Not sure what this is on my stairs and walls and it does not want to come off.

[ajw22]

Is it normal to have 3 hydrostatic plugs + 2 relief valves? I can't tell if I have valves in the main drain here or if they are just plugged....

What you have is a normal gunite pool bottom setup.

The red circled plugs relieve underground water pressure and prevent the pool from popping out of the ground when drained. They were left open when the pool was built until final plaster and the pool filled.

Then you have the two inlets for your main drain on the floor.

 

[Smehltrett]

Thanks for explaining! I just ordered a couple replacement plugs for it they were not fun to get out basically destroyed them

 

[Sanford35000]

Pool paint sucks.

It's low VOC paint that dissolves in water.

There are many different types of pool paint. Water based acrylic pool paint dissolves in water. Synthetic rubber pool paint does not. Epoxy paint does not.

 

[1poolman1]

There are many different types of pool paint. Water based acrylic pool paint dissolves in water. Synthetic rubber pool paint does not. Epoxy paint does not.

They all deteriorate, just some faster than others. You'll know when the paint starts coming off or turns to chalk that it is time for a do over.

 

[Smehltrett]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help all. I am almost to finish line now, another two feet of water to go on the refill. I ended up doing as light of an acid wash as I could since the plaster seems to be thin in areas. Probably not the best choice but the brown staining had to go and I didn't want to lock my self into paint. I think I can get by for a little while now and just save for a proper renovation.

 

[dfwnoob]

Looks good, and that's the way I would have gone, too. My pool was built in '06 and has lots of plaster damage and stains from 15 years of morons "taking care" of it. As much as I hate the "no, my pool isn't dirty, the plaster is just stained from idiots in the past" conversation with new people who come over, I know I'll be much happier in a few years when I drop the cash on a replaster. Plus, as soon as they feel how nice the water is compared to "spotless" pools they've been in, they stop caring.

 

[JamesW]

It came out really well.

I would have tried sulfamic acid before the drain and refill because it is less damaging to the plaster than an acid wash.

 

[zea3]

It looks nice! Did you ever find out what the calcium level of your fill water is?

 

[Smehltrett]

I did I got a reading of around 250 when testing the water direct from the spigot. However with the pool full my first test came back 325 so I'm not really sure how it changed that much from the water i tested from the hose the other day. My TA is pretty Dang high too 180. Might need to retest tomorrow maybe I'm just tired and messing stuff up

 

[zea3]

The calcium test is a little tricky if you are using a drop based test. You have to keep swirling the tube while adding and counting the drops to get an accurate reading. Also if you were not able to drain 100% of the old water and it had high calcium levels that could account for the change in the result from plain tap water to pool water. Calcium does not evaporate out, but remains behind and the calcium level becomes more concentrated as water evaporates out and is replaced.

A high TA will usually correspond with a high pH level. When the TA is high pH rises more quickly. If there are high calcium concentrations in the water the high pH will cause the calcium to fall out of solution and deposit on the surface of the pool, which may have been the staining you were seeing on your plaster. Try to get the TA between 70 and 90 and try to keep the pH between 7.0 and 7.5, the closer to 7.0 the better. This will keep any calcium in solution so it doesn't deposit on your plaster.

 

[Smehltrett]

The calcium test is a little tricky if you are using a drop based test. You have to keep swirling the tube while adding and counting the drops to get an accurate reading. Also if you were not able to drain 100% of the old water and it had high calcium levels that could account for the change in the result from plain tap water to pool water. Calcium does not evaporate out, but remains behind and the calcium level becomes more concentrated as water evaporates out and is replaced.

A high TA will usually correspond with a high pH level. When the TA is high pH rises more quickly. If there are high calcium concentrations in the water the high pH will cause the calcium to fall out of solution and deposit on the surface of the pool, which may have been the staining you were seeing on your plaster. Try to get the TA between 70 and 90 and try to keep the pH between 7.0 and 7.5, the closer to 7.0 the better. This will keep any calcium in solution so it doesn't deposit on your plaster.

I guess that magnetic stirrer wasn't as gimmicky as I thought . Thanks for the advice I am going to get some more acid today and try to bring my TA under control

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I guess that magnetic stirrer wasn't as gimmicky as I thought .

I thought the same thing. Now, I couldn't imagine testing without it.