Startup Underway and Need some Help

[bobisthedog]

Hi Gang,

I am on day 5 of startup for my new pool remodel. I went with NPT stonescapes mini pebble in Aqua White (with 6 bags of Puerto Rico glass and Abalone shells). It came out gorgeous. I hired a company to do startup and when he didn't show on 1st day and on the second day only added baking soda to a pool that had a PH over 8.2, I decided to do it myself.

So now here we are on day 5 and just tested it. PH is 7.5, Total Alkalinity is 90, Chlorine is .5 (I'm about to put 1 gallon of liquid chlorine in (10%) and CH is 170-190 (depends on if you count when it first begins to change color or full color change). Here are my questions:

1. Can we swim in it this weekend if chlorine comes up to 1-3 range. The rest seems great. One of my buddies runs a pool company and said to wait another week? Will kids and sunscreen, etc cause harm?
2. How long to wait on the Polaris 360. My pool buddy said another week?I know it takes 28 days to cure, but its mini pebble.
3. I've been brushing it once per day. I know it says 2x a day, but my PB said that is really only for smooth plaster, and that I didn't even need to do once per day? I'm game to do whatever and the NPC doc I have says 2x a day, so....
4. I installed the RJ 45 from Circupool but its off and i won't put salt in until day 45? or longer?
5. My pool buddy said to start adding conditioner soon? if so why? Best place to buy and how much is recommended?
6. I live in San Jose, CA. What are the best recommendations for running the pump and at what speeds? Want to be efficient. Have been running it at 2750 rpm for 3 days straight. I have a Pentair Intelliflo VSP.

I need to figure out how to vacuum the debris with no pool sweep but that may be another thread. Thankful for this site and all of you who participate.

Regards,

Cassidy

 

[Texas Splash]

About your questions:
1 - Depends. You must have at least 30 ppm of stabilizer/conditioner to buffer the chlorine, and you need a proper test kit to balance the FC to teh CYA per the FC/CYA Levels.
2 - At least 2 weeks
3 - 2X for the first week, then once per week thereafter until the rest of the month.
4 - Only need to wait 30 days.
5 - Should be added after day 3; balance FC and CYA per the FC/CYA Levels.
6 - That varies. Focus on just enough run time at a low speed or rpm of about 1200-1300 to keep surface debris going to the skimmer, and to keep the SWG flow switch happy. Higher speeds for cleaning.

Your biggest disadvantage right now may be the lack of a proper test kit and relying on standard industry recommendations that do not take into account SWGs, pool type and more. You need a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C test it right away. Any other testing is just about unreliable. Also review the info below for more guidance. Have a nice weekend.

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

 

[bobisthedog]

I have a Taylor K-1005 icare kit. Is it not sufficient? Does all of the test needed with the Taylor reagents including FC and CYA? I can order a new kit, just thought what i have is sufficient.

Thanks for the answers. I will go get some conditioner tomorrow. My CYA doesn't even register with the test (I can see the black do with all the solution). Question is do I add chlorine to raise it to 3-4FC before adding the conditioner or get the conditioner to 30 ppm and then the chlorine will be easier to hold in suspension?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I hate to break it to ya but... Baking Soda does *nothing* for lowering pool pH. That's what Muriatic Acid is used for.

The kit you have is missing the most important element- the FAS-DPD test kit for FC and CC. You NEED this. You can buy it individually and it will make your kit more like the one we suggest- FAS/DPD Chlorine & CC's test

How do you plan on chlorinating this pool??

Use PoolMath to determine how much CYA to add. I like the classic web version if you're on a laptop-

PoolMath

Discover the calculator behind the perfect pool, PoolMath. Dealing with pools has allowed TFP to become the original authors of the best calculator on the net.

www.troublefreepool.com

Recommended Levels

Maddie