New Pool build

[Usilpool]

I am retired and had a pool (gunite) and spa built this spring for my wife and I and we have been enjoying it immensely. It is a small freshwater pool in our backyard and only 4.5 ft deep. Basically it is a play pool deep enough for swimming and exercise. I would estimate it is about 10,000. The pool is easy to keep clean and I am interested in learning how to maintain the pool in pristine condition. I am and currently learning the water chemistry needed for testing and adjustment.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x298/user_999_999/Pool-12_zpsa04bc0ec.jpg

Looking forward to reading a lot of your posts and catching up.

[BigDave]

Pretty! Congrats on the pool.

Congrats on finding us - Here you'll learn to keep your pool pristine safely, efficiently, and effectively.

Read the guides on PoolSolutions.com and the stickies in the forums here - pay attention to the Best Guess Chart - it explains what many people (including trained pool pros) never learn. As a trial user, you'll have to log out to see the rest of the forum.

Welcome!

[Watermom]

What a beautiful pool and yard!

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

(The Best Guess Chart that Dave referred to explains the correlation between CYA and needed chlorine levels.
You can see it here:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

[PoolDoc]

Hi Mike;

As the admin, I check registration addresses as one of the tools I use to keep spammers out. I'm the only one who can see those addresses. In some cases, including yours, Google Maps has VERY high-res images of homes.

And, I have to say, VERY impressive upgrade from your previous backyard! If you don't mind, I'd like to post a "BEFORE" picture of your lot -- with no specific address info included, of course.

On to pool care . . .

The fountains you have, and the spa spill over, will make it difficult to manage your pH & alkalinity if you don't understand what's going on. You need the K2006 kit, sooner rather than later, in order protect your concrete pool. See both http://pool9.net/alk-step/ and http://pool9.net/tk/


. . . membership upgraded.

[Usilpool]

Thanks Ben,

I have seen Google Earth of my house. The Google Earth picture was taken about 3 years ago when I first added the defined garden area in the back yard but before I had planted anything. Google Earth, I think updates sections of the US about every 6 or 7 years so probably won't see it like it is for another few years. As I have a few other shots that might provide a better view in the back yard surrounded by the garden, let me post them along with the comparison shot from Google Earth.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x298/user_999_999/00_zpseb25dd5a.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/user_999_999/media/00_zpseb25dd5a.jpg.html)

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x298/user_999_999/01_zps6e76ad19.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/user_999_999/media/01_zps6e76ad19.jpg.html)

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x298/user_999_999/Pool-12_zpsa04bc0ec.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/user_999_999/media/Pool-12_zpsa04bc0ec.jpg.html)

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x298/user_999_999/03_zps2daf46a1.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/user_999_999/media/03_zps2daf46a1.jpg.html)

The desire to build a pool (and the expense) has been kicked around by my wife and I for dozens of years. We decided finally to bite the bullet and have one put in after we retired.. I searched hundreds of pool pictures and found a free-form pool that I thought would look good in the back yard and meet our needs. My wife wanted the spa so that was part of the total design. The pool area nearest the house has a shallow ledge about 7 inches deep and has the fountains.

It is a small pool and I think it is about 10,000 gallons. It is 4.5 feet deep at the drain and 4 ft in all other areas except the shallow ledge. I never would have thought to put a shallow pool in until my wife and I visited Cancun last summer and swam in their large but 4 ft deep shallow pool. I found it relaxing and provided ease to maneuver, proper depth for exercise and still deep enough to swim. That is what led us to the depth parameters and we have been very satisfied. Grand kids (8 and 10) came to visit last week and they loved it too. It is a great play pool.

Here is a list of the basic installed equipment:

Pentair WF 2.0hp pool pump
Pentair C&C 420sf cartridge filter
Pentair automatic pool cleaner (Kreepy Krauly - Legend)
Pentair Booster pump
Pentair Master 400btu NG heater
Intermatic dual timer with freeze protect
Pool and spa Lights
Blower Silencer 2hp

The heater is probably bigger than normal but my wife wanted the ability to heat the pool and it does this nicely within about 4 hours. It takes about 20 minutes to heat the spa after turned on. Seems pretty efficient as the gas bill, surprisingly is not bad.

The Kreepy Krauly works excellently and keeps the bottom of the pool spotless. I run it about 3 hours a day unless the yard is cut then run it longer. Glad I opted to get the booster pump to drive it. The cartridge filter has reached 20 psi and needs cleaning. I will tackle that soon (if there are any tricks or posts on this please point the way). The blower for the spa works great but I wish it had a two position switch with one lower blowing speed. The mechanical timers work ok.

As for the chemistry management - after doing some reading in the forum I see what you are saying about managing the pH and the alkalinity. I have a chemical management service but frankly, they are just not getting the parameters right. The pH was 8+ on the last visit and the chlorine has been zero each time he has checked for the past 4 weeks. I thought it was time I learned how to manage the pool myself and save myself a lot of money that gave me little benefits.

Glad to see your chemical test kit recommendations as I had already ordered the Taylor complete FAS-DTP Pool Test Kit (K-2006) along with extra reagents. It should get here in another day or two. I set up an Excel spreadsheet to record and track the readings for:

pH
Chlorine: Free, Combined and Total
Cyanuric Acid
Calcium Hardness
Total Alkalinity

I have a BS in Zoology so have a full science background and understand the testing but not sure on the results and managements as it relates to my particular pool conditions. So, I am going to spend some time reading in the forum to gather the wisdom of managing a plastered gunite pool with a water fall and fountain. I have a feeling that this may be complex but certainly not unique so any help in this area (point me to some posts) will be greatly appreciated.

Glad I found this place. Thanks for the welcome.

[Tom.B]

We have discussed many times wanting to fill in the deep end and make our pool what they call a "Party Pool" (all one depth), but it has been cost restrictive. We may still do it.

Yours is awesome. I LOVE the shallow ledge area. We see that a lot in Jamaica too. I can't wait to have a reason to drop by for a beer.

[Watermom]

Be sure you also read on our sister website www.poolsolutions.com. Lots of good info there as well.

[PoolDoc]

Thanks, Mike!

[Usilpool]

First Filter Clean:

Well I have done some reading in the forum and find it all very helpful. I had my pool built this spring and it has been in operation for 2 months. I have a Pentair C&C 420sf cartridge filter setup and it has a pressure gauge on it that has a rotating bezel which has beginning pressure and a red line at a higher pressure (10 psi) higher. At the startup it was about 9 psi and has now risen to about 20. I called my 'pool guy' and he said he would clean it for 80 bucks. As I am determined to ween myself off the 'pool guy' I decided to do it myself.

Saturday, I disassembled the filter and removed the 4 canisters. The process was not difficult and they were pretty dirty. There was also some sand in the bottom of the housing. As I don't have a sand filter I am thinking it is from the construction process of the new pool. I don't live anywhere near sand so I am assuming I won't see this again unless this blows in normally in the air and settles naturally in the pool. I hosed off the filters and reinstalled following Penair's procedure. It was all pretty straight forward and the new initial pressure was back down to 9 psi. I was pretty proud of myself until I noticed that I had put the top on with the gauge and air release pointed in the wrong direction so tomorrow I guess I will drain the filter, untighten the clamp and rotate the top housing to the proper position.

As I did not find this forum until a few days ago it looks like the proper procedure to maximize filter life and reduce cleaning needs is to do this process at least monthly (before it actually needs it). I will implement this from now on.

In addition, my Taylor complete FAS-DTP Pool Test Kit (K-2006) kit came in Saturday and I will do a complete workup of chemical levels today. I created an Excel spread sheet to record and track testing results. I intend to do this for a month and compare to the 'pool guy's' results after which I will take over the chemical managment myself. The 'pool guy' comes on Mondays so I will test Sunday and after he leaves to see the difference. I will post the results in a few days.

I will do an accurate (as much as possible) measurement of the pool this week to determine exact gallons. What pool calculator is best to make this determination? I will use this to make any adjustments in chemicals when I take over the process.

Is there anything I am missing as I prepare to take over complete pool management? I find the general cleaning process, skimming, cleaning the baskets and Kreepy Krauly only takes a few minutes each day. In fact, I go out in the morning and find it rather soothing to perform the process. Never figured I would like doing this. Actually, I don't have trees around the pool so there is very little to skim from the top and the bottom always looks clean (Kreepy Krauly looks like it is doing a spectacular job). The water is crystal clear to the bottom.

I am glad to have made the decision to build our first pool even though it took till I retired to do it.

[PoolDoc]

At the startup it was about 9 psi and has now risen to about 20.

I'm on my way to church, and can only take a minute, but you don't want to let that happen again. That sort of pressure differential can PERMANENTLY damage your cartridges by collapsing the pleats so they remain in contact with each other.


I am glad to have made the decision to build our first pool even though it took till I retired to do it.
If you've got grandkids, a pool is a great thing for them!

[Usilpool]

Thanks PoolDoc. I certainly will adopt a more frequent filter cleaner from this point forward.

Ok - I did a chemical test today using my new Taylor K-2006. Below are the results.

pH - 8+ (Pool guy shows 8 for last 5 tests with 8+ on his last test)
FC - 0.2 (Generally, pool guy always records zero weekly)
CC - 0.4
Cyanuric Acid - 45
Total alkalinity - 50
Calcium hardness - 625 (27 May pool guy recorded 250 but his last test on 16 June showed 625) Don't know what is going on here.
Filter pressure - 9 (after cleaning filters - same as startup pressure when new)

I have been reading all the BBB Method of Pool care and found it very interesting. It appears my pH has a pool normal of about 8 as it has been at that level for over a month with weekly treatment. As I have TA, Calcium Hardness and Chlorine out of kilter however, maybe it best to reserve judgment until I get things under control.

Don't know what happened to make calcium hardness jump way up. Not sure how to read this.

I can increase alkalinity based on BBB would like some help knowing what to do with the calcium hardness spike.

Chlorine as tested by pool guy is clearly not addressing the pools needs and he has not brought me into the loop. Looks like it needs more than just weekly treatment. He adds liquid chlorine when he comes and there is a chlorine tablet dispenser in the pool. He has always used one tablet which never lasted the week and put two in last Monday. There are partial tables left in the dispenser today.

The pool is a new pool in use for two months. It is plastered gunnite. It has about 10,000 gallons in it and has a water fall and fountain. I am assuming that all the aeration keeps the pool in the pH 8 range as this has been pretty consistent for over a month. The water is clear and I run the filter about 8 hours a day with the water fall and fountain. The Kreapy Krawly runs for about 3 hours but I have cut it back to 2 hours as the bottom is perfectly clean. I clean the skimmers out ever few days and there is never much in them except insects.

Would be glad to have some help with the questions I have.

Thanks.

[PoolDoc]

Constant aeration makes it impossible to maintain BOTH a reasonable pH (< 7.8) AND a reasonable TA (> 80 ppm). Your pH of 8 is NOT 'normal'; rather it's driven by the aeration.

The sudden spike in CH could be a testing error . . . or it could mean your very low TA is resulting in dissolving plaster! NOT GOOD!

1. Turn off your fountain and water fall, unless you are actually using the pool. You'll need to maintain some circulation in the spa. If you'll post pump, filter and piping pictures we'll see how that can be done, without so much aeration.

2. Watch the Taylor videos to make sure you are doing the test correctly. http://pool9.net/tk-guide/ Then retest TA and CH.

3. Lower your pH to just below 8.0. At the end of the pH test range of phenol red, the values you get ~6.8 or ~8.2 do NOT mean your pH is 6.8 or 8.2. Instead they mean that your water's pH is 6.8 *or* below, or else that your pH is 8.2 *or* above. However, it's worse than that, since a lot of people can't see the difference between phenol red at 8.0 vs 8.2.

If it works out that you DO want to keep your pool at 8.0 . . . you'll need to get a pH meter, so you can be sure your pH is *really* 8.0 and not something higher.


Ok, this may get confusing.

. . . or not. I tried writing a more complete explanation, but it was turning into a China Shop type post -- too complex to be useful to 99% of folks.

Here's the bottom line: we need to help you work out a way to maintain your pool without damaging your plaster OR having to constantly add chemicals.