Hi All my Name is Kenny Rosa, from Brooksville, FL, 14 day new pool owner of a 14x28 with a hot tube. Learning the process of how to maintain crystal clear swimming pool water.
Kenny,
Welcome to TFP from Palm City Florida! You've come to the right place at the right time. Many people struggle with pool service and pool store failures before they find us. I found TFP after I quit traveling and had time to do my own pool. I didn't know exactly how to do it right but I knew enough that pool service knew even less than me. It only took a couple of days to get the hang of it and after a few weeks of kind oversight from experts on here like @kimkats and others I was off and running. That was back around 2015. The people that got me started are all still here and there are over 200,000 people using TFP methods now. The stuff you'll read from Pat above is all based on sound science and it's dirt cheap to do since you normally don't need anything except cheap chemicals from big box stores. If you need more TFP will tell you. Also, and one thing that I have always valued about TFP is they don't sell anything. Advice is never conflicted and no pool store can make that claim. If you decide to go TFP please do get a recommended test kit asap.Test Kits Compared. You need on to do TFP and there are a lot of places to buy one.
I hope this is helpful.
thanks, i just received a taylor k2006S test kit today, its only 14 days since we filled the pool im so excited i can maintain it so far and yes i will learn from here as i will make it priority to post here my question when in doubt.
thanks i have read it few times and will continue to read it.Welcome to TFP!
Pool Care Basics Archives
Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!www.troublefreepool.com
thanksSee that CSI number? That is what you look at. Yeah the CH is a bit high but the other things balance it out so you are all good!
Yes i have clean the cartridge often, i have the k-2006SIf you don't have a speed stir in your test kit, you may want to consider getting one. It makes it easier to perform tests like the calcium hardness test that requires constant swirling while conducting the test. Your fill water should be much softer (lower in calcium content) than your test results indicate. That could be due to the fact that you have new plaster, testing error, extra calcium has been added to your pool, or a combination of any and all of these. While your plaster is curing you should be brushing the pool every day to loosen plaster dust so it may be filtered out of the water. If your calcium truly is that high you need a plan to safely lower the calcium content. Have you cleaned your filter cartridge since starting the pool? It should be cleaned whenever there is a 25% rise above a clean pressure reading.
You can lower calcium content slowly by draining 2-3 inches of water at a time and replacing it with fresh water. Take advantage of any expected heavy rains by draining a couple of inches before a storm and using rainwater to top off the pool. It may take several months to work down the calcium level with very small drain and refill cycles. Keep a close eye on your pH level and try and keep it around 7.2 to prevent scale formation.