New Pool Water Chemistry

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cbodie

cbodie

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Dec 1, 2015
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Damascus, Maryland
Just last Saturday our pool was re plastered and filled. The pool company owner told us they would mange the chemicals for the first three weeks and then turn the pool over to us all balanced. We thought that was good. So Saturday filled and nothing added, maybe stabilizer, not positive. There were 2 bottles of something on the pool deck but the water delivery guy didn’t know what it was he was told to add them with the fill, 20,000 gallons. Monday the pool technician came and added acid because the PH was off the charts. Hasn’t been back since. Tuesday I tested with the TFP kit. Ph off the chart, added 3/4 of a gallon of acid cause that’s all I had. TA was 70 of course 0 chlorine and 0 CYA CH was at 200. I did add some baking soda too. Pool is now super cloudy since it rained non stop all dayI today and has rained most of the days except yesterday. If they don‘t show up tomorrow I’m beginning to think this will be a real challenge to balance. However I was told by the Pool company and the pool store not to add anything to a newly plastered pool, just toss some pucks in to the skimmer, not even in the new chlorinator. I do have liquid chlorine on hand as well as muriatic acid. I don’t want to do anything that could be viewed by the Pool company as wrong or interfering. Any suggestions most definitely welcomed.
today
PH off the chart again
CYA 0
TA 90
CH 230
 
Read this. :)

www.troublefreepool.com

Start-up New Plaster

The first few months are the most criticle for a newly plastered pool. We're here to share best practices to ensure the plaster will last for many years.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

See if they have requirements for their warranty.
 
Interesting... I had no idea that the pH would rise due to the new plaster. I'm new to pool ownership, had it re-plastered in November, but thought the crazy pH spikes were because of the cold and rainy winter (cold for L.A. that is).

Yeah, I still have to dump Muriatic Acid in pretty regularly to tame the pH.
 
Today I added 1 gallon Muriatic acid in the morning. It may have been too much in light of the fact that it rained all day yesterday. When I tested I got a reading of 6.8 using the PH-009 (I) A Pen meter I got from TFT. My readings at the moment are :
PH: 6.8 I think that should be OK
CL : 1 1 chlorine puck in each skimmer
TA: 60
CC: 0
CH: 200
CYA: 0
I'm afraid to do anything else and the pool water looks green and cloudy. I was told by the pool builder no shock or high chlorine for first three weeks and they promised to maintain for 3 weeks. I just could not stand seeing the PH at over 8, I know for sure that's not good. I did stock up on acid and liquid chlorine. I also discovered they sold me chlorine from last season when I checked the date. I called them and the swapped it out for chlorine made this year. Look at the dates, I know they tried to pull a fast one.
I'm just wondering if anyone was told the same thing. No heater for 3 weeks to a month, no vacuuming, no slamming. Lots of brushing. I did show my contractor my brush which has nylon/stainless steel bristles and he said it was fine..
 
IceShadow said:
Read this. :)

www.troublefreepool.com

Start-up New Plaster

The first few months are the most criticle for a newly plastered pool. We're here to share best practices to ensure the plaster will last for many years.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

See if they have requirements for their warranty.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the link. I did read it and I guess all is in order. The temptation is there to do more but in reality there isn't much more to do. If I mess it up then it could void the warranty and it's too costly of a project to take a chance. Patience is key here so I'll wait until they decide to show up, for sure it will be on them to make the proper chemistry adjustments. In the meantime I am becoming an expert brusher.
 
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Dman77720 said:
Oh boy, my pool plaster is happening in the next few week so reading your trials is probably similar to looking in a crystal ball.
Click to expand...
Hi, I’m sure you have thought about it a lot and planned it. I thought we had. I do most of the maintenance on the pool and my husband just trusts me with it, but I am light years away from being good at it. The whole chemistry part of the pool has always challenged me but I’m going to give it my best shot this time. The company owner convinced us to get an in line chlorinator, wish we had bought the SWG, now he wants $2500.00 for it. That’s everything installed, Pentair. So if you’re doing all that and some equipment make sure you get all the little details dialed ahead of time. Good luck with your project I’m sure it will turn out great.
 
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Saturday my pool tech came over. They sent me the team I like because these 2 guys are really meticulous. He did add Trichlor pucks in the in line chlorinator. Poured 4 pounds of stabilizer granules in the skimmer, I honestly prefer the sock method. I bought the PH pen last year and I love it. No more guessing the PH it will tell you exactly what it is. Once they do turn the pool over to me I have the intention of using it minimally and instead using the liquid chlorine.
 
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Palpatine said:
Please tell me you're not talking about something like this: Amazon.com : Pentair R171096 Rainbow 320 Automatic In-Line Chlorine/Bromine Feeder For Pool And Spa : Swimming Pool Chemicals And Supplies : Garden & Outdoor for $2500

Edit: Nevermind, I think I misread what you said. I guess he wants $2500 for the SWG. Mine would be similar, maybe even a bit more, as I need to have a sub panel installed. Bummer cause I really wanted a SWG as well.
Click to expand...
It's the Intellichlor IC40. He says $2270.00 for that; which includes, the Pentair power center, necessary plumbing, electrical conections and initial doses of salt.. Plus $165.00 for an in-line zinc anode including all plumbing and electrical bonding connections. Total 2435.00. It's the only estimate I've had. I asked about the electricity part and he said since there are other things there that they can piggy back on one of those since the unit doesn't require it's own breaker. Maybe this information helps for the future. Like I said would love to have it but maybe if there's a winter sale or something then it might be a good time to do it. He Installed a King Technology Performax 940 for in line chlorination. Seems to be doing the job filled with Trichlor tabs at a # 4 setting and I'm getting a reading of 7 for FC. I think that's in a good range.
 
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I downloaded the app to keep track of the pool. It seems to work well and worth the few bucks it costs. The problem for me now is what to do with all that information. Between the rain and the new plaster I'm not sure if I should be constantly making adjustments. This morning's tests:
FC 8
CC .5
PH 7.2
CH: 225
TA: 140
CYA: 50
It seems to me I'm OK. Should I try to add some acid and lower the TA a little more, the pool guy put in 1/2 gallon of acid in the pool yesterday. Also on the app it wants you to enter your targets for each. I'm not entirely sure what to enter for a target. If my PH is at 7.2 and that's in the ideal range should I just leave that for the target ? Also my CYA at 50 I think is perfect, but with the Trichlor they put in the chlorinator I'm afraid it will change. I only have one more week and the pool company will hand the pool over, then I may just got to bleach. Any thoughts will be appreciated.
 
I would remove the trichlor tablets now to prevent your CYA from rising further, and switch to liquid chlorine.

I would also not worry about the TA right now. Your pH is currently low and you don't want it any lower. With new plaster, the pH will rise; wait for it. When it gets to 7.8 or 8.0, you can lower it back down with acid and with luck the TA will be reduced also.
 
Thank you. I was sort of thinking along those lines but wasn't too sure. I did test this morning and the CH was still a bit low. I found calcium chloride at the hardware store and it didn't have anything additional in it. Once I took my readings it called for 4 pounds and a little bit more so I added 4 lbs. I might take another reading tonight to see if there was a change. I'm still not sure how to interpret all these results.
FC 9.5 I think it's OK for now. We had flurries today!!!!
CC were .5 again today, not sure why they didn't register in the log.
PH 7.4 I think that's a good range
TA 140 sort of high so I went with the recommended addition of acid , hopefully it won't have a terible effect on PH.
CH 225 and I added a little below the recommended calcium chloride
CYA 50 I think good?
CSI -0.3 with water at 60 degrees F

From what I read it looks like I should expect frequent fluctuations due to the new plaster. There are Trichlor pucks in the in-line chlorinator
 
We have had the new plaster on the pool for 2 weeks. I've been testing daily and recently got the pool math app, which by the way is awesome. Although I was told that the new plaster was going to constantly drive the PH up it has remained fairly stable. Perhaps because the TA has been fairly high and I've been adding acid to bring it down. I'm at a point where I'm not sure what to do. I have also seen the FC go up and now we are at 11.5. Last night I set the dial to just under 2 on the in line chlorinator that is full of Trichlor tabs. I'd like to get this water a little more dialed in so any suggestions would be really appreciated. also I've read that I should wait much longer before using the heater because it would not be good for the plaster?
todays readings:
FC 11.5
cc .5
PH 7.1
TA 150
CH 300
CYA 50
water temp 58F CSI -0.45
 
What startup guide are you following? Follow the startup guide for the first 30 days then transition to TFP guidelines...


Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Why no heater use for first 30 days? With new plaster there is a lot of plaster dust in the water and the pH is usually very high. When you heat water the potential for scale formation in the heater increases significantly. The actual timeframe for waiting to use the heater has no real merit. As long as the plaster dust is under control and the pH is in range there is no reason not to use it. Your risk of rushing to use the heater is scale clogging up the heater coil.
 
I see you are currenlty using the in-line chlorinator. What are your long term chlorine plans?

I ask because your CYA is already at 50 and prolonged use of trichlor will continue to increase the CYA.
 

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