Results two years and two court dates later

Okay thanks for that information.
Then well water means that it is probably good for filling this plaster pool because it probably contains sufficient alkalinity and calcium which will be good for the plaster.
The only minor concern is if the well water contains some iron in it. So don't add any chlorine to it. Leave that to the contractor to deal with as he indicated.
 
call the local water department
It was filled from our well but I now have a test kit and here are two pics showing PH. As you can see, the spa is more out of wack(technical term) than the pool. It may be due to the size or that I have had to add well water to the spa due to water levels dropping each day. Given this, is there anything I can do prior to them doing startup which I don't know will happen and with no pump online?

PS: Just over 12k gallons total

Spa
IMG_1592.jpg

Pool

IMG_1593.jpg
 
Situation is that the pool and spa were supposed to have two different water pumps (per contract) When the plumber came, he said only one pump could be used because they were not plumbed separately and that they would be controlled through the use of valves. Don't know if it's the drains or returns that are shared?

We have a heat pump and the plan was to be able to heat just the spa and not the pool. I don't see how without the spa and pool being plumbed independently, how only one could be heated without having to heat the other. Am I missing something?
 
We have a heat pump and the plan was to be able to heat just the spa and not the pool. I don't see how without the spa and pool being plumbed independently, how only one could be heated without having to heat the other. Am I missing something?
Add what automation you have to your signature. Also specific equipment models, etc. Pictures of your equipment pad will also help. It is very likely through the manipulation of a couple valves, you can run the spa in a separate mode to heat it only.
 

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Pool and spa are plumbed connected and your valves will control whether you are circulating in pool only, spa only, or jointly when in spillway mode. You don't need a second pump to accomplish this. A second pump for features might be what you were contracting for? Heat pump for just the spa mode might raise issue with amount of run time needed in spa mode only if you are planning to near-constant heat it.
 
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Add what automation you have to your signature.
I added some additional information in the signature. Pictures below but none of the pipes are labeled. Related to the equip, I currently have a 200sf cartridge filter but it will be swapped out for a C4030 or equivalent.
If the valves are set to "switch" from pool to spa, and when in spa mode, only the spa is getting circulation
Would that mean that the pool would not longer have any water flowing in/out when in spa mode?
Heat pump for just the spa mode might raise issue with amount of run time needed
I just want to be able to warm the water up some, not high heat like a hot tub. And possibly raise the temp on the pool early spring or in the fall.

I am confused as to if either the inlets or the drains from the pool and spa were sharing a pipe back to the equip pad, how I could heat one and not the other. What am I missing?

Pictures below of the pipes/equipment along with the pool up and running for startup.
IMG_1598.jpgIMG_1605.jpgIMG_1606.jpg
 
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Looking good! Glad you got some power and can circulate. The sharing, or not sharing, of the pool and spa plumbing is all at the pad. Notice the number of drain feeds to your single suction line going into the pump and number of return feeds going out from your HP. By valve settings at pad, during spa mode, water will only circulate in spa. HP can either be on or off as desired.
 
Your valve actuators have not been installed. Your OmniPL automation will control those. Once that is all installed, post up any questions after the pool builder goes over the system.
 
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The sharing, or not sharing, of the pool and spa plumbing is all at the pad.
I am wondering if it all lands at the pad, why could they not have used the additional pump that was supposed to be dedicated to the spa?
Your valve actuators have not been installed. Your OmniPL automation will control those. Once that is all installed, post up any questions after the pool builder goes over the system.
I have them in the boxes along with the controller which will be done whenever the electrician comes. I'm sure I'll have questions later.

On another topic, before they powered up the pump and put in some chemicals we had a PH of 7 and TA of 40 and you could see to the bottom everywhere. They added some calcium carbonate, baking soda, 1 gal of 12% clorine, and put in chlorine pellets in the skimmers. Today, the ph is up to 8, TA 200, Calcium hardness 200, Free Chlorine 3.8, No combined Chlorine and the water is very cloudy. He left the pump at max and wants to run it like that for a month which seems like overkill to me. The waterfall is running constantly and the bubblers are active. Will the ph change that quickly? Yesterday we needed soda and today we need muratic acid. Makes me think we could have done without the soda since the aeration of the water was going to raise the ph anyway.

A couple questions, why would the water be cloudy after being shocked yesterday? Will adding muratic acid be an ongoing thing if we use the waterfall, bubblers or deck jets? Are there any health issues with adding the acid? It doesn't sound too healthy to be swimming in something that can dissolve cement.
 
Will adding muratic acid be an ongoing thing if we use the waterfall, bubblers or deck jets?

Yes, aeration caused pH to rise rapidly which then needs to be lowered with acid.

Are there any health issues with adding the acid?

No. It is well diluted and dispersed with less then 1 gallon in over 12,000 gallons of water
.
It doesn't sound too healthy to be swimming in something that can dissolve cement.

A pool is a chemical soup to start with.
 
I am wondering if it all lands at the pad, why could they not have used the additional pump that was supposed to be dedicated to the spa?
If you can sufficiently run pool separately, spa separately, or both together with one pump, a second pump would just be added cost for a pump you don't need. You have one filter and one chlorinator, and only one pump at a time could use them separately anyway and then they couldn't be permanently independent systems, so it doesn't matter its the same pump when in pool mode as when in spa mode.
 
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You have one filter and one chlorinator
I have never thought about that. The good thing is that I upgraded a 1.85 single speed to a 2.7 variable speed. So at least I have more available capacity now than I would have.
Not sure I like that one
Why not? Destruction of plastic baskets? It was probably done because they won't come bur every 3-4 days or so to check.
A pool is a chemical soup to start with.
My wife will like hearing that:)
 
Once they get your plumbing labeled with flow and function, and your automation set up, it's going to pay off greatly for you to fully understand the plumbing system and control of it. Don't let them rush you through the schooling on this. It'll be a few days before you start to see improved water color and condition.
 

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