New Owner, In the dark...

[Dallas_James]

Hey y’all,
New owner here. We got our water last week. My only instruction from the builder was brush it twice daily. He’s been out once since the water went in last Saturday. I’ve read a lot in here on chemistry and new pool start ups. I got my TF-100 kit and did my owns tests this past Saturday. I took my water to Leslies and had them test as well to double check my work. Here are my results from Saturday.
FC 0.1
TA 50
CYA 0
pH 7.6
CH 375
(Leslies told me to shock it)

I sent the numbers to my builder and questioned the fact that there is virtually no chlorine in the pool and the low TA and no cya, his reply was “stabilizer shouldn’t be touched” and ”chemistry is Dang near perfect.”

Every time I ask a question he makes me feel like I’m an idiot for wanting to do my own maintenance. Today I get a call from a pool maintenance company that he owns and they say as of today I’m on my own and the pool builder has no responsibility from this point forward. I can either hire them for 205 per month, hire someone else, or go it alone.

I’m fine with taking over, but I really don’t want to mess up my week old plaster. Should I just start following TFP rules for getting my cya, ta, and FC up? Do I shock it? What should my next steps be?

I really thought they would give me a little “pool school“ to get started as a first time owner, especially after the amount of money we spent. However, I‘m not surprised by anything with this company anymore.

I have a swg, but since the plaster is new and the temps are dropping I probably won’t be adding any salt until spring at this point. Do I just run my numbers as regular chlorine pool until then?

Sorry for the long post. I’m just a frustrated new owner that doesn’t want to screw up my new pool.

I do pool school tomorrow, but apparently that is “equipment only.”

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jim,

If your pool builder thinks that those number are perfect, then I would not listen to any chemical advice he gave during pool school any way...

For now any TA of 50 or above is ok..

SWCG's will work until the water temp get below about 55 degrees... But it make sense to me to just treat the pool as a chlorine pool until next year.

I would add 30 ppm of CYA now and then add enough Liquid Chlorine to get your FC up to 3 or 4 ppm. You really do not want to add chlorine until the plaster is a few days old. You do not want to add salt until the plaster is about 30 days old.

Trust your TF-100 and quit going to the Pool $tore.. If you want to waste your money, just send it to me...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[wireform]

Just one word of caution, make sure you follow through as per warranty conditions if something were to happen and you need him on it.

 

[poolnoobgrandma]

Hey y’all,
New owner here. We got our water last week. My only instruction from the builder was brush it twice daily. He’s been out once since the water went in last Saturday. I’ve read a lot in here on chemistry and new pool start ups. I got my TF-100 kit and did my owns tests this past Saturday. I took my water to Leslies and had them test as well to double check my work. Here are my results from Saturday.
FC 0.1
TA 50
CYA 0
pH 7.6
CH 375
(Leslies told me to shock it)

I sent the numbers to my builder and questioned the fact that there is virtually no chlorine in the pool and the low TA and no cya, his reply was “stabilizer shouldn’t be touched” and ”chemistry is Dang near perfect.”

Every time I ask a question he makes me feel like I’m an idiot for wanting to do my own maintenance. Today I get a call from a pool maintenance company that he owns and they say as of today I’m on my own and the pool builder has no responsibility from this point forward. I can either hire them for 205 per month, hire someone else, or go it alone.

I’m fine with taking over, but I really don’t want to mess up my week old plaster. Should I just start following TFP rules for getting my cya, ta, and FC up? Do I shock it? What should my next steps be?

I really thought they would give me a little “pool school“ to get started as a first time owner, especially after the amount of money we spent. However, I‘m not surprised by anything with this company anymore.

I have a swg, but since the plaster is new and the temps are dropping I probably won’t be adding any salt until spring at this point. Do I just run my numbers as regular chlorine pool until then?

Sorry for the long post. I’m just a frustrated new owner that doesn’t want to screw up my new pool.

I do pool school tomorrow, but apparently that is “equipment only.”

You can do this! You should add chlorine. Plain bleach (no additives, NOT low splash, no cloramax, etc.) or pool chlorine from home depot or Walmart. I highly recommend the pool math app that's available on this site. You can track your tests and use the "effects of adding" feature to determine how much chlorine, muriatic acid, or CYA to add. You could also use pucks for a little while to add both chlorine and cya to the pool until you get to the desired level of cya, then switch to liquid chlorine.
You have come to the right place.

 

[Dallas_James]

[/QUOTE]

Jim,

If your pool builder thinks that those number are perfect, then I would not listen to any chemical advice he gave during pool school any way...

For now any TA of 50 or above is ok..

SWCG's will work until the water temp get below about 55 degrees... But it make sense to me to just treat the pool as a chlorine pool until next year.

I would add 30 ppm of CYA now and then add enough Liquid Chlorine to get your FC up to 3 or 4 ppm. You really do not want to add chlorine until the plaster is a few days old. You do not want to add salt until the plaster is about 30 days old.

Trust your TF-100 and quit going to the Pool $tore.. If you want to waste your money, just send it to me...

Thanks,

Jim R.

Follow up questions
I got my cya and liquid chlorine and plan to add them tomorrow.

1. should I backwash first? I’ve been brushing twice daily and it hasn’t been done yet. Since you can’t backwash for a week after adding cya, should I do it first?

2. once I put the cya in sock in the skimmer basket, can I also add liquid chlorine or do I have to wait until cya is fully dissolved?

3. I’ve read on here to run pump for 24 hours after adding cya. Should I put in service mode and run it “full bore” for 24 hours, or just normal auto mode, which will be less than full power at times?

 

[mknauss]

1. If you need to backwash, do it. If you use the sock method to add CYA, you do not have the issue of waiting to backwash for 7 days.
2. Add chlorine now. You can add other chemicals while the CYA is dissolving.
3. If the sock is in the skimmer, it is a good idea to leave the pump running, low speed is fine. Or, take the sock out and put in a bucket when the pump turns off for the night, either is fine.

 

[ajw22]

Pick the most appropriate startup guide and follow it for the first 28 days.

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Probably https://mmgtx.com/docs/PTI-Start-Up-Maintenance-Procedures-Salt-SWCGS.pdf

After 28 days transition to TFP recommended levels...

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

When Can Salt Be Added to Plaster Pools - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com