Got my 234 today...and boy do I need help! (newbie alert)

Hi everyone,

I'm a complete pool newbie! I've really got no idea what to do or where to start. But I'm hoping I get things straightened out...Hopefully the kids are going to have a good summer this year :D

I've got a newly installed 21' x 54" round above ground (10,250 gallons). I've got a Hayward single speed pump and a hayward filter. The pool also came with a nature2 system, but taking the advice of this forum...I completely removed the whole system.

So far I've got the water levels up (actually too far after three days of hard rain:eek: )

I have added 1.5 gallons of laundry bleach...and that's all so far.

I've got just a little bit of green algae in the "crease" area of the wall/floor "joint".

my readings...

FC - 0.5
CC - 1.5
TC - 2.0

PH - 7.3
ALK - 290
Cal - 280
Cya - 0.0
temp - 64


What should I do know? I have one "shock" from the start-up kit that came with the pool. Should I add that? I also bought a bunch of bleach from the grocery store too.

Should I add bleach? how much? how long before adding more?

Should I add anything else?

I've vacuumed once so far (I had one of the ziplock sand bag weights, for the steps, open up. What a mess). Should I vacuum that little bit of algae up again?

Should I open up the filter and clean it out? I probably cleaned up the amount of sand equal to a large coffee can.

Obviously the water temp is a little cold to go swimming. But how often do I run the pump? Does this change once we start swimming?

I have read thru a large number of posts here...and also the FAQ pages as well. But I'm still feeling kind of lost.

Thanks for your help!

dan

PM me your serial number, and I'll change your status to "kit owner". I'm sending an email out that will cover what I need to enable access to the old PoolLetter pages.

Regarding your pool, don't panic, just take things one step at a time. Really, for the time being all you need is the PS200 and the CYA test.

Your pH and chlorine are OK for now; just keep adding bleach as needed. Best time to add is in the evening. If you keep testing for CC, you'll see it drop over the next week. If you just maintain 3 - 5 ppm with the OTO kit (PS200) it will still go down, but you won't see it happen.

I'd shock a couple more times (5 ppm doses), and vacuum and clean as necessary. Then, clean your filter, and add 3 - 5 lbs. of CYA.

Once you do, and have it dissolved (remember: run your filter 24/7 while dissolving CYA) retest and repost.

Ben
"PoolDoc"

pooldoc, I haven't received my test kit yet, have they been sent out yet?

ok...some time has elapsed...


Here are the second set of numbers...

FC - 18 (0.5 old)
CC - 3 (1.5 old)
TC - 21 (2.0 old)

PH - 7.3 (7.3 old)
ALK - 270 (290 old)
Cal - 250 (280 old)
Cya - 25 (0.0 old)
temp - 64 (64 old)

Since the first set of numbers (old numbers) I have kept the chlorine numbers up (though it seems a little too high...it won't go down). I have kept the pool vacuumed and clean...also running the filter every other day for 8 hours or more (is this too much...too little?)

I've also added 3lbs of stabilizer (cya). Which brought it up...but not as high as I was thinking...should I add more to be above 30?



The last four days I've added 1 gallon of muriatic acid and am running my pump sun up to sun down. While running the pump the discharge is facing up and to the right so it aerates rather nice.

But the TA numbers really haven't changed all that much...and neither has my PH. I was going to add another gallon of muriatic acid over the next four days (1/2 gallon every two days). Is this too much or too little. I was planning to just follow this schedule until I see the desired effect. Then if the PH drops too much...I would cut back. But it hasn't changed...should I add more...or just stay the course with the 1/2 gallon every two days? Is it ok to turn the pump off at night (it's kind of noisy).

Is the Cal anything I should be concerned about? Seems rather high...but I don't know how to actually interpret that :rolleyes: (so much to learn)

I can't thank you (all) enough for the information here. I think I've read nearly every thread in the forum that's available. I am learning...thanks so much!

dan

Hi Dan,

The only thing I can help you on is the alk. I just got through aerating for weeks, and it wasn't until I posted to the forum that I found out my pH wasn't *quite* low enough. Once I got it low enough, the alk dropped fast--from 190 to 100 in 2 days.

I'm not sure what your test kit looks like and my pool is 33K gallons, so don't add the same amount of acid I did. I discovered that I needed to add a gallon to lower the pH from 7.4 to 7.2. Per everyone who responded to my post, the pH needs to be at about 7 for the alk to gas off via aeration. With my test kit, I got it to 7.2 (light orange), and then added another 1/2 gallon of muriatic to get it to a lighter orange, which I'm guessing was about 7. I never did get it into 6.8pH territory. Once I did that, the aeration went quickly.

Use the calculater to figure out the right amount of acid for the size of your pool. Something I learned, however, is that the calculator is based on I think 31% muriatic. I had to add WAY more than the calculator said to drop the pH, and got worried I was putting too much acid in. I finally read MY bottles of muriatic and found they were only 13% concentration...

The other thing I learned to speed things up is that more bubbles are better. I had two returns I could plug things into to make bubbles. Had a fountain in one and a piece of pvc pipe jammed in the other that made about a 4' arc into the water. Also, I was aerating 24/7.

I'm sorry I can't help with the calcium, CYA and chlorine levels (although with your CC level, you need to add more chlorine, just not sure how much). This forum is great, so I'm sure you'll get answers to everything.

Good luck!

Your calcium levels are just fine....don't lose any sleep over them as long as they stay under about 400 ppm and you get your ALK down to under 150 (around 100-120 would be even better)

hey hey :)

I added some more muratic...which finally dropped the PH. Then after a day and a half of areating...the TA dropped from 270 to 180. Looks like just more areation...then I'll see where I'm at :)


thanks! this wouldn't have been possible without this site :D

dan

I'm no expert, but I believe running your pump/filter for only 8 hours, every other day, may not be enough. If you've got beautiful clear water with that, then just ignor me, and let me know how it's working and I may switch to that! :)

Shelley

Thanks for the comments Shelly :)

Right now I'm running the pump about 16 hours a day trying to aerate the TA to a lower number.

So far this year the pool has been very clear. But...the water temperature was in the low 60's most of the time. I don't know if this helps or not. Also...the pump only has one speed...high. So it's running at full speed the whole time.

As time goes on...I suppose I'll find out if this is enough or not. But I figure I'll be running it nearly every day...turning it off at night once we start using it :D

thanks,
dan

How long did it take from your order date to receipt of the new kit?