Newbie..1st Pool....Just purchased house with IG pool....hasnt been used in 2-3 Years

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ashtonbritney

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Bronze Supporter
Jul 31, 2018
74
Albemarle, NC
Hi All,
First, this site is great and I have doing lots of reading and have some pretty good ideas. Everyone is super friendly and helpful! Second, I want to say thank you for any help, comments or suggestions you have!

We don't move for another 2 weeks so I have some time to get everything ready/purchased and planned. My kids are asking when the pool will be ready already! Anyways...The pool is 18x36 10ft in deep and 4ft shallow(the best I could measure) 33,000 gallons. Sand filter. I ordered a TF100 kit, skimmers, brushes.

Ok...here goes the newbie questions....whats the first steps? I have read a ton but dont know where to start since its so black and gross. The pump was inspected and we could get it to work by sticking a house down the skimmer since the water was below it but thats all. Its now filled(it has a separate well pump just for the pool) Do I shock first, then clean filter? Do I clean first, then shock? Do I clean, drain a significant amount then shock....? See pics.

Any recommendations and pointers greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jason
 

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Hi, welcome to TFP! First I would have the pool water and the water from the well tested for metals. It helps to know what you are facing at the start. Your new kit doesn't test for metals so I would take those samples to a pool store. What ever they try to sell you, don't buy it. Post the results here and we can advise what to do next.

You can also go ahead and deep clean your sand filter. Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter It probably has a lot of gunk in there.

About how long did it take the well to top off the pool? How long ago did you order the test kit?
 
Do they know what the source of the Ecoli was? Did they test for iron or copper? Iron and copper are the most likely metals in a pool, and could be present. Iron is common in well water, and copper is a common ingredient in algaecides. If the previous owner used copper algaecides the copper will remain in the water and cause stains on the liner and it is what turns light colored hair green.
 
zea3 said:
Do they know what the source of the Ecoli was? Did they test for iron or copper? Iron and copper are the most likely metals in a pool, and could be present. Iron is common in well water, and copper is a common ingredient in algaecides. If the previous owner used copper algaecides the copper will remain in the water and cause stains on the liner and it is what turns light colored hair green.
Click to expand...

Good questions....They dont know the source but think its from when the pumps were replaced 2 years ago. I believe they tested for other metals but the report only shows positives but I will have to specifically ask them.
 
Clean the filter, remove any debris you can see and get to in the pool and wait for your test kit. Doing anything else might be a waste of time and money without knowing what is in your pool. If you well water does have metals in it, you might start looking for a RV water filter. I think I remember reading they will do a good job at removing the metals.
 
Oh yeah.....count me in for a good swamp to oasis story! But only if you're gonna keep feeding my <scratch scratch> habit with more pics, k?

Now this well water isn't anything you use in the house, right? That coliform and E.coli are troublesome. I have no idea how you decontaminate a well?

That the pool is holding water is always a good sign. Got a pic of the equipment pad? Any questions about that stuff??

Maddie :flower:
 
Welcome to TFP...

These folks will have your swamp converted in no time! Find out as much as you can about the equipment (brand and model numbers) take more pics. The best wat to be able to add pics is through supporting TFP (see link below in my signature)...not pushing for that just showing an easy way :)
 
Looking forward to the oasis! I am heading to the property this week and will take some pictures of the pool and pump/equipment. Hopefully I will have the water test results to share. The property has 2 well pumps (pool/yard well is 300+feet deep. The well/water inspector is going to shock it using some kind of commercial disinfectant and bleach. You have to let it sit for 24hrs and then flush until tested clean. A little worried about it actually but the well guy said you a majority have some kind of contamination and not worry. The wife is already working with a plumber to put in a whole house water filter...as she said, "I am not playing games with the water". Quick question for everyone. Would the Lamotte 2056 ColorQ work as well as the TF100? I am partially color blind so the wife will be doing most of the water testing but wanted to see if the Lamotte would be good enough for me to use? (BTW...just made a donation :) )
 

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ashtonbritney said:
Quick question for everyone. Would the Lamotte 2056 ColorQ work as well as the TF100? I am partially color blind so the wife will be doing most of the water testing but wanted to see if the Lamotte would be good enough for me to use? (BTW...just made a donation :) )
Click to expand...

Really, no. Here are some experiences:

Test Kit Comparison

ColorQ vs TF100

Thanks for the donation. It helps to keep the lights on this place.
 
With the TF-100 your wife can do the tests with you a time or two, and even with color blindness you should be able to tell the difference in color change. So even if it goes from gray to clear or something, you should be able to "get it".

Maddie :flower:
 
Hi All!
We close in a week! Getting excited for the new house and getting the pool ready. Took some pictures of the pump/heater and have the first test results


FC 0.0
CC 0.1
PH 7.8
TA 37
CH 145
CYA 1

Suggestions on starting SLAM and Pump/Heater thoughts? Local pool store says to do the following: 6lbs of Lo'NSlo to lower Ph, 25lbs of Burnout3, 1qt of Banish
 

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Are those your test results?

Once you post your test results, we can provide some guidance.

Take care.
 
ashtonbritney said:
Hi All!
We close in a week! Getting excited for the new house and getting the pool ready. Took some pictures of the pump/heater and have the first test results


FC 0.0
CC 0.1
PH 7.8
TA 37
CH 145
CYA 1

Suggestions on starting SLAM and Pump/Heater thoughts? Local pool store says to do the following: 6lbs of Lo'NSlo to lower Ph, 25lbs of Burnout3, 1qt of Banish
Click to expand...

Are those tests results from your test kit or a pool store?

The pool store recommendations are garbage. Your PH is fine. That TA reading does not make sense and is likely wrong. All your pool needs now is liquid chlorine/bleach and CYA.

But before you start playing chemist you need to get a test kit as recommended above.
 
Unfortunately, these are results are from the pool store. I havent received my TF-100 kit yet. I should have ordered it from here. I have been told its on back order so Monday I am going to see if I can cancel my order from cayman pools and get one from here. I asked if I should have drained it but the recommendation was not to just SLAM it and clean it. The pump, filter, and heater seem small and a little rough when you look at it but the filter ran well when tested.
 
I am afraid to recommend adding CYA until you get your own kit and can do a FC test protocol to check for ammonia.

Be sure you ordered a TF100. Not sure TFTestkits sells through Cayman Pools.
 

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