's fine to test your pool water once filled. You'd use those results to calculate your first round of dosing (how much chlorine to add, whether to adjust CH or pH, etc). Those results would go into your Pool Math app into your "My Pool" set.

But there's a separate reason to test your actual fill water, right "out of the hose." And it's the results of those tests I was referring to (about what not to test, and about recording those for future reference into a separate Pool Math "pool" named "Fill Water").

Test results of pH and CH of your pool's water when first filled would be affected by the new plaster, even right away. And, again, you'd use those numbers to adjust pH and CH. But those aren't the numbers we're looking for when we ask you to test your "fill water." We want you to test the water "out of the hose." You'll use those "fill water" test results to help you (and us) understand what is driving your pool's chemistry over time.

For example, you might come to us someday with a particular chemistry issue, like "My pH is always rising," or "Why is my CH so high," or "My TA is out of range." So we'd first ask for a full set of test results of the water in your pool, to confirm what the pH or CH or TA actually is. If we determine they're out of range, we might then ask for test results of your fill water, to determine what is driving the errant pool water chemistry. Typically runaway pH is caused by fill water that has a high TA level. Unusual CH-rise would likely be the result of a hard water fill supply. We then advise how best to treat your pool based on its current levels and the levels of your fill water. And because fill water chemistry can change with the seasons (depending on where you live), you might want to track not only your fill water levels now, but maybe again in three months, or six months, etc. As I mentioned, that could come into play when strategizing how to manage your water throughout the year.

This might make more sense later, when the water has been in your pool for a while. It's not necessarily something to bother with at this point (or ever, if your water chemistry is stable). But I mostly wanted to get the terms straight. When we ask you for a "full set of test results," we're asking you to perform all of the Taylor tests on the water in your pool. When we ask you to "test your fill water," we want you to perform the pH, TA and CH tests on the water with which you fill your pool, before it goes into your pool.

The CSI of your fill water is irrelevant. The CSI of your pool water is what you want to monitor closely. That number in particular is important for your plaster's long-term health, especially where you live. And CSI is affected by more than just pH, CH and TA, though those are the primary drivers of CSI. Salt and CYA and water temp also affect CSI. You'll really see that throughout the seasons. FC level has no effect on CSI.

 

[ShallowWater]

@Dirk

Understood. Right now I'm focused on the water that's actually in the pool. I did do a battery out of the hose the day before I filled the pool but didn't record the results but committed them to memory for the actual fill. I didn't take TA but did take CH at 50ppm and pH at 7.8.

Right now I need Calcium and Acid to drive the CH up and the pH down!

 

[ShallowWater]

<<< Guess I'll be needing to change this picture of our old pool soon. For future reference here it is:

 

[ShallowWater]

 

[kimkats]

Now that is a BRIGHT green right there!

 

[ShallowWater]

Water meter reads are in and 8,800 gallons is the read BUT my meter is very old which means it reads slow. Assuming it reads 20% slow AND there's been 200 gallons other water usage for showers etcetera since the fill started the volume becomes 8,600 gallons / (100-20)Percent = 11,000 gallons which is basically what I calculated it to be previously.

 

[ShallowWater]

Now that is a BRIGHT green right there!

Micro Brite Green

 

[ShallowWater]

This thread was started on December 4, 2020. Our previous house was sold in January 2021 and the replacement house was purchased in October 2021 and then underwent a 9 month renovation. The actual construction of this pool started with excavation occurring August 12 2022 and the pool was filled on November 3, 2022. Even though the thread spans nearly 2 years, the OB Pool Construction took just under 3 months, 12 weeks actually.

I got one quote from a pool builder for about $60,000 more than I'm into it for. They could start in 6 to 8 weeks from July which puts the start in mid to end of September. Their Construction would take 3 to 4 months from start date, making completion between mid December and the end of January. Not only did I save a bundle, I got it done (mostly, still lights not included in the PB's quote and some tile to do) 6 to 10 weeks sooner than they would. It probably would have been even sooner but my concrete and tile guy works full time for a PB and does this work on the side and I did lot of the drainage installation plus moving about 35 tons of crushed recycled concrete into the backyard from the front with hired help on the weekends as well so it was part time the last 6 weeks or so.

 

[Dirk]

That is a bummer about meters getting old and becoming inaccurate. Not for paying water bills, of course, but certainly for calculating pool volume. Sounds like you got a good starting number though. I think I wrote earlier: if you test, then calculate what to dose with Pool Math, then dose, circulate for 30 mins, then test again, and the second test confirms what you dosed, then your water volume number is accurate enough for the purpose of Pool Math and dosing. If you don't get what you're supposed to on the second test, then your water volume number is off.

FC and pH tests are good for this purpose. You'd want to do FC when it's dark out, and you're sure you don't have any algae. pH testing can be used for this purpose any time of day or night.

 

[ShallowWater]

Right now I'm focused on pH, CH and TA. Haven't added bleach yet. I don't think I have to worry much about chlorine just yet since it's pretty cold out right now.

 

[kimkats]

Check the water temp. You want it below 60 to be safe as far a algae goes.

 

[Dirk]

Check the water temp. You want it below 60 to be safe as far a algae goes.

I don't know enough about that aspect to advise, except for this. You definitely do not want to SLAM a brand new finish. Better to play it safe. All it would take is some bird strike and a warm day... Get your FC up as soon as the experts here advise (or whatever startup method you're using advises, whichever is first).

 

[ajw22]

Haven't added bleach yet. I don't think I have to worry much about chlorine just yet since it's pretty cold out right now.

Keep your FC at least 1.5 to 2 ppm.

0 FC puts you at risk for algae taking hold in the water even if it does not bloom now due to the cold.

 

[ShallowWater]

Check the water temp. You want it below 60 to be safe as far a algae goes.

Keep your FC at least 1.5 to 2 ppm.

0 FC puts you at risk for algae taking hold in the water even if it does not bloom now due to the cold.

The Start Up Card on the page back says to not add Chlorine for 48 hours. The fill was started on Wednesday night and completed on Thursday mid day so I'm still in that 48 hour window. I'll add Chorine tonight since my CyA is en route from Amazon right now and I don't want to burn Chlorine to UV radiation too much. I'll add more in the morning and add the CyA when it arrives tomorrow.

 

[kimkats]

I did forget that bit there! Good job following the directions!

 

[ShallowWater]

Balanced water clear of plaster dust means it's SPA TIME!

 

[ShallowWater]

Not pleased with the speed and common disconnects with the IntelliCenter app. I'd like to use the local connection. I know the IP Address but not the Passcode. Any help?

 

[Newdude]

Balanced water clear of plaster dust means it's SPA TIME!

Much as some folks look down on the red Solo cups, they'll never matter when they're dropped on the patio or in the pool.

Rule 6 in the handbook is no glass at the pool, no exceptions.