New Plaster & Cloudy Water

[vnkt0207]

Day 3 with new plaster. Per instruction, I went to put bleach in the pool for the first time since being applied. The pool water was cloudy also for the first time.

Earlier, I added enough bleach to get to FC=3. But 30 mins later, I measured zero FC. Later I added the rest of the gallon of bleach but still with zero FC. Complete nunbers below. The plaster has been brushed twice daily since being installed, but the water has never been cloudy before today.

FC=0
CC=0
pH=7.4
TA=110
CH=170
CYA=0 (per plaster instructions)
Temp = 52F

Thoughts and recommendations would be great.
Thank you.

 

[mknauss]

FC half life at 0 CYA is around an hour. But 30 min's is concerning.

Run a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight. That will help you see what is happening.

 

[vnkt0207]

Thanks, I just notice the link and forums about Chloromax Technology was what was added (128 fluid oz worth). Won't use any more of it.

 

[mknauss]

Ahh -- surfactants. That can easily cloud your water.

Be sure you get fresh chlorine. Look for the Julian date on the bottle. 19XXX. XXX is the number of days into 2019 the bottle was filled.

 

[vnkt0207]

OK, got it. For the record though, the water was cloudy before adding and Chloromax Tech bleach.

 

[vnkt0207]

Browsing other posts, something related to this string for the new plaster, builder added a quart of Orenda SC-1000. I know that it will defeat any chlorine added to the pool. It was only applied once in the early evening of 10 April which was also the fill day. So low long will SC-1000 keep killing the chlorine? The company that installed new pool equipment recommended using Trichlor pucks, but not sure I trust that advice. Kind of lost here - any recommendations would be great.

 

[ajw22]

When does your plaster instructions say you can add CYA? It is usually after day 4 to bring CYA to 30.

 

[vnkt0207]

Instructions are to add CYA to 30 AFTER day 4, which is tomorrow. I am pre-dissolving it in a bucket today.

Today though, the cloudiness is mostly gone for unknown reasons. I will try again with enough bleach to get FC to 3 ppm and see if I can get a measurement.

 

[vnkt0207]

Just checked FC and it is zero still, even after adding enough bleach to get to FC to 3 ppm. pH was also high at 8.0 so I added muritatic acid to get down to 7.4.

 

[ajw22]

Just checked FC and it is zero still, even after adding enough bleach to get to FC to 3 ppm. pH was also high at 8.0 so I added muritatic acid to get down to 7.4.

For best hardening of your new plaster it is recommended that you keep the CSI between 0 and +0.5 for the first 30 days. See The CSI is Reliable for Plaster-based Pools

Keeping your pH at the upper end of the recommended range and getting your CH above 250 when allowed should get you there. Use PoolMath to calculate your CSI.

Keep adding chlorine and eventually it will hold.

 

[vnkt0207]

OK, I will let pH drift a higher on the range and will add CaCl as CH=170 right now.

 

[vnkt0207]

Day 5 of new plaster. This morning, I put enough fresh bleach in to get FC=3 ppm with no measurable amount after with the test kit. Also put enough CYA in to get 30.

This evening, I got the following numbers:

pH = 7.8
TA = 120
CSI = +0.22