New Plaster Discoloration

[Dynamo84ll]

Hello,

Just recently filled our pool and I'm noticing some discoloration patches in the spa beginning Sunday morning. Here's brief timeline of events:

Friday - 5/9 Finished Plaster (Diamondbrite French Gray)
Saturday Evening - Fill complete (Brushed 2x)
Sunday - Pump Filter startup (PH >8.0 , TA 30), Sunday evening PB dumps 3 Gal of muriatic acid into pool to lower PH (Brushed 2x)
Monday Morning - PH is 6.3 and TA 3PPM !! Obviously lost all trust with PB handling chems so I'm going to take over.

Here are a few pics of fill up process, as you can see the spots appeared within 24hrs of fill up before the acid was added. I'm talking with PB this evening but these spots in the last pic really concern me.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Ouch. Did the builder tell you his plans for the acid? What type of start up he's performing?
Have you read these?

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Maddie

 

[Dynamo84ll]

I think I'm on the figure it out yourself startup plan. I've read enough on this site to get comfortable balancing the water. Currently on day 2 NPC startup guidelines. I've just about got the ph and ta within range so I'll be adding calcium this evening.

My biggest concern is the spots on plaster in the spa. Luckily the rest of the pool looks great .

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I would caution against doing anything until the startup process is complete. You have 28 days or so for the full startup. Get through that and then you can deal with anything that looks like a stain.

 

[Dynamo84ll]

Thanks - PB says they'll take care of the staining in a few weeks after initial startup. Lucky enough they mentioned just having to drain the spa to remediate.

On a positive note, I'm getting my chems balanced but this new plaster is going through a ton of muriatic acid. Today I begin adding Chlorine and will be checking my FC tomorrow! Here are my levels as of today, very close to NPC recommendations!

PH: 7.8 (Adding another cup or two of acid to reduce slightly)
TA: 70
CH: 150 (I used 10lbs yesterday so I'll add more tonight to get closer to 200 PPM, trying to add slowly to avoid cloudy water)