New "big as it can be" pool.

[MarkTTU]

I owe y'all some pics, but the deck is in and the plaster is going in as I type

My PB told me they'd wrap the end of my hose in a rag and turn it on slow once they're done and then later tonight when I get home (couldn't break away from the office ) the pool should have a couple of feet of water in it and I can turn it all the way up and drop in a couple more hoses if I want to. That jives with what I remember reading here when I started my lurking and research.

My question is after the pool is filled how long should I wait (or should I wait) to add salt and get the salt generator on-line. I seem to remember there being something said about salt was bad for fresh plaster, but I don't know if I'm hallucinating now because I sure can't find where I might have read that.

Guess I'm going to be breaking out my test kit this weekend too and see where calcium and CYA levels are, but that's another topic

 

[hayabusa3]

Looks great!

 

[DBfan187]

wait 30 days to add salt

 

[MarkTTU]

More pictures. These skip a few steps as they're just the ones off my phone, but they'll have to tide everyone over until I get to pull the ones off my camera...

 

[MarkTTU]

More pics...

 

[MarkTTU]

and a few more... note that's our daughter sitting on the side of the pool dangling her legs in the "water" and my wife working to get her flower beds into shape

 

[MarkTTU]

and some more

 

[MarkTTU]

WATER!!!

 

[MarkTTU]

And finally this morning after pump was running.

So, one of my solar panels that I've had up on the pergola for ~4 years now has sprung a leak mid panel. I just cut off the whole solar system so I could get to work, but this evening I need to fix this so I can start heating the pool for my loving wife... is my best bet to find the leak and just try to plug it with something or should I find the offending small tube and just cut it and cap that one tube?

 

[MarkTTU]

wait 30 days to add salt

Will do. Thanks!

 

[Patrick_B]

Looks great Mark! Hope it warms up for the Mrs. pretty soon. Love that shade of blue too.

 

[MarkTTU]

Thanks!

For future reference the little plugs that Home Depot sells in the sprinkler section for use with the 1/4" drip line work well to plug a single line in a solar panel. Quick easy fix once the sun went down and it wasn't 130 up on the pergola.

Now if the water would just clear up some we'd be in business...

 

[anonapersona]

Wow, that is really nice. So have you got the first water test?

 

[MarkTTU]

Did a couple of water tests last night, but nothing more than really just learning the TF kit and how to use it. Mostly just been trying to keep up with the acid demand... Did go ahead and start putting chlorine in it trying to clear it up.

 

[linen]

For future reference the little plus that Home Depot sells in the sprinkler section for use with the 1/4" drip line work well to plug a single line in a solar panel. Quick easy fix once the sun went down and it wasn't 130 up on the pergola.

Thanks for that tidbit! I will go take a look.

Ohh and I was just looking at the startup procedure in pool school for plaster http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_plaster_start-up, and it stressed not swimming for the first 30 days? Not entirely sure why...just thought I would mention it...

 

[MarkTTU]

Ohh and I was just looking at the startup procedure in pool school for plaster http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_plaster_start-up, and it stressed not swimming for the first 30 days? Not entirely sure why...just thought I would mention it...

Ya I saw that too... not going to happen since we swam last night :|

We're doing a mostly traditional startup except the PB vacuumed with a vacuum head with bristles as soon as the water was in (i.e. yesterday morning). He said in his experience it doesn't hurt the paster and gets the dust out much faster than waiting. Guess we'll see, but he's been building pools for ~30 years and thus far has known what he was doing. Filter was already up 10 psi when I got home last night so I backwashed and vacuumed again using the same vacuum head (he left it for me to vacuum with).

 

[linen]

Ohhh and it said no heating...again I don't entirely know why?

 

[MarkTTU]

I think (though I'm not genius on pool stuff) that the no heating has to do with not running the plaster dust through the typical copper pipe though a heater...

 

[Patrick_B]

Hey Mark, please post a high noon shot as soon as you get her cleared up so we can really see that color. Again, real happy for you and it looks great!

 

[MarkTTU]

Hey Mark, please post a high noon shot as soon as you get her cleared up so we can really see that color. Again, real happy for you and it looks great!

I'll get some this weekend for y'all. Went by the house an hour or so ago and the water had cleared up a lot. Enough that I could see where I missed with the vacuum so I gave it a good brushing and threw in some more chlorine (using up the last of the stuff from the old pool before I switch to 100% BBB). With no CYA in there the chlorine sure burns off fast...