Opening this weekend- new question

[Swordfish]

Hi everyone,

I've been using TFP since I bought my house with a pool in 2013. Great results...never an issue. Well, I overslammed previously and bleached my liner, but it was near its life end so it wasn't really a big deal. (Didnt check CYA assuming it would be there from previous year..so slammed with about 24ppm of bleach)

I had a new liner installed last summer. So this is my first year with a new liner and I want to ensure I do not bleach it.

Each year when I open, I have slightly green water and 0 CYA. I add stabilizer to bring up to 40 - 50 ppm (Its a Salt Water Pool) and bring to SLAM level of about 12ppm right away for just a day or two, and I pass the ONCLT. I then have a TFP all summer.

My concern is that if I'm really starting with 0 CYA, perhaps 12 ppm chlorine is too high to add simultaneously with CYA. Do I have to add CYA first and wait, with green water, for a length of time before beginning the SLAM? Again my primary concern is keeping the new liner looking good. What are your recommendations?

Thanks!!!

Swordfish

 

[CJadamec]

Once the CYA dissolves it is more or less instantly effective. Last time I added CYA I got an entire sock to dissolve in front of the return jet in about 4 hours. Dosing the pool to SLAM level while the CYA is dissolving should be a safe thing to do.

If you are really concerned wait for a couple of hours after adding the CYA to start adding the chlorine.

 

[Swordfish]

Interesting. I never had that kind of luck dissolving the CYA. I used to try the sock method, but it didnt work for me. Just clumped up. I now just put it in the skimmers directly and wait several days before backwashing. Some sits in the filter while some remains in the basket for some time.

 

[Richard320]

So don't go all the way to shock level until the CYA is dissolved. We say 10 FC is shock level for zero CYA. But realistically, 6 or 8 FC is going to be pretty potent without the buffering action of the CYA. So ease into it. Start killing algae immediately, just at a reduced pace, and then once the CYA is mostly dissolved, go full-throttle.

 

[Swordfish]

Thanks Richard! Those numbers sound like a great idea. If I can stay safe with 8 PPM until I get the CYA in, then that seems like the best path forward. I'll just have have to remember that if progress does start slowing down, to test the CYA and adjust the chlorine appropriately.

 

[splashpad]

... I've been using TFP since I bought my house with a pool in 2013 ...

Whoop! This will be easy

Each year when I open, I have slightly green water and 0 CYA. I add stabilizer to bring up to 40 - 50 ppm (Its a Salt Water Pool) and bring to SLAM level of about 12ppm right away for just a day or two, and I pass the ONCLT. I then have a TFP all summer.

Are you closing (stopping chlorine additions) AFTER the water is not getting above @60F in the fall and opening BEFORE the water temp is regularly at @60F in the spring?

I can only speak from closing & opening once (a tiny pool). But we followed that step with our tiny AGP and we added a final shock dose to our "baby" in Oct '17 and covered it up, we uncovered & opened to a sparkly blue pool in Apr '18. (once can certainly be a fluke)



I definitely understand the concern about the bleached liner. As already recommended, I would test CYA upon opening, dose as needed and proceed from there. Start that first day with "safety" dose of FC @10 (pulling the sample water for the rest of the tests before that dose)

 

[Swordfish]

Thanks. I actually try to open later than earlier. So that is probably why I start with some green water.

We have about 8 flowering pear trees around the pool, and they begin drop their small petals in mid May. I find it much easier to wait for those petals to drop on my cover and deal with green water then to deal with the volume of small petals in my pool and skimmers with clear water.

 

[Catanzaro]

I add stabilizer to bring up to 40 - 50 ppm (Its a Salt Water Pool)

Your CYA should be higher 60-70 ppm for a salt system. After your initial cleanup (as you will be backwashing), I would suggest raising CYA to 70 ppm.

How did you bleach your liner? Powdered shock or liquid chlorine? And if so, was the pump running all the time? After

 

[splashpad]

Thanks. I actually try to open later than earlier. So that is probably why I start with some green water.

Yup

We have about 8 flowering pear trees around the pool, and they begin drop their small petals in mid May. I find it much easier to wait for those petals to drop on my cover and deal with green water then to deal with the volume of small petals in my pool and skimmers with clear water.

Our neighbors have a HUGE Elm tree that is currently "flower girling" into our pool as I type, lol
We DO cover our pool during the summer use (either using a solar cover or leaf net, depending on forecast)
We now swear by the pool devil (it's a floating filter attachment for the return) =) it skims while the pump runs in addition to the skimmer and it saves a TON of work!
We also LOVE our leaf net

 

[Pool_Medic]

I’ve never heard of a liner being bleached by liquid chlorine or bleach. It happens a lot with cal hypo or a puck thrown into the pool. I have a piece of my liner that sat in 12% chlorine for months with zero effect.

I woukd get cya into that pool ASAP, half your chorine you add will be lost to the sun without it.

 

[Catanzaro]

I’ve never heard of a liner being bleached by liquid chlorine or bleach. It happens a lot with cal hypo or a puck thrown into the pool. I have a piece of my liner that sat in 12% chlorine for months with zero effect. I woukd get cya into that pool ASAP, half your chorine you add will be lost to the sun without it.

This is why I asked. One would assume that liquid chlorine in very high amounts would weaken the liner, fade it rapidly, not bleach it. Powder that has not dissolved or 3" tablets sitting on a surface for a long time will do the trick. Although, I did see a liner in where patches, not on the bottom where completely bleached out, more on the sides.

 

[Swordfish]

Perhaps fade the liner is a better description. You can see the amount of fading by looking at the color around skimmer opening.



Here is the new liner, complete with the frog invasion.




Anyway, I only ever use liquid chlorine. The first year I opened, I assumed I had CYA and it was 0. I added enough chlorine to raise to the suggested SLAM level for 70 cya... whatever that was. So I may have faded the liner. Although, it is entirely possible the the pool company that closed the pool the previous year (paid for by the seller as we were not closing on the house until November, and the house was vacant) faded the liner too. I watched them shock the pool prior to closing with a granular product. It was over that winter I found TFP and studied up for my first opening. Either way, it has been pretty smooth sailing so far. I just dont want to fade the new liner this year.

I know I should be @ 70-80 CYA. But each year, I make it up to about 50 and then I kind of forget about it. My SWG easily maintains 3-4 PPM FC, and the water looks great. But yeah...I think I'll shoot for the proper amount of CYA this year... the SWG is aging and it would be nice to turn it down a bit. I think I run it at about 70% with 50 CYA.

 

[splashpad]

... it is entirely possible the the pool company that closed the pool the previous year (paid for by the seller as we were not closing on the house until November, and the house was vacant) faded the liner too. I watched them shock the pool prior to closing with a granular product

This more then likely

 

[Catanzaro]

Liners will slowly fade over time, but evenly. There is no way around this. Although, keeping the pool balanced is a must. Adding liquid chlorine is very predictable. If you track your weekly results, you will get a feel of how much you loose on a day to day basis. Over the year, prior to switching to an SWG, my average daily loss with a little bit of activity was about 1.33 ppm daily through the hot months. Each week, I would adjust (usually skip) a day or more. My chlorine levels never really went over the recommended level. When I had company, in the morning, I added enough to raise the pool another 4 ppm. Not once did I shock the pool since joining TFP. Keeping levels where they are needed is one way to extend the life expectancy of any liner.

 

[Pool_Medic]

May I ask how you clean your pool? Looking at your pool, my guess would be you use a kreepy krawler. They are brutal on liners. I also believe light colored liners use vegetable dye, which fades by uv exposure.

 

[BMK]

Thanks. I actually try to open later than earlier. So that is probably why I start with some green water.

We have about 8 flowering pear trees around the pool, and they begin drop their small petals in mid May. I find it much easier to wait for those petals to drop on my cover and deal with green water then to deal with the volume of small petals in my pool and skimmers with clear water.

X2. After a few years with my previous pool, I learned that clearing up green water was the lesser of two evils.

 

[Swordfish]

May I ask how you clean your pool? Looking at your pool, my guess would be you use a kreepy krawler. They are brutal on liners. I also believe light colored liners use vegetable dye, which fades by uv exposure.

I only use a standard vacuum. Although, the previous owners had a crawler I think. So I can say that from 2013 to 2017, only a vacuum was used. New liner installed last August, and with a darker color liner due to the dye you mentioned. Hopefully this one is more colorfast over the years.

 

[Swordfish]

Opening went well. Brought FC to 8.5ppm and only .5ppm loss in 24 hours. Water temp was only 57F this year, so I'm sure that helped. This was the first year I still had CYA... it measured about 50 ppm...same as the end of last year. I will retest later this week when the sun is out and then bring it up to 80 ppm.

Thanks for the advice...I just wanted to ensure I didnt fade the new liner the first year with it. I was trying to upload a photo, but its 25kB to large. So instead, here you go! Photo

 

[splashpad]

Looks AWESOME!

 

[Swordfish]

X2. After a few years with my previous pool, I learned that clearing up green water was the lesser of two evils.

Perhaps this deserves a X4! Green water treated with Chlorine... easy. Rinsing out skimmer baskets every few hours ... PITA!

- - - Updated - - -

Looks AWESOME!

Thanks! Probably the cleanest opening I've had. However, I did get enjoyment out of opening to green pool on day 1 and having a great looking pool by the end of day 2. I feel like I was robbed this year. LOL... j/k .