New to both: Pool Owner and TFP

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tshepball

tshepball

0
Dec 28, 2016
29
Fort Worth, TX
Hello,

PB completed our pool Thanksgiving week and has been in control of water chemistry. We signed up to have them stay in control with their week cleaning and chemicals but now I am having 2nd thoughts about letting them do something I can do with the advice of TFP! I have not been happy with their weekly service (not emptying skimmers or vacuuming pool....as promised). I have been using the test kit they provided and used the Pool Calculator today to add 48 oz of muriatic acid. I am ordering the TF100 test kit today and will start using it.

I was told by PB to run the pump 23 hours a day for the first 30 days to break pump in.....Now that the 30 days has passed, how many hours should I run the pump each day?

Thanks for any and all replies and look forward to all information this site has available.
 
Welcome to TFP.

Yes you can take over your pool care yourself. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you will gain confidence quickly.

First off, great that you ordered a very good test kit. Start off by reading the Getting Stated under the Pool School tab at top. And then continue reading. Once the kit arrives, you can work on getting every thing balanced.

As for the pump time. The minimum you need to run is the amount necessary to sanitize the pool. I am not personally familiar with your system, but see it comes in a couple of sizes - a version rated for 20,000 gallons and another for 40,000 gallons. Do you know which you have? With salt water chlorine generators (SWG) many here, myself included, recommend getting one rated for 2x your pool size if possible. For example, I had a unit rate for 20,000 gallons for my 19,000 gallon pool. When peak summer heat/sun happened, it was not sufficient even at 100% setting running 24 hours/day. So again, at a minimum you will need to figure out the minimum time based upon sanitizing the pool.

The maximum run time is up to you and can be based upon things like if you get a lot of things in your pool, if you like the water flow, if there are water features you want to run while in pool, ... When it is peak summer, I will run my variable speed pump 24/7 (at night I run with fountains to cool off pool) and I like the circulation of the water. So after sanitizing, it becomes more of a preference thing.

Again, welcome and enjoy your pool!
 
"I was told by PB to run the pump 23 hours a day for the first 30 days to break pump in....."

Out of all the things you thought you'd never hear from a pool builder (and we've heard some doozies).................^^^^....this is an absolute first I think! Welcome to the forum.
 
Someone much more technically adept than I can explain feet of head to you or you can do a forum search for threads.......................but.....................we don't give any creedence to making sure your water "turns over" once a day or whatever time period you pick. As long as your water stays clear and the surface is skimmed as much as you like, that's your pools' happy spot. Two to 3 hours per day this time of year is sufficient to keep chemicals mixed and such. I usually run 7 to 8 hours in the heat of summer with run times split on a timer.
 
I can help you with the tests and such. In fact I am going to share the set to links I have set up for new pool owners:

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Take it slow and easy. It is a LOT of info but will all start to sink in when you start using it.

Kim:kim:
 

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Lower the SWG percentage or turn it off for a few days.

The rest looks fine. Once the pH rises above 7.8 lower it to 7.2 and repeat as needed to lower the TA. A TA of 60-70 should serve you well but you don't need to be in a hurry to get there.
 
The SWG chlorine production is cut off based on water temperature and given your ambient temps, I would expect the water to be very cold as well. Most cells cut off around 55 degrees but I am unfamiliar with yours.

Your chlorine level will decrease if you aren't adding any additional chlorine but it will be very slow this time of year. It could take a couple weeks for your chlorine level to fall by half of your current level.
 
kimkats said:
I can help you with the tests and such. In fact I am going to share the set to links I have set up for new pool owners:

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Take it slow and easy. It is a LOT of info but will all start to sink in when you start using it.

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...


Thank you so much for the links!
 
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