New liner, new water!

Hi all, good to be back this year.

Last year we finally got our CYA problem under control with a partial drain, switched to BBB and had a wonderful summer. Closing was a breeze. Then all hell broke loose over the winter.

We lost most of the water and determined that our 23 year old liner had finally bit the dust. This spring our new neighbors found a wonderful place to do their new liner so we went in with them and we both got beautiful new liners from a great company about an hour from here at a nice discount. Their installation was excellent and they didn't try to sell us the kitchen sink!

Now I'm dealing with new water for the first time. We had a truck deliver a little over half since our inground is so big (35,000 gallons) and have spent a day filling the rest from the hose. The pump is now up and running and so far the water looks great. I'm not sure of the source for the truckload, but he did say it was chlorinated and it certainly didn't look like lake/river/well water. I've figured the best way to start is to run some di or tri-chlor to start building some CYA. We're using some old di-chlor tabs that have been stored in a dry place and look fine. I bought some tri at Wal-Mart. It has some copper, but I'm not planning on using more than this one 12 lb. bucket so I'm pretty sure it will be OK to start. After that we'll have to take a trip out of town to Lowe's. I'll haul out the Taylor tomorrow to see what I'll have to begin for the Ph and Alk. I'm not planning on getting those levels perfect because I know the tabs are going to change things over the next week. I have baking soda and borax on hand. Once the CYA is in recommended range I plan to go back to bleach. Did I plan correctly, or is there something I've overlooked?

Thanks for your expert advice. Y'all are the bomb, as always!

Hi, and welcome back!!

Sounds like you're on the right track, except for one thing.....I would absolutely not use the trichlor with copper. You have a brand new liner and new water--why take a chance on adding metals that you know are going to cause you problems and complicate your pool chemistry in the long run when you know ahead of time? I would recommend that you go ahead and use up the dichlor tabs, take the trichlor back, and get it elsewhere where it doesn't contain copper.

Otherwise, it all sounds great. Congrats on the new liner--I can't believe you got 23 years out of the other one!!

Janet

Jan, I agree. My first thought when I read this post was, WOW -- 23 years? That's great. I also agree with Janet that I would definitely NOT use those tabs with copper in my pool either!!

Wal-Mart junk is going back! I'm in a really rural area and other than one pool guy that ripped us last year we have nothing but Wal-Mart. I just spoke with the guy that put in our liner and he's coming down tomorrow with CYA and trichlor tabs for our neighbor and is bringing us some as well. I'm shooting for a CYA level of 20-30 and plan on testing daily to do it slowly. I'm NOT going to go through another partial drain and fill!

The new pool guy isn't fond of the bleach method. I'm not planning on getting into any arguments.

Your pool, your way. Pool guy doesn't get to vote!

Figured I would just tag on this thread since I have basicly same. You all helped me last summer change to the BBB and had a great rest of summer (bought house last June) but this is my first year opening. New liner installed Saturday, fill complete Sunday arund noon, put in 5 gal bleach and Ch was fine, Ph 7.8. Checked it last night and Ch didn't even register. Put in 5 more gal and Ch was good again. Checked today and back to 0. So if I am ready this correctly, I have to build up my CYA before the bleach will stay? Also I live in Texas and it has been 100 degrees last 2 days. If I remember correctly the sun/heat eats up the bleach? I have a big tup of Super Pucks the previous owner left, do I need to go back to them until my Ch level stabalizes? Will the bleach not achieve the same results, after adding enough? I'm lost, again this is my first opening and with new liner and new water. Thanks, Robert

Welcome back! Bleach will not add CYA. What are the ingredents in Super Pucks? I'm assuming trichlor but just want to make sure there is no copper in them. If it is just trichlor, you can use them for awhile and build CYA. Then, when the CYA gets somewhere between 40-50, you'll want to quit using them and switch to just bleach. The other choice is to just use bleach and add some CYA separately.

Thanks, Yes they are Trichlor. I will fill the feeder up (think it holds around 8 pucks) and check in a couple days. Don't know what I would do with out your advice? Probably be paying the pool guy!!!

Your good right now, but keep an eye on your pH while using trichlor. It is very acidic and will drive your pH down. If it gets below 7.2, add a little Borax to bump it back up.

Could not get the top off my automatic chlorinator, probably cause I haven't used it in a year! Can I just drop some pucks in the skimmer basket until I get my CYA up, or do I need to go buy a floater?

A floater would be better-- f you put them in ths skimmer you're liable to fade the liner right around the faceplate fom the concentrated low pH, which also isn't good for the pump.

Janet

Nope. Pool guy sure doesn't have a say in it here!

Quick update - we ran trichlor for a week and also added 4 lbs. of CYA through the skimmer last weekend. The pool calculator said 8 lbs since I tested out at 0 but I decided to err on the side of caution. Am I ever glad I did that! Today the pH is 7.4, CYA of 40 (boy, did those pucks run it up fast!) and chlorine is at 5. The alkalinity is running a little on the high side but I'm not going to worry right now because I figure things are still settling in. The water is clear and amazing and the chlorine level seems to be holding steady. I'm sure the last of the trichlor is through the feeder and since I like the CYA level I'm starting on bleach. I've been testing every second or third day this week to keep myself from feeling the need to get every number right where I want it, right now. I'm glad I did that too! In all, this wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

sounds like your pool is on track! enjoy the summer!

Happy swimming!!

And if you'll just take a few minutes out of every evening to stay on top of your testing, you shouldn't have any problems out of your pool this summer. :)

Janet