New pool just handed over!

[OrangeAndBlue]

Hi all - I've been lurking here for a little while and reading through the various articles and threads to educate myself, and now as of earlier today I just finally and "officially" became a pool owner myself when the builder just handed it over to me. I've been happy with the Builder overall and the handover meeting focused mostly on the mechanics, which is what I cared to learn the most anyway. Surprisingly he hardly got into the chemistry side of things.... he never even measured CH in the new plaster pool the entire time as far as I could tell . But I couldn't resist to start playing with my new TF-100 since it was filled 2 weeks ago to get a feel for it, so I had been measuring it anyway. Shortly after filling, the pH and TA both shot waay up and I added some acid to bring it down, but otherwise I have left it alone during the startup period (aside from daily brushing the first week, and keeping some chlorine tablets in the skimmer). pH was 8.2+ and TA was 160 at the high point and both have come down a bit now.

So here's where I'm at now (the Builder added salt just yesterday and turned on the SWCG today):
FC = 5.5 (CC = 0)
pH = 7.5 (I really struggle matching the shades of red comfortably on this test)
TA = 130
CH = 225
CYA = just over 20
Salt = 3420 (using AquaCheck strip)
The water is cold - about 56 degrees F.

My fill water out of the tap is as follows: FC = 4.5, CC = 0, pH = 7.5, TA = 140, CH = 250, CYA = 0.

It's winter so we don't plan to do much swimming for a few months but I do plan to keep the pool open and use the spa year around. In fact, I hope to sit in the spa quite a bit around Christmas and New Year in a few weeks. So basically, I want to get the water comfortable to use now in the next week or so. What do you think should be the priority?
Given the cold water do you think I need to worry about getting the CYA up much right now? Is it critical to get the CH up higher quickly? What about the high TA - I don't have an aerator at the moment but I suppose I can run the spa blower for a while?
The pH seems okay right now (if I read it right) but I'm definitely noticing that the skin on my hand feels really dry after I stick it in the pool, especially compared to the hand that I did not stick in the water. What else could cause this?
Finally, should I expect anything to fluctuate on its own right now as the salt was just added and while the plaster continues to finish curing?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

As your CYA is very low, your FC could be irritating to your skin. I would suggest getting your CYA solidly at 30 or just above and then following the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA].

At that water temperature most SWCG 's shut down. So watch out for that and use liquid chlorine (bleach) during the winter.

With the pH test, try using just 4 drops of indicator to see if the colors are better for you. Be sure to use a white card or paper plate as a background. Sunshine is better than artificial light.

As you add acid to lower your pH (your curing plaster will drive it up) your TA will come down. Your CH is OK as your fill water is pretty hard. But if you get a lot of rain and overflow from the pool stay aware that CH needs to stay above 250 ppm to protect your plaster.

Take care.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP and congrats on the new pool! A couple other things I would highlight and consider:
- For the bleach, make sure to use HEB's regular Bravo or Walmart's regular Great Value if you shop locally.
- Definitely keep the muriatic acid handy as your plaster will be curing for a few months. Keep the pH in the mid-7s and you should be fine. If you chose to address the TA (only because it causes pH to rise too fast), you can follow the TFP Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity page for more.
- The tablets are okay for now. They are acidic which will help keep the pH from climbing too fast, and increase your low CYA (they have stabilizer too) so it's okay for a couple months or so. But take them out of the skimmer ASAP and use either an in-line chlorinator or a floater - never directly in the skimmer basket (too harsh).

The tests and shades can take a little practice, but you'll get it. Let us know if you have anymore questions.

 

[OrangeAndBlue]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I will slowly try to get the CYA up closer to recommended SWG range now at first and I picked up some muriatic acid to be ready to maintain the pH as well. I'll pick up a floater so I can use some tablets through the winter as I'm sure the SWG will shut off soon, I figure that should help slowly raise the CYA a bit also.
I've got a sock with a pound of stabilizer dangling in front of one of the returns now. I put that in last night and turned on the pump to what I thought was manual mode so that it would run continuously regardless of the timer setting, but it was off this morning so clearly I have yet to learn how to properly use the control unit. PB set the timers for the pump to run every day from 8am-12 (with cleaner) and 6-10pm (without cleaner), so I guess it must have shut off at 10pm. Given my pool specs, does anyone have a recommendation for a good time to run the pump daily this time of year in the Houston area - does it matter at all whether it's during night or day or is it all up to personal preference?

I saw CH increasers are really expensive and I would need a lot of it to get my water up to the recommended range per pool math. De-icers are surely much less expensive, but is that even available down here? What do others in Texas use and where can you buy it?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Texas Splash]

Pump run time varies based on amount of surface debris required to get pulled and things like SWG use (FC production). There's no one rule. You can visit the TFP Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time page for more details. Since our water is chilly this time of year and the sun is at a low angle, FC consumption is quite low. If/when your SWG stops, small additions of bleach should work well. In addition, there is not the same demand to have a really elevated CYA (i.e. 70 minimum) for your SWG that you would normally have in the peak of summer. So even if you increase CYA to about 40 or so that should be okay for now in the cooler months. Remember, it's always easier to add stabilizer (CYA) than remove it. As for calcium products, you can do a quick search on the site and you'll see several places that sell calcium products that I'm sure will work for you.

 

[cfherrman]

Use cal hypo, adds fc and ch