We have a hole in the ground! New O/B in Queen Creek, AZ
- Thread starter Copperhed51
- Start date
Pebble top drain covers are ordered and should be in soon. Got our final inspection yesterday and we were...REJECTED! I wasn’t surprised as I’d thrown up a barrier at the last minute the night before and it wasn’t secured very well. I hoped the inspector wouldn’t show up and wouldn’t notice before I had a chance to fix it. He did and he did. Got reinspected today and we passed. I’m trying to schedule cleanup and plaster for next week. So far the plaster company has been slow to respond. It’s raining like crazy here, so I’m constantly pumping water out of the pool. I thought this was the desert!
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Been a little while since I’ve updated. Pebble is scheduled for next week. I’ve had trouble getting these subs to respond quickly, but we are nearly done. We are trying to decide between Blue Surf and Aqua Blue. The deep end is 8’ and I don’t want the pool to be too dark. One way or another, the pool should be done next week if the weather cooperates. Currently, there is rain in the forecast Monday-Wednesday. Been quite the winter here in Phoenix!
Yes it’s crazy how much rain we’ve had but it is a good thing. Mine is filling as I type.
The chant goes through out TFP land........... BLUE SMURF! We want BLUE SMURF!!! Please???? Pretty please??? 
Kim
Kim
Haha, we are going with Super Sheen Mystic Blue, which is pretty similar to blue surf. I have four 3lb bags of abalone I got from NPT. Will that be enough abalone to make it really pop? I’d hate to skimp on that when it’s really not that expensive.
Also, I’m still tentatively planning on doing the sodium bicarb startup. Can somebody give me some good pointers on what chemicals I’m going to need right off the bat? The pool is approximately 23,000 gallons. I did a couple of tests on my fill water a month or two ago, but will need to test again. Those numbers were:
TA: 120ppm
CH: 225ppm
I have 6 gallons of 31.45% MA on hand and assume I’m going to need to buy at least 60lbs of sodium bicarb and some tri-chlor pucks. I’ve read through another thread where @bdavis466 talked somebody through the process. It doesn’t look too horrible, just have to keep on top of testing and balancing. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. Pebble is scheduled for Tuesday (Wednesday if rain interferes), so we should start filling Wednesday or Thursday.
I finally finished all of the stone work on the wall and around the raised spa today. 37 tons of landscape gravel comes tomorrow, which I will be spreading myself. That’s about 205 wheelbarrows full. Say a prayer for my back. My 100lb wife will be helping, so at least there’s that. Can’t wait to start relaxing by the pool.
There is one plug in the skimmer I can’t get out. Will the pebble installers be able to do that for me or do I need to grab a basin wrench to get it out? Thanks for all the help!
Also, I’m still tentatively planning on doing the sodium bicarb startup. Can somebody give me some good pointers on what chemicals I’m going to need right off the bat? The pool is approximately 23,000 gallons. I did a couple of tests on my fill water a month or two ago, but will need to test again. Those numbers were:
TA: 120ppm
CH: 225ppm
I have 6 gallons of 31.45% MA on hand and assume I’m going to need to buy at least 60lbs of sodium bicarb and some tri-chlor pucks. I’ve read through another thread where @bdavis466 talked somebody through the process. It doesn’t look too horrible, just have to keep on top of testing and balancing. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. Pebble is scheduled for Tuesday (Wednesday if rain interferes), so we should start filling Wednesday or Thursday.
I finally finished all of the stone work on the wall and around the raised spa today. 37 tons of landscape gravel comes tomorrow, which I will be spreading myself. That’s about 205 wheelbarrows full. Say a prayer for my back. My 100lb wife will be helping, so at least there’s that. Can’t wait to start relaxing by the pool.
There is one plug in the skimmer I can’t get out. Will the pebble installers be able to do that for me or do I need to grab a basin wrench to get it out? Thanks for all the help!
You have been reading!
60lbs of bicarb should do it. Once the pool is full add the bicarb and brush well. Adjust the pH daily to get it to 7.8 (no lower). Add the Trichlor after 48 hours.
The plaster guys should be able to get the plug out. Are you sure that line isn't still under pressure?
60lbs of bicarb should do it. Once the pool is full add the bicarb and brush well. Adjust the pH daily to get it to 7.8 (no lower). Add the Trichlor after 48 hours.
The plaster guys should be able to get the plug out. Are you sure that line isn't still under pressure?
I did quite a bit of reading last night. I expect I’ll read and reread that thread a few more times in the next week.
The line is definitely not under pressure anymore. All the returns and one of the main drain lines have been cut and I’ve opened all the valves and pump covers, and vented the filter. If there’s still pressure in there somehow, I’d be amazed. They did use a metal plug and the skimmer literature specifically says not to use metal plugs, but too late now. There’s just no room to get any tools in there.
Once I put in the startup dose of bicarb to get to a TA of 275, my understanding is I am then aiming to let the TA drop to 250 and hold it there for about 3 weeks using bicarb additions as needed (CSI of +0.3 to +0.5 being the real goal)? The process seems relatively straightforward, but maybe I am missing something. Am I really just controlling TA with bicarb additions and pH with MA additions, then also slowly adding chlorine and CYA using the tri-Chloe tabs? Any other chemicals I should be getting such as a sequestrant? If so, is any particular brand much better than the others? Thanks again for the help. This should be a bit of an adventure since March happens to be my busiest work month of the year.
Yeah it really is that simple.
Definitely add sequestrant. Startup Tec, BeauTec and Jack's Magic are good choices. You'll just have to see what you can get. I recommend adding this as the pool is filling.
The sequestrant greatly limits the chances of scaling which is going to be very important since your CSI is going to be so high.
Definitely add sequestrant. Startup Tec, BeauTec and Jack's Magic are good choices. You'll just have to see what you can get. I recommend adding this as the pool is filling.
The sequestrant greatly limits the chances of scaling which is going to be very important since your CSI is going to be so high.
I’ll head to the pool store and see what they’ve got. I feel kind of dirty even stepping foot in there, but I guess it’s a necessary evil.
Looks like Beautec is available from Jeff Bezos. It looks like I’m probably best going with their purple bottle, which is labeled as Salt Cell and Tile Cleaner. Is that the stuff I want?
Ask your plaster guy. I bet they have gallons of the stuff on hand...I bought it by the pallet
That's a LOT of trips with a wheelbarrow..
Did you get that plug out of the skimmer? The startup guy used a long T handle to access both of the plugs in my system.
It has been a lot of work, but I’m over 1/3 done hauling it back there. I’ve been working my day job ~8-10 hours the past four days as well, so I only have so much time to work on it, but maybe that’s a good thing to keep me from overdoing it. I’m off work today and can’t do anything due to the weather. Go figure.
I didn’t get the plug out yet. I’m hoping the plaster guys will be able to. If not, I’ll go get a basin wrench and get it off of there’s while the pool is filling.
As predicted, the weather is not cooperating, so interior or rescheduled for tomorrow, which also looks iffy. Worst case, I think they’ll do interior Thursday and acid wash Friday. One way or another, this project should be done this week. I’ve got 72 lbs of sodium bicarb here ready to go and am ready for some brushing and chemistry.
I am GLAD you are being "made" to only do a few at a time. It is better on your poor body. It will get done so don't push it!
I’m pretty glad, too. They dumped three truck loads. Two were dumped in my yard next to the driveway and one in the street. My goal was to get the one in the street done as quickly as possible to keep the neighbors happy. I was able to do that and start making a dent in the next pile, so it’s all good. I’ve got a little bit of grading to do still, so the rain will help by softening up the soil for me. Silver linings!
