New Pool - Austin, TX - Build
- Thread starter iamtexmax
- Start date
So finally at 1.30 AM this morning (could not stay awake any longer), I turned of the water - pool volume was 15500 gallons - slept for 5 hrs (vaguely remember crazy pool dreams). This morning the pool guy landed to do start up - he said it would need a little more water (it was quarter of the way in skimmer). I would guesstimate he added approx 300 gallons - but keeping in mind we used water in the house (only my son and I - spouse is out of town) we probably used approx 200 gallons (again guesstimating) - I thought will stick to 15500 for pool volume for pool math (is that ok?)
Since I had some time on my hands I broke out my new TFP testkit - took sample water from the pool (around 8 pm) and ran a few tests - don't know if the reading are accurate (I took my time and followed instructions very carefully)
FC 3ppm
CC 1ppm (the water turned clear after 2 drops - but as I was doing the other tests found it had turned pink....??)
TC 4ppm
CH 250 ppm
TA 140
CYA I could see the black dot all the way (no kidding this is a hard test)
pH 7.5
(am surprised by chlorine being in the water)
The pool guy primed the pump - turned it on and put some DE in one of the skimmers (said it would get sucked up into the filter) - then he added cya powder to the other skimmer (told him that should it not be put in a sock and hung over the pool) - he laughed at me and said he had never heard that and this is the way he does it - I did not argue
He then added a gallon of muriatic acid and a gallon of chlorine (he never did take readings...??)...he then brushed the pool - I asked should I brush the pool every day like 2-3 times - he said if you want to but since its been acid washed not really necessary - he said plaster looks good...
He then went on to program the Pentair ET4 for a bit - he told me his wife was giving birth to a baby on Tue so the Pool School will have to wait till the following week - asked him if I had to maintain till then - he said I could set up a monthly service for $195/month and he could have one of his guys come and maintain it (told him I would think about it) - asked him till he came back for pool school what do I need to do to maintain - said put 1 gallon of chlorine every other day and 0.5 gallons of muriatic acid only once next week (???)
I told him I took some readings last night - he asked me how much chlorine -I told him 4 ppm - he looked at me strangely asking was it 0.4 or 4.....made me unsure
Lastly turned on the water features (water falls and 1 bubbler) - has programmed to run 1 hour every day - told me to keep pool running at full speed 24x7 and off he went
Any thoughts....also any advice is greatly appreciated
Also what should I go out and buy in terms of chemicals - Chlorine - is this ok (H-E-B Bravo Concentrated Regular Bleach - Shop Bleach at H-E-B) and Muriatic acid from
home depot (https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-2x1-Gallon-Muriatic-Acid-2118-HD/100119310)
Thank you!
Since I had some time on my hands I broke out my new TFP testkit - took sample water from the pool (around 8 pm) and ran a few tests - don't know if the reading are accurate (I took my time and followed instructions very carefully)
FC 3ppm
CC 1ppm (the water turned clear after 2 drops - but as I was doing the other tests found it had turned pink....??)
TC 4ppm
CH 250 ppm
TA 140
CYA I could see the black dot all the way (no kidding this is a hard test)
pH 7.5
(am surprised by chlorine being in the water)
The pool guy primed the pump - turned it on and put some DE in one of the skimmers (said it would get sucked up into the filter) - then he added cya powder to the other skimmer (told him that should it not be put in a sock and hung over the pool) - he laughed at me and said he had never heard that and this is the way he does it - I did not argue
He then added a gallon of muriatic acid and a gallon of chlorine (he never did take readings...??)...he then brushed the pool - I asked should I brush the pool every day like 2-3 times - he said if you want to but since its been acid washed not really necessary - he said plaster looks good...
He then went on to program the Pentair ET4 for a bit - he told me his wife was giving birth to a baby on Tue so the Pool School will have to wait till the following week - asked him if I had to maintain till then - he said I could set up a monthly service for $195/month and he could have one of his guys come and maintain it (told him I would think about it) - asked him till he came back for pool school what do I need to do to maintain - said put 1 gallon of chlorine every other day and 0.5 gallons of muriatic acid only once next week (???)
I told him I took some readings last night - he asked me how much chlorine -I told him 4 ppm - he looked at me strangely asking was it 0.4 or 4.....made me unsure
Lastly turned on the water features (water falls and 1 bubbler) - has programmed to run 1 hour every day - told me to keep pool running at full speed 24x7 and off he went
Any thoughts....also any advice is greatly appreciated
Also what should I go out and buy in terms of chemicals - Chlorine - is this ok (H-E-B Bravo Concentrated Regular Bleach - Shop Bleach at H-E-B) and Muriatic acid from
home depot (https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-2x1-Gallon-Muriatic-Acid-2118-HD/100119310)
Thank you!
Attachments
So finally at 1.30 AM this morning (could not stay awake any longer), I turned of the water - pool volume was 15500 gallons - slept for 5 hrs (vaguely remember crazy pool dreams). This morning the pool guy landed to do start up - he said it would need a little more water (it was quarter of the way in skimmer). I would guesstimate he added approx 300 gallons - but keeping in mind we used water in the house (only my son and I - spouse is out of town) we probably used approx 200 gallons (again guesstimating) - I thought will stick to 15500 for pool volume for pool math (is that ok?)
Since I had some time on my hands I broke out my new TFP testkit - took sample water from the pool (around 8 pm) and ran a few tests - don't know if the readings are accurate (I took my time and followed instructions very carefully)
FC 3ppm
CC 1ppm (the water turned clear after 2 drops - but as I was doing the other tests found it had turned pink....??)
TC 4ppm
CH 250 ppm
TA 140
CYA I could see the black dot all the way (no kidding this is a hard test)
pH 7.5
(am surprised by chlorine being in the water)
The pool guy primed the pump - turned it on and put some DE in one of the skimmers (said it would get sucked up into the filter) - then he added cya powder to the other skimmer (told him that should it not be put in a sock and hung over the pool) - he laughed at me and said he had never heard that and this is the way he does it - I did not argue
He then added a gallon of muriatic acid and a gallon of chlorine (he never did take readings...??)...he then brushed the pool - I asked should I brush the pool every day like 2-3 times - he said if you want to but since its been acid washed not really necessary - he said plaster looks good...
He then went on to program the Pentair ET4 for a bit - he told me his wife was giving birth to a baby on Tue so the Pool School will have to wait till the following week - asked him if I had to maintain till then - he said I could set up a monthly service for $195/month and he could have one of his guys come and maintain it (told him I would think about it) - asked him till he came back for pool school what do I need to do to maintain - said put 1 gallon of chlorine every other day and 0.5 gallons of muriatic acid only once next week (???)
I told him I took some readings last night - he asked me how much chlorine -I told him 4 ppm - he looked at me strangely asking was it 0.4 or 4.....made me unsure
Lastly turned on the water features (water falls and 1 bubbler) - has programmed to run 1 hour every day - told me to keep pool running at full speed 24x7 and off he went
Any thoughts....also any advice is greatly appreciated
Also what should I go out and buy in terms of chemicals - Chlorine - is this ok (pic attached - Sodium Hypochlorite (8.25%), Other Ingredients: (91.75%)) and Muriatic acid from
home depot (pic attached) - anything else?
Thank you!
Since I had some time on my hands I broke out my new TFP testkit - took sample water from the pool (around 8 pm) and ran a few tests - don't know if the readings are accurate (I took my time and followed instructions very carefully)
FC 3ppm
CC 1ppm (the water turned clear after 2 drops - but as I was doing the other tests found it had turned pink....??)
TC 4ppm
CH 250 ppm
TA 140
CYA I could see the black dot all the way (no kidding this is a hard test)
pH 7.5
(am surprised by chlorine being in the water)
The pool guy primed the pump - turned it on and put some DE in one of the skimmers (said it would get sucked up into the filter) - then he added cya powder to the other skimmer (told him that should it not be put in a sock and hung over the pool) - he laughed at me and said he had never heard that and this is the way he does it - I did not argue
He then added a gallon of muriatic acid and a gallon of chlorine (he never did take readings...??)...he then brushed the pool - I asked should I brush the pool every day like 2-3 times - he said if you want to but since its been acid washed not really necessary - he said plaster looks good...
He then went on to program the Pentair ET4 for a bit - he told me his wife was giving birth to a baby on Tue so the Pool School will have to wait till the following week - asked him if I had to maintain till then - he said I could set up a monthly service for $195/month and he could have one of his guys come and maintain it (told him I would think about it) - asked him till he came back for pool school what do I need to do to maintain - said put 1 gallon of chlorine every other day and 0.5 gallons of muriatic acid only once next week (???)
I told him I took some readings last night - he asked me how much chlorine -I told him 4 ppm - he looked at me strangely asking was it 0.4 or 4.....made me unsure
Lastly turned on the water features (water falls and 1 bubbler) - has programmed to run 1 hour every day - told me to keep pool running at full speed 24x7 and off he went
Any thoughts....also any advice is greatly appreciated
Also what should I go out and buy in terms of chemicals - Chlorine - is this ok (pic attached - Sodium Hypochlorite (8.25%), Other Ingredients: (91.75%)) and Muriatic acid from
home depot (pic attached) - anything else?
Thank you!
Attachments
Man that is pretty!! Love the color as it is now!
He dumped a gallon of acid in??? OUCH! Run out and check you pH. Bring it up 7.2 if it is not there already.
Keep a close eye on your pH. As your plaster cures it may push up. The water features will also add to the pH BUT they do need to run some each day so....it is all good.
Your gallon guesstimate is pretty on spot I bet. We can tweak it as needed later.
The CYA test-you will not have any showing on the test yet. It might take a day or so for it to show up. It is "okay" to put the CYA in like he did BUT it means you cannot backwash the filter for a while. No big deal as it is all new water and you should not need to backwash any time soon. The sock way is to get it straight into the water. Do you have ANY idea how much he added?
Bleach-Those are both okay to use BUT make sure to learn how to read the date codes. Bleach degrades over time. After a while it is just water so......don't want to get bleach older than 3 months if you can help it.
I will touch base with you in a little while to make sure I covered everything!
Kim
He dumped a gallon of acid in??? OUCH! Run out and check you pH. Bring it up 7.2 if it is not there already.
Keep a close eye on your pH. As your plaster cures it may push up. The water features will also add to the pH BUT they do need to run some each day so....it is all good.
Your gallon guesstimate is pretty on spot I bet. We can tweak it as needed later.
The CYA test-you will not have any showing on the test yet. It might take a day or so for it to show up. It is "okay" to put the CYA in like he did BUT it means you cannot backwash the filter for a while. No big deal as it is all new water and you should not need to backwash any time soon. The sock way is to get it straight into the water. Do you have ANY idea how much he added?
Bleach-Those are both okay to use BUT make sure to learn how to read the date codes. Bleach degrades over time. After a while it is just water so......don't want to get bleach older than 3 months if you can help it.
I will touch base with you in a little while to make sure I covered everything!
Kim
Cya - he brought a heap of the powder on a lid
Used the Taylor K 1000
Just checked pH - 6.8 and Chlorine 1-2 (still trying to get used to colors)
The pool guy told me he would like to keep pH a little low in the first week
Do I need to do anything...will do a full fledged test tonight
Used the Taylor K 1000
Just checked pH - 6.8 and Chlorine 1-2 (still trying to get used to colors)
The pool guy told me he would like to keep pH a little low in the first week
Do I need to do anything...will do a full fledged test tonight
CYA-lets let it ride until the weekend. We will re-look at it then.
Taylor 1000-color test for FC=nope-I just don't like that test. The only thing it is good for is to see if there is any FC in the pool. The powder test is much better.
pH-then do what he wants as they are the ones holding the warranty card.
CYA-how to do the test on Saturday. GLANCE in to look for the dot. Do NOT look for the dot or you will see it. I pour from line to line starting with 100. Pour the mixture to 100, GLANCE in. See the dot? Pour to the next line then the next until you don't see the dot at a GLANCE. You can and should pour the mixture back and forth as many times as you need to learn the test. I am guessing your don't have much CYA in the water at all. A "lid" full is not much at all. Go play with your Pool Math app and see how much it says to bring the CYA from 0 to 30 for your size pool. It will be a lot more than a "lid" full.
Kim
Taylor 1000-color test for FC=nope-I just don't like that test. The only thing it is good for is to see if there is any FC in the pool. The powder test is much better.
pH-then do what he wants as they are the ones holding the warranty card.
CYA-how to do the test on Saturday. GLANCE in to look for the dot. Do NOT look for the dot or you will see it. I pour from line to line starting with 100. Pour the mixture to 100, GLANCE in. See the dot? Pour to the next line then the next until you don't see the dot at a GLANCE. You can and should pour the mixture back and forth as many times as you need to learn the test. I am guessing your don't have much CYA in the water at all. A "lid" full is not much at all. Go play with your Pool Math app and see how much it says to bring the CYA from 0 to 30 for your size pool. It will be a lot more than a "lid" full.
Kim
Will do Kim.....will do full test tonight with results
Also have turned on the waterfalls and bubbler - hopefully that helps raise the pH
Also have turned on the waterfalls and bubbler - hopefully that helps raise the pH
Just ran the tests...
FC - 2
CC-0.5
TA - 120
pH-6.8
I assume I need to bring up my FC (did not check CYA as he put it this morning)
Am off to bed (after hardly having any sleep for the past 2 nights)
FC - 2
CC-0.5
TA - 120
pH-6.8
I assume I need to bring up my FC (did not check CYA as he put it this morning)
Am off to bed (after hardly having any sleep for the past 2 nights)
Yes boost it up for the day using liquid chlorine. With your low CYA it will burn off fast in the sun.
Kim
Kim
So I went to my local HEB and bought Bleach (it says 8.25% - does that mean in pool math I put 8.25% as strength of Chlorine?)....I poured half of the container (container size 121 oz) - also I decided to brush the pool....as i was brushing suddenly say like white particles in the deep end....kept thinking where did these come from...can it have come from the brush reacting with the Bleach? Did I mess things up?
Ran Chlorine DPD Test just now
FC - 2.5
CC - 0.5
Ran Chlorine DPD Test just now
FC - 2.5
CC - 0.5
Attachments
Nope you did good! We say to brush after adding chlorine to really mix things up good. Not sure what the white flakes were............lets think this through.....could it have been plaster dust? That is the reason for you brushing, to loosen the dust and get it up into the water so the filter can get it out of the water. You might have hit a patch you had not brushed before.
Kim
Kim
I have been brushing at least 3 times before - never saw this white plastic like particles floating - saw this after I had put the bleach - is it maybe from the bleach then? Did I use a wrong bleach?
Or can it be undissolved CYA powder?
Or can it be undissolved CYA powder?
That is good bleach as far as I know. It does not have any extra stuff in to so it should be good. Now the white stuff could be CYA........lets see what happens today.
Kim
Kim
Berger82
0
The bleach is fine. I also use HEB bravo. The flakes are most likely plaster dust. I didn't start seeing flakes until about the 5th day of brushing.
Thank you Berger82 and Kim....pool school has been postponed till next week (since the pool guy who was supposed to do it this week is having a baby tomorrow) - he however came yesterday and added 3/4 gallon of muriatic acid (I was not at home) - when I asked him if the pool does not need chlorine or cya - he said the levels are perfect (????).....I asked him if he took readings he gave me this:
"Chl roughly 2-3
ph roughly 7.8
cya roughly 40"
So when I came back last evening I took readings using the TF test kit
FC 2
CC 0.5
TA 100
Cya 20
pH 7.2
I shared it with him - and asked him if anyone was going to come and maintain the pool this week - he said - No - see you next week for pool school and will add the Racer for vacuuming- also asked him shouldn't the Chlorine be higher - his reply:
" Chemistry levels are perfect - the water is very fresh - don't want to bombard it with a ton of chemicals from the start - it is in great condition"
Surprised by his answer - shared it with my wife - she says he knows best as he does it for a living...
I assume I need to add Bleach till the pool school is done and I am handed the pool
On another note bought Bleach from Home Depot - a 3 pack was on sale of 9.84 plus tax - says on box Chlorine is 10%
I also am brushing the pool 2 times a day
"Chl roughly 2-3
ph roughly 7.8
cya roughly 40"
So when I came back last evening I took readings using the TF test kit
FC 2
CC 0.5
TA 100
Cya 20
pH 7.2
I shared it with him - and asked him if anyone was going to come and maintain the pool this week - he said - No - see you next week for pool school and will add the Racer for vacuuming- also asked him shouldn't the Chlorine be higher - his reply:
" Chemistry levels are perfect - the water is very fresh - don't want to bombard it with a ton of chemicals from the start - it is in great condition"
Surprised by his answer - shared it with my wife - she says he knows best as he does it for a living...
I assume I need to add Bleach till the pool school is done and I am handed the pool
On another note bought Bleach from Home Depot - a 3 pack was on sale of 9.84 plus tax - says on box Chlorine is 10%
I also am brushing the pool 2 times a day
You need to keep the levels where they should be or you may end up with algae in your brand new pool 
He is saying what he is saying because he is busy with the new baby. If he said he needed xyz then he would be on the hook for it.
He is saying what he is saying because he is busy with the new baby. If he said he needed xyz then he would be on the hook for it.
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2,400
- Pool Size
- 22000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I agree with Kim and would at least add 1/2 gallon of bleach... keep that FC up closer to 3 and wait for the rest...
Thank you - Will keep the FC close to 3 - should I also add cya (sock method) or should I wait till the pool school is done and I am handed the pool over officially?
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2,400
- Pool Size
- 22000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I wouldn't add anything other than bleach until the pool is turned over to you! Then I would do everything myself and I would want to know exactly what the PB has put in the pool...
i agree with Cliff but I would also keep an eye on the TA and pH as both of those are SO important to the new plaster.
Kim
Kim