Using a PB in Vegas

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New Plaster Start-Up

My new in-ground pool was plastered yesterday. They started filling it up around 3:30 p.m. and it should be all filled later this evening. Hurrah!

Background: My PB will be added Start-Up Tec tomorrow and brushing. That's sequestrant, right? We will do Pool School on Monday, so I will run all of my plans by him before starting anything because I don't want to duplicate efforts or void my warranty.

Reading the New Plaster Start-Up, I have some questions. Please let me know if I should post this bit in a different section:

1. The pump should be on only once the Start-Up Tec has been added, correct? Or should it be on now while filling? Or when filled this evening but before sequestrant? And I let that run 24 hours for 7 days, right?

2. I will watch and clean the filters daily. I have a robot cleaner, which I know can't go in the pool before 30 days. I need a manual vacuum - anyone have any good suggestions for one I can get ASAP? Should I vacuum as soon as it fills, or after sequestrant tomorrow?

3. After 72 hours, the CYA and bleach need to be added slowly using PoolMath for amounts. Is this 72 hours after the sequestrant is added or after starting to fill-up the pool, or something else? Do I test my water right away or not until the 72 hours have passed?

Sorry for the dumb questions. ;)

Any other tips, tricks, insights, etc., would be so helpful. I am feeling overwhelmed!
 
Ok, so things happened really quickly since Friday! Our deck was sprayed, our pre-plaster inspection was Monday and we passed, and plaster happened yesterday! We decided to add Dark Blue Quartz to the white plaster and I am very happy with the decision. The pool starting filling up at 3:30 p.m. yesterday, and the bottom pics are as of 8:00 a.m. We had zero water pressure at home last night, so we treated ourselves to a dinner out. Our showers were not fun...lol. I planned on skipping hoses and using water trucks, but my PB vetoed the idea. We're hoping it will be full by 8:00 or 9:00 tonight. It's not filling as quickly as the PB assumed it would.


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The water is so cloudy, it's driving me crazy! The PB will be out tomorrow to brush and add Start-Up Tec (that's sequestrant - right?). We will do Pool School together on Monday. Thanks in advance!
 
Re: New Plaster Start-Up

TwinMama15 said:
My new in-ground pool was plastered yesterday. They started filling it up around 3:30 p.m. and it should be all filled later this evening. Hurrah! SWEET!!!

Background: My PB will be added Start-Up Tec tomorrow and brushing. That's sequestrant, right? We will do Pool School on Monday, so I will run all of my plans by him before starting anything because I don't want to duplicate efforts or void my warranty. Yes that is sequestrant!

Reading the New Plaster Start-Up, I have some questions. Please let me know if I should post this bit in a different section:

1. The pump should be on only once the Start-Up Tec has been added, correct? Or should it be on now while filling? Or when filled this evening but before sequestrant? And I let that run 24 hours for 7 days, right? You cannot start up the pump until your pool water is half way up the skimmer. When you do start the pump you can run it 24/7 to help the clear the pool up.

2. I will watch and clean the filters daily. I have a robot cleaner, which I know can't go in the pool before 30 days. I need a manual vacuum - anyone have any good suggestions for one I can get ASAP? Should I vacuum as soon as it fills, or after sequestrant tomorrow?Here is a link to a manual vacuum head https://www.walmart.com/ip/11.5-Swimming-Pool-Standard-Weighted-Liner-Butterfly-Vacuum-Head-with-Bumper/52522322 It is just like brushing your pool so can be used right away if and when needed/wanted.

3. After 72 hours, the CYA and bleach need to be added slowly using PoolMath for amounts. Is this 72 hours after the sequestrant is added or after starting to fill-up the pool, or something else? Do I test my water right away or not until the 72 hours have passed? Throw this one at your PB as he holds the warranty card.

Sorry for the dumb questions. ;)

Any other tips, tricks, insights, etc., would be so helpful. I am feeling overwhelmed!
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I can't remember.......have you tested your fill water yet? If not do so now. DOn't bother testing the CYA as it has to be added.

NO question is stupid except the one not asked. You and I both know that is the ONE that you really needed to ask LOL

:hug: Did I get it all?

Kim:kim:
 
kimkats said:
Is that a happy dance I see going on there in the first couple of pics??
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It sure is! The little ones cannot wait to get in. The PB says within a week, but we're probably going to wait 2. If we can.....!

kimkats said:
I can't remember.......have you tested your fill water yet? If not do so now. DOn't bother testing the CYA as it has to be added.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Kim! Yes, you helped me out a ton. I will test the fill water tonight and report back. I am also anxious to find out what other items, if any, the PB adds to the pool today. I asked him to please tell me if he adds anything besides the sequestrant. He is brushing it down right now I reckon!

ShantellyLace said:
How exciting! I really like the brown tiles. They are unique and different than other natural tiles I have seen.
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Thank you so much! I really love how they turned out.
 

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Ok, so the brushing has been going well. The Wall Whale is amazing. My PB started out with the standard brush, but when I finally convinced him to try it out he was pleasantly surprised. My arms are SO sore this morning. The pool was clear and a nice baby blue color this morning. The plaster dust likes to settle on the pretty glass trim tile and the sides of the steps/benches, but we're determined to brush, brush, brush. I think we brushed about 6 times yesterday. No such thing as too much brushing - right?!

My little ones enjoyed being "pool boys" yesterday, and they love cleaning out the "goober" (skimmer) basket. I need to install the Skimmer Angel - hopefully it's not too long to fit in my setup.

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The PB is taking care of the start-up process and chemicals until we do Pool School, so he told me not to add anything until that time. Currently, we're scheduled for Monday. He just wants us to brush. I took a look at the chemicals he has out there, and he's using Hasachlor Chlorinating Liquid (12.5%), Hasa Muriatic Acid (31.45%), All Clear Cyanuric Acid, All Clear Clarifier (??), and he left bags of AquaSalt for when we add that in after 30 days. The salt claims to be 99.9% pure salt, but it does say "Enhanced with Stain Fighter," which makes me nervous. But I can't locate information on what else is in there besides salt.

Here are my test results from this morning:

CL - 5+
PH - 8.2+
FC - 4.5
CC - 0.0
TC - 4.5
TA - 120
CH - 375 (?)
CYA - Filled up to the highest black line level and I could just barely make out the black dot.

I'm not quite sure about my CH results because I was adding drops until I couldn't detect a color change, but with such a small water sample, I was having trouble distinguishing. My eyes may have been playing tricks on me or may have really picked up a slight color change, but I went with the higher number of drops (could be as many as 2 less). We do have terribly hard water here in Vegas though, so maybe I am right on. Still getting the hang of things.

I think I understand that my PH level is the one I should be most worried about right now. I plugged in all the figures to PoolMath, but I am struggling because I can't add anything until Monday. I sent a text to the PB asking him if he's coming out this morning to add MA so the PH doesn't get too out of control, but I haven't heard back yet. I am so tempted to add it in, but he specifically told me not to. And since I don't know exactly what amounts of chemicals he's already added, I don't want to mess up his "process." Is it Monday yet...? :(
 
Here's a little update. My PB agreed for me to add in some MA and it lowered my PH to 7.5. We have Pool School scheduled bright and early tomorrow, so I can start getting REAL tomorrow afternoon, lol. I already picked up my Muriatic Acid and Chlorinating Liquid.

The water is getting there...!



 
Thanks everyone! This has been a super stressful weekend. I feel like I've researched every inch of TFP!

The PB and I spent 2.5 hours in Pool School on Saturday. He said some interesting things, including that we should plan on draining our pool completely every 3 years, or draining it by 1/3 every year. Any thoughts on that?

I also found out he added CYA directly to the skimmer, which I estimate to be about 96 oz total. Right now, my target is 30-50, but that will go up when I turn on the SWG in a month. PoolMath says it would've taken 77 oz to get to 50, so hopefully I'm not too over....thoughts? I did test for CYA just to see what would happen, and it was about 50. I don't believe it's reliable until a week though, right? I haven't added any.

Here's my latest test info:

FC = 6.0
CC = 0.0
TC = 6.0
PH = 7.5
TA = 120
CH = 375

I am carefully watching the FC, and trying to keep it on the high end of the spectrum. I'm also fighting the PH battle. I'm trying to get it down to 7.2 to bring down the TA. I can't do anything about the CH. Water is a beautiful sparkling blue, and we have almost no plaster dust.

Am I doing ok? I need some reassurance that I'm on the right track to a TFP! Thanks in advance.
 
You are doing GREAT!!!!!!!!!

Now to the nitty gritty:

-draining pool-he does not know about CYA being in the pucks and powder shock and building up over time. Did he use the word "chlorine lock" or such? There is no such thing but most of the time when someone says that it is because their CYA was so high they could not get or keep enough FC in the pool and algae starts. If you keep your CYA under control you will never have to drain your pool.

-CYA testing-depending on how it was added and what filter you have the CYA can show up right away on the test. We did extensive testing last summer and found the old "wait a week for the CYA to show on the test" is just not true IF the CYA dissolves and gets mixed in right away. Even if your CYA goes up a little as the rest of it enters your water you will be fine. Just keep a close eye on your FC and make sure you are within your CYA/FC balance.

You are SO far ahead of the learning curve already! You are doing fine and your pool will last longer due to your awesome care!

I wonder if you PB would be willing to learn about the TFP way? What are your thoughts? Think he would be open to learning new stuff?

:hug: Now relax and enjoy your pool!

Kim:kim:
 
Your pool is beautiful. Your CH seems to be right in line with mine. The first week or so I was adding a lot of acid. After that it has required much less. Depending on the day I'm adding as little as a cup. Yesterday was almost a quart but the pool was used a lot. Again, great job on your build. You did an awesome job.
 
Could it also be the reason the PB mentioned draining water every so often is because of how hard the water is in NV? I believe reading that the CH levels continue to elevate due to the high evaporation rates and hard fill water to replace it.
 
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