New Northeastern Pa Build

Hi Jim! Your pool turned out beautiful!! Congratulations!
Question about the pavers over concrete- would this work for doing travertine over an existing cantilever concrete deck? How is the pool edge above the waterline handled? Is there some type of cap used so you don't see 2 surfaces stacked together? It looks like you accounted for this in your build, but maybe it's not a viable option to do after the fact.

hi! Thanks for the compliment.

My concrete pour sits level level with my beam. We poured up to the bond beam. So my bullnose sits on bond beam and pavers sit on my pour. I don't think u would want to cap the coping you have now. Don't think it would look right. I think you would have to do a full rip out and do a new pour to the level of the beam. I have pics in my thread to show you how we did it
 
I'm doing an over the night FC check. did I do this right so it is valid:

1. balanced FC to 8.0 at 5 PM with my pump on 3100 RPM. Ran this setting for 3 hours.

2. took a water sample away from returns. closer to my one skimmer. Got a reading of 8.0 at 8:15 PM

I will do the next reading before the sun comes up in the morning. Did i give the pool enough time to circulate the Chlorine to be valid?

thanks!

jim
 
Yes you did. Now make sure the pump is run for at least 30 mins before you get your morning sample.

I did my morning test at 6 AM it was still pretty dark out my pump runs 24 seven at a low speed 2100 rpm's to be exact. I lost 1.0! I did the test twice I have never let my free chlorine drop below the minimum for my CYA level. Now I'm worried. Or should I not be? I have had not a drastic filter increase in pressure my water looks crystal-clear.

Help!! Or am I being like chicken Little and thinking the sky is falling ?

also just to add it is been cooler here at night meeting in the 50s so I am also getting evaporation off the pool I didn't know if that had anything to do with it
 
I would push the FC up to just under SLAM level for a couple of days and then redo the OCLT and see what happens. I will tell you a bird might have pooped in your pool and your filter took care of it and the FC did it's thing! By doing this you can still swim and IF that is what happened then this should take care of it! :hug:

Kim:kim:
 
Kim I did another over night test. At night free chlorine level was 7 and 6.5. This is one of my issues with the test. What if drops aren't exact. What if powder isnt exact. What if water line isn't exact. I mean we r human and there are test errors. I treat each test like a chemistry experiment but still. So this am my level with 2 tests was 6.5 and 6.5.

So do I do what you said?

also yesterday I only lost 1.5 during the day. Summer day. Cool in am up to 75. My pool water was 73. Does fluctuating pool water affect fc since I have been heating the water up and down?

finally I did a phosphate and nitrate test. Ya I'm paranoid. Me and my wife both read them. Phosphate was maybe 100 we said less. Nitrate was between 0 and 10. My wife said she feels it was zero but there was the slightest color change.

Should i clear them from the pool?
 
The FAS-DPD test is "close enough" if you are close in sample size and use enough 870 powder (heaping spoon, some pieces undissolved). 0.5 is plenty "granular" for what we are trying to accomplish which is a clean pool, not incredibly exact science/chemistry :)

You passed the OCLT. This is reinforced with the low daytime FC loss as well IMO.

Phospates and nitrates are things we just don't worry about around here, and you shouldn't either :)
 
OK. I wasn't even going to bring up the phosphate And nitrate thing because I know you guys don't talk about them here but I had to get it off my chest. OK but did you read back and see how some days for a stretch of time I have been losing 3 to 3 1/2 ppm ? That's why I have been getting worried because from just pulling information in from all different sources I start to get more paranoid ?
 
2-4 ppm FC loss per day is normal* Any more than that and an OCLT is a good idea to see if anything strange is going on.

*A 100F day with 14 small children covered in sunscreen and a dog in the pool is not a normal day. For me anyway. :)
 
Cool thanks Bruce. I appreciate it. So now it is salt time! My generator is hooked up and I got 10 bags waiting to be dumped in. I'm shooting for 2800 first then up to 3400. I know to balance fc to my target first before firing up generator. I also know to measure salt before I dump and then 24 hrs later before turning generator on. I don't think I'm missing anything.

Figured friday day was a good time to do it and I'll have weekend to play with it. Suppose to be cool so kids won't be in pool.
 

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BUT the kids HAVE to get in the pool for "diamond day"! Kids LOVE to swim when you pour the salt in. It looks like diamonds and they are really good at mixing up the water and crushing the diamonds at the same time!

Kim:kim:
 
No way my pool is balanced and sparkly...they are tooooo young to know what they are missing so it will be our little secret :)
 
Well no salt this weekend. I did my cya after floating more last week to get it up to 60 and it's 45 ish. I did it 4 times cut is deff not 60 so I added 42 more oz. that should deff put me in range for salt without being too high. I tested it a few days ago and I swore it was 60. It deff isn't though.
 
Jim your CYA does not have to be up for you to add the salt. You can be working on the CYA after you add the salt.

Cliff just remember it for the next time you do need to add diamonds to the pool!

Kim:kim:

so then what do i shoot for when i turn the generator on after 24 hrs if my salt level is to the proper level? can i turn it on if the salt level is appropriate or do i have to wait for the cya level to come up before I turn on the generator?

also my pentair ic40 recommends a salt level of 2800-4500 with 3600 being the ideal. i know the pool school says to shoot for 200-400 above the recommended level for the unit. it also says in pool school between 3200-3400 but some models require a higher number so what do i shoot for? the 3400 you guys say in pool school or the 3600 pentair says? or do i even add to the pentair 3600 by 200-400 cause you guys numbers say to go 200-400 above the recommended level of pentair? again pentair says 2800-4500 with 3600 being ideal.

thanks!

jim
 

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