Two Engineers Tackle Pool Ownership!

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EngineeredPool

EngineeredPool

Well-known member
Jun 5, 2019
73
East Lyme, CT
Hi lovely people! My husband and I purchased a house with a large in ground pool in southeastern Connecticut and are trying to figure out what to do!! Its a SWG and is quite large at 20'x44' with steps and swim out ledge. We had a pool company open the pool on Monday. They threw shock in and we brushed and vacuumed a bit (our vacuum is the cheap $20 triangle on a hose so we haven't finished getting out the crude). It was not green at all and we were told to run the system for 24-48 then take a water sample to the pool store. In doing some research on pool vacuum/robots I came across this forum and have started to dive in!! I have a TF100 kit on the way with the stirrer and the salt test kit! I also ordered some hairnets from amazon.. so far only my DH has cleared the skimmers but no way will I be putting my hands in there they way he has been so the disposable nets sound perfect! So needless to say I will be skipping the pool store sample :p While I wait for the kit to arrive I plan to figure out what equipment we have and calculate the gallons of the pool (as an engineer I feel the need to calculate it better since it has four slopes down into the deep end from all the sides). The 48 hours are up today. Should I just add some bleach/chlorine while waiting? Leave the water alone besides cleaning out the rest of the crud?

Whoops, kinda off track from an intro. Anyway, we are both engineers and cheap so I expect to be doing all the maintenance ourselves and working up to the confidence of opening or closing! We also have two kiddos, almost 2 and 4, who are impatient to get swimming and asking if its ready yet (even though its still a little chilly out!). Looking forward to learning and posting more!
 
Well, first let me welcome you to the forum! :wave:

You will find a link to "Pool School" in my signature... Read it as a starting point.
I would add a gallon of bleach (plain cleaning bleach, not splashless/scented/or with clorimates) in front of a running return, and let it get mixed in well.
Once you receive your test kit, run a FULL set of tests, and post your numbers, from there we can let you know a bit better what should need to be done.

Brush your pool walls, and vacuum regularly.

Welcome.
 
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EP,

The only thing worse than two engineers taking care of a pool, is three engineers taking care of a pool... :mrgreen:

In general engineers are often very structured.. 5 ppm means 5 ppm, not 5.1 or 4.9... You will be much happier if you keep in mind that for pool maintenance, close is almost always close enough..

Thanks for the Intro and Welcome to TFP... :shark:

Jim R.
 
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You guys crack me up :D I am in engineer that has mostly moved into project management so I will try not to "nuc it to death" as we say in my industry, haha.

Put together a cheat sheet for myself so I know what to get at the store. Let me know if I messed anything up!
SWG in ground pool (gallons to be calculated, equipment to be added to signature as well)

Ideal Levels
FC 3-5 (See chart)
pH 7.2-7.8
TA 60-80
CH 0-300 (Don’t add)
CYA 70-80

FC = Free Chlorine
To Raise FC: Bleach, liquid chlorine or SWG (not during SLAM). Bleach with listed percentage, unscented. Get at Aldi or Walmart. Liquid Chlorine should be higher (10%-12.5%) and may be cheaper but harder to find. Store in cool dark place.
To Lower FC: Sun or people swimming.. or things you don’t want

PH = Acidity/Alkalinity
To Raise PH: Borax, soda ash, or aeration. Borax if TA is fine, Soda ash if TA is also low. Borax = 20 Mule Team Borax Natural Laundry Booster, Soda Ash = Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda Detergent Booster
To Lower PH: Muriactic acid – 31.45% at Lowes or HD, wear protection

TA = Total Alkalinity
To Raise TA: Baking soda, big bag from warehouse store.
To Lower TA: Only do if your PH is rising quickly or calcium scaling risk

CYA = Cyanuric Acid
To Raise CYA: Add stabilizer/conditioner in a sock in skimmer, squeeze occasionally, don’t backwash/clean filter for a week
To Lower CYA: Replace water

Salt: Water softener salt, 99.4% pure with no additives (Diamond Crystal Solar Salt, Morton White Crystal, Diamond Crystal Sum Gems, etc). Turn off SWG for 24 hours.
 

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Both of you are engineers, eh? Well, that gives you something new and big to argue about.

I am an engineer and new here too (after lurking forever)..

I will be sharing my saga of a new portable hot tub, and FINALLY the beginnings of a in ground pool build after several months of external circumlocution with builders, the county, etc... when I have more time. (Yes I did them separately for a reason, I wanted a therapeutic hot tub, and the hot tub is on-line NOW because numero uno did the whole job himself.) Good to see there are others to argue with here at a "high level". :)

And as far as the comment of 5.1 not being 5 PPM.. after you've been an engineer for 25+ years, "good enough for government work" is a mantra for a happy life, trust me...
 
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EngineeredPool said:
You guys crack me up :D I am in engineer that has mostly moved into project management so I will try not to "nuc it to death" as we say in my industry, haha.

Put together a cheat sheet for myself so I know what to get at the store. Let me know if I messed anything up!
SWG in ground pool (gallons to be calculated, equipment to be added to signature as well)

Ideal Levels
FC 3-5 (See chart)
pH 7.2-7.8
TA 60-80
CH 0-300 (Don’t add)
CYA 70-80
...................................
Click to expand...

Make sure to look at the saturation indices also.. Those are acceptable ranges for your water to be in balance, but those tighten depending on what your water naturally wants to do. In practice one of those will fight you, in other words, and you'll find it easier to balance out the rest. The LSI and/or CSI will give you the information needed to keep the water from being "aggressive" (acidic or basic acting over time) even within those bounds.

Engineers... eh?
 
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Well have you ever found the right place to be to DIY your pool!!

The kids-go down to Walmart and get the "baby" HTH 6 way test kit. For the kids the most important things will be the pH and TA being balanced for their eye and skin comfort. This will also tell us your CYA levels so we can guide you there for how much FC to add.

I have a set of links I put together for new owners.
Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Trouble Free Pool

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Kim:kim:
 
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East Lyme, CT know the area quite well. Lived there for 25+ years off of Walnut Hill Rd prior to moving to Texas due to the insane taxes and cost of living. Anyway you're in the right spot for help. BTW, I'm the pool boy, the IT expert and automotive mechanic in our house. ;)
 
Welcome to TFP!! from one engineer to another pair....

It looks like you are off to a great start. But I'll warn you, don't try to over engineer your pool. You will do all sorts of math and carry Pi to the 7th significant digit and we'll just reply.... so what, it doesn't matter. Keep your FC in the right range and run the pump long enough so the water looks how you like it. About as unscientific as it gets.
Besides, as you add chemicals to adjust your salt and pH, you will be able to narrow down the pool volume to get fairly accurate results and not have to use that fancy calculator.

Please fill out your signature with all your pool info and it will help us, help you.

Edit to say: Let the kidos get wet on the shelf!!! Last year when I opened my AGP, the kids asked to get in as I was opening the pool. I said "as soon as the water was warm enough for you, it'll be ready" They stuck their hand in the water, said it was cold, then asked to get in. Apparently they couldn't imagine what 51 degF water felt like. They found out that day!
 
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Welcome, and let me add my voice to the other engineers in saying don't over think the pool or the chemistry! I was senior microbiologist for a certified water and food lab, then I became a network engineer for a major internet provider. I LOVE to over think stuff.

Right now I'm over thinking the extra water in my pool from rain overnight -- probably didn't raise the level but a titch, but I'm planning elaborate ways to drain that titch of water, at 6:15 in the morning!

Once your pool is in the sweet spot, it'll almost take care of itself. You'll just have to add a glurp of chlorine and watch the other chemicals.

And if course testing is going to be a LOT of fun!
 
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