replaster with StoneScapes mini-pebble, check my fill water readings

[scchan1w]

Hi - my replaster will be tomorrow with StoneScapes mini-pebble and I just checked my fill water readings with the TF100 kit.

FC 1.0
CC 0
PH 8.0
CH 100
TA 120
CYA 0

NPT web site says to adjust TA to 80 first with muriatic acid on day 1 and then adjust PH between 7.2 and 7.6 with muriatic acid as well in days 1-2. Then adjust CH to a minimum of 150 with CaCl on day 3. On day 4 and beyond, adjust FC to 1.5 to 3.0 and CYA to 30-50. I'm not sure how much help my pool remodeler will be in the water balancing, so I though I would ask for suggestions here.

How does my fill water look? Any major concerns? And does NPT give the right startup procedure? Where is the best place to get muriatic acid, CaCl, CYA. I plan to get liquid chlorine and muriatic acid from Home Depot. Thank you.

 

[HermanTX]

How does my fill water look? Any major concerns? And does NPT give the right startup procedure? Where is the best place to get muriatic acid, CaCl, CYA. I plan to get liquid chlorine and muriatic acid from Home Depot.

Your fill water is typical - meaning not too high in Calcium and a reasonable TA. Sometimes Calcium can be extremely high so great that yours is a little low that you can control. You can purchase Calcium Increaser and CYA at Home Depot as well - it all together in the pool section. Remember that CYA is called Stabilizer.

Your replaster company should provide you a start up guide and was there any commitment by them to assist in the water chemistry stated in the contract? If not then following the NPT product info is the best as they developed your plaster. Has the replaster company indicated how the warranty will be set up - they should provide you information to register at NPT or they will register for you. Just curious - did you verify that the replaster company is an authorized installer of the NPT Stonescapes Mini Pebble?

 

[scchan1w]

Your fill water is typical - meaning not too high in Calcium and a reasonable TA. Sometimes Calcium can be extremely high so great that yours is a little low that you can control. You can purchase Calcium Increaser and CYA at Home Depot as well - it all together in the pool section. Remember that CYA is called Stabilizer.

Your replaster company should provide you a start up guide and was there any commitment by them to assist in the water chemistry stated in the contract? If not then following the NPT product info is the best as they developed your plaster. Has the replaster company indicated how the warranty will be set up - they should provide you information to register at NPT or they will register for you. Just curious - did you verify that the replaster company is an authorized installer of the NPT Stonescapes Mini Pebble?

Thanks so much! I just got chlorine, muriatic acid, and stabilizer at homedepot. Ordered calcium and sequestering agent from amazon. My remodeler said they would fill and monitor for every day for 5 days. I'll keep an eye on everything and then take over thanks to all the help here. They said they use NPT pebble material but do their own warranty. They are a lowest cost, high volume outfit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BD6MFO4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon.com : GLB 71016A-02 Sequa-Sol Sequestering Agent Pool Stain Preventer, 1-Quart, 2-Pack : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : GLB 71016A-02 Sequa-Sol Sequestering Agent Pool Stain Preventer, 1-Quart, 2-Pack : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

 

[HermanTX]

Couple of other items regarding your new fill.
If you are unsure of your pool volume, you can take note of your water meter directly before they start to fill and directly after you turn off the water.
Also, wrap the hose in a towel or sock so the metal end of the hose does not lay on the new plaster. Put it in the deepest part of pool.
Once you start the fill - do not stop until level is in middle of water tiles. You could cause a ring to form if you stop it on the plaster.
Good Luck and happy you know who is supposed to do what on the chemical side.
Remember to brush daily once pool is filled and keep circulation going to remove plaster dust from settling.

 

[scchan1w]

Good suggestion on checking the water meter. I calculated that one hose would fill at a rate of 9 GPM, so I'm estimating 50 hours to fill the approximately 30K gallon pool. I might be off on the 30K gallon estimate, so the meter could help check, though I'd need to subtract the roughly 300 GPD that my family uses!

 

[scchan1w]

NPT recommended getting TA to 80 on Day 1, so I added acid to try to bring it down, but it hasn't moved much. I added 128oz in 3 batches and waited 2-3 hours with some brushing before testing. Since 128oz only moved TA by 10 ppm and barely moved PH, I'm wondering how much acid I'd need to bring it to 80. I want to get TA to 80 and PH to 7.2-7.6 cause that what NPT recommends before adjusting CH. I want to raise CH as soon as possible to avoid taking any calcium out of the plaster, but the suggestion to adjust TA/PH first is preventing me from adding CaCl. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Fill water:
FC 1.0
PH 8.0+
CH 100
TA 120
CYA 0

Day 1 after adding 128oz muriatic acid (14.5%)
FC 1.0
PH 8.0
TA 110
CH: 100
CYA: did not test

 

[HermanTX]

Well according to Pool Math (the app) for 30k gals and adding 128oz of 14.5% MA you will lower TA by 8.3 and pH by 0.5
So I say the acid did what is was designed to do. If you use 31.45% MA you would expect to lower TA by 17ppm and pH by 1 for the save 128oz.
You have a big body of water so suggest you up the % of MA and buy 6-7 gallons as you will need it over time.
FYI - 3 gals of 31.45% should lower TA by 50ppm and pH by 3.1 - you do not want to sink your pH that much at once so be careful.
If you do not have PoolMath - suggest you get it and look at the "effects of Adding" on the menu.

 

[scchan1w]

Thank you! You're right, the pool math app is matching my pool. The web page doesn't make sense. It says PH 8.0 needs 214 oz of 14.5% acid to lower PH 7.2. There's no way 214 oz of acid will bring the PH down based on what I see from adding 128oz of acid.

 

[HermanTX]

Well in your original post you indicated pH was 8+ - so it was not an accurate number because of limitation of your comparator.
It did drop to 8 so there was some change. In Pool Math it states that when pH is high above 8 or low below 7.2 the Effects of Adding are only approximate. The thing is once you have pH in the range of 7.2 to 7.8 the rate of change is slower for a given addition of MA. For 30k gal pool, and adding 214 oz of 14.5% MA will drop the pH approximately 0.9 and TA by 14ppm. So what you calculated is in the same ballpark. I would split the doses of MA and test 30-60mins after each application to monitor how your pH declines.

 

[HermanTX]

Check this out. This explains the effects on pH when you have a high TA.