sturev
05-25-2010, 07:50 PM
Hi Everyone,
Let me start by saying I'm a total newbie when it comes to pools, so bare with me while I get up to speed...
I've got a brand new above ground pool. It's actually a Fastlane Pool (by Endless Pools) that I've fully enclosed/insulated and has custom spa cover. It's heated and in addition to the small water pump they sent with it (~30 gpm), I put in a Hayward 1.5 HP pump so I could run a pool sweep on occasion. I keep it at 89 degrees and the water is crystal clear right now.
I live in the Mountains in Central California and we get very hot summers (110+) and some snow in the winter, so I'm hoping the cover/insulation will help me keep things (water balance) under control throughout the seasons.
I’ll tell you that I’ve spent the last 3 months trying to read/listen/ask/figure out what to do/not do and then yesterday I happened upon poolsolutions.com and something struck a chord… I’ve sorta got up to speed and even read the latest posts from Ben (I totally love your honesty and I hope you have great success in the near future! Where’s the donation button!!!!?).
My first question is really related to getting started with BBB. Our water comes from a private well and I’ve got several water systems/filters in place, so it’s not too bad, but high alkalinity seems to be an issue right out of the gate… (it’s off the chart right now, but I can add dry Acid and bring it down, but when I do that my PH goes way down also…? Is that normal? I’m thinking I have to go get some Borax and get this new system going???). I was told not to use Muriatic Acid as it will damage the vinyl? I’ve got a basement full of chemicals and I’ll figure out how to dispose of them later… :)
My next question is in regards to stabilizer; since my pool is covered/insulated for all but about an hour a day (just an exercise pool), do I need to worry about my low (almost zero) number? (the pool place told me my cover was my stabilizer and not to worry about that reading).
Sorry if my questions are answered somewhere else in this forum, I spent 6 hrs reading ps.com and some of this forum last night and had to stop when the words started running together… :o
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions and I look forward to being a good member in this community!
Evan
AG FastLane Pool, 9x13x4’ ~ 3,000 gal, 1½” plumbing, 30 gpm water pump (runs 12 hrs a day) AND a Hayward Power-Flo LX Pump (only used on occasion for the pool sweep), Flo-Pro 560 Skimmer, Hayward H100IDP1 Heater (kept @ 89 degrees)
PS, Ben, I’m a software engineer, let me know how/if I can help…
Let me start by saying I'm a total newbie when it comes to pools, so bare with me while I get up to speed...
I've got a brand new above ground pool. It's actually a Fastlane Pool (by Endless Pools) that I've fully enclosed/insulated and has custom spa cover. It's heated and in addition to the small water pump they sent with it (~30 gpm), I put in a Hayward 1.5 HP pump so I could run a pool sweep on occasion. I keep it at 89 degrees and the water is crystal clear right now.
I live in the Mountains in Central California and we get very hot summers (110+) and some snow in the winter, so I'm hoping the cover/insulation will help me keep things (water balance) under control throughout the seasons.
I’ll tell you that I’ve spent the last 3 months trying to read/listen/ask/figure out what to do/not do and then yesterday I happened upon poolsolutions.com and something struck a chord… I’ve sorta got up to speed and even read the latest posts from Ben (I totally love your honesty and I hope you have great success in the near future! Where’s the donation button!!!!?).
My first question is really related to getting started with BBB. Our water comes from a private well and I’ve got several water systems/filters in place, so it’s not too bad, but high alkalinity seems to be an issue right out of the gate… (it’s off the chart right now, but I can add dry Acid and bring it down, but when I do that my PH goes way down also…? Is that normal? I’m thinking I have to go get some Borax and get this new system going???). I was told not to use Muriatic Acid as it will damage the vinyl? I’ve got a basement full of chemicals and I’ll figure out how to dispose of them later… :)
My next question is in regards to stabilizer; since my pool is covered/insulated for all but about an hour a day (just an exercise pool), do I need to worry about my low (almost zero) number? (the pool place told me my cover was my stabilizer and not to worry about that reading).
Sorry if my questions are answered somewhere else in this forum, I spent 6 hrs reading ps.com and some of this forum last night and had to stop when the words started running together… :o
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions and I look forward to being a good member in this community!
Evan
AG FastLane Pool, 9x13x4’ ~ 3,000 gal, 1½” plumbing, 30 gpm water pump (runs 12 hrs a day) AND a Hayward Power-Flo LX Pump (only used on occasion for the pool sweep), Flo-Pro 560 Skimmer, Hayward H100IDP1 Heater (kept @ 89 degrees)
PS, Ben, I’m a software engineer, let me know how/if I can help…