Replaster job

[JJParrish]

Last week we had our pool replastered. Drain Mon, Prep Tues, Plaster Wed, Water started Thurs AM & finished Fri Afternoon. They are suppose to balance the water today. What do you think the water balancing should include? Thanks in advance for all the help from this site. You folks are great and sure hope this forum stays up and running! Thanks, Joyce

[ehorn]

Hi Joyce,

Well I can tell you what they did to my pool when it was started. Usually balancing the water means they add stabalizer to the pool which is the CYA, which prevents your CL from being used up by the sunlight. Other than adding the CYA they might add some tablets or something to get some chlorine added to the water. Other than that not much else they will usually do. They usually leave it up to you to check your water for everything else.

Best thing I would do is ask them what exactly they are doing.

Eric

[JJParrish]

Thanks Eric. Does anyone know how long (how many hours per day?)we are suppose to run the filter after new plaster? We have been running about 6 to 8 hrs a day. They were suppose to balance the water yesterday, but no show. Will call them today. Thanks in advance for any help. Joyce

[mas985]

I ran mine 24 hours a day for the first two weeks. It is a good idea to run it this long in order to pick up the plaster dust which, if your not careful, can solidify on the surface making it very rough. Make sure you brush at least once a day and move all of the dust toward the main drain so the filter can remove it. Brushing the sides and bottom makes the plaster very smooth so the more you can do it, the better.

[ehorn]

A 6 - 8 hour filter time is good. Mark makes a good point about filtering more while the plaster is curing I'm sure it can't hurt to run it longer while that is occuring. After the plaster is cured most pool companies will set you up with a 6 - 8 hour run time, I was told 6 hours is good in the winter and 8 hours in the summer.

If you want to get technical you look at the size of your pool and the gallons per hour your pool will pump. You want to exchange at least the volume of the pool once a day, that is a minimum.

Oh also the guy who did the startup on my pool recommended running it at night. I guess that is to use the pumps when the electricity is the cheapest and also when its the coldest. If you freeze at night sometimes running the pumps will prevent any freezing of the water in the system.

Of course I'm thinking of adding a solar system so that will change everything since I'll need to circulate the water during the daytime to heat the pool. So many considerations.

Eric

[JJParrish]

Thanks for the prompt replies and all the info. Next question: How long after new plaster/refill can we wait for the water to be balanced by PB? I love this site. Joyce

[mas985]

I would not wait for your PB to balance otherwise you may end up with a rough surface or deposits. This can happen when the PH and Alk are too high.

So I would get the PH and Alk in line as soon as possible. I kept mine around PH 7.2 and alk 80 to keep some of the dust in solution to more easily filter it out. This reduces the dependency a bit on brushing.

Also, chlorine will help keep the algae out so I would do that right away too.

[JJParrish]

Hi, and thanks. PB just came and put in four gals of muritic acid and left. Don't know what their balancing plan is, but does this seem like a good first step? Thanks again, Joyce

[ehorn]

Wow 4 gallons of acid, that seems very excessive. Not sure why they would add that much unless the PH was SUPER high. I have a pebble tec finish so I'm not sure what is all required for plaster. Usually you put acid in a quart or two at a time to reduce your PH.

You usually don't need to worry about adding chlorine or stabalizer if you water temperature is cold which is usually under 55 or 50 degrees.

So anyways I'm kind of at a loss as to why so much acid was needed.

Eric

[mas985]

It sounds similar to what I did when I started my plaster pool. I was debating about doing an acid start or a chlorine start for the plaster.

A chlorine start is a basic balance of the water after fill and is very low risk. The downside is that you have to deal with the plaster dust. Most plaster pools are started this way.

An acid start drops the Alk to 0 for about three days and basically dissolves all of the calcium dust in the pool. It is pretty risky unless you know what you are doing. It is pretty easy to get it wrong and damage the plaster. As you bring the PH up, some of the calcium drops out of solution but it is slow enough that the filter can catch most of it. However, I believe that a true acid start would have required more acid than what your PB put in.

I chose a middle ground and droped the PH down to about 6.8 for about a week which limited the dust somewhat but I did not need to worry about scaling or damaging the surface. It sounds as though this is what your PB may be aiming for or something slightly more aggressive. After a few days, I would check it to make sure the PH is rising and is at least about 6.8.

[JJParrish]

Thanks. We will keep check on progress. We are brushing every day and filtering 10 to 12 hrs per day. Our water temp was 52 this morn, so it is starting to ease up, which we will watch too. Will keep posting with any new plaster issues until water is okay-good-great. Love this site. Thanks, Joyce