How to take care of water while under construction?

[krdowns]

Thanks for the help. It is a 12K gallon pool. It doesn't seem to have any algae growth yet and I don't want it to start.

[aylad]

In 12K gallons, each 1/2 gallon of 6% bleach you add will raise your FC by 2.5 ppm, just for reference...

If the pool goes unchlorinated for 2 weeks, it's gonna be a real swamp. I can't believe they didn't caution you against that before they left it!!



Janet

[Watermom]

If the pool goes unchlorinated for 2 weeks, it's gonna be a real swamp. I can't believe they didn't caution you against that before they left it!!Janet

Heck, if the pool goes un-chlorinated for 2 days you're gonna have the start of a swamp! It's gonna be a real pain to have to be adding bleach several times a day so why don't you go ahead and throw in some stabilizer? In a 12K gallon pool, you'll need about 4 lbs to get to a CYA level of 45-50. Get an old athletic sock and put some in it and hang it in front of a return jet. If you give the sock a squeeze once in awhile it will help it dissolve faster. I doubt the sock will hold 4 lbs. so you'll probably have to do it in a couple of doses. When you buy it, it may be labeled as stabilizer or conditioner. If the ingredients are cyanuric or isocyanuric acid, that's the right stuff. Once the CYA is in there, you'll need to keep your chlorine between 3-6 instead of 1-3 but it will allow you to not have to add bleach multiple times per day. You should be able to go to testing and dosing in the evenings only.

Once your SWCG is up and running, you'll probably need to add additional CYA. Check your manual. Most SWCGs need 60-80ppm of CYA.

[krdowns]

Thanks so much for all of the help. I think that I now have our water situation under control....for now.

[aylad]

Stay on top of it--it only takes a very short time to let algae get started--and you don't want to start your new pool out that way!

Janet

[krdowns]

I managed to drop my pH from 8.2 to 7.2, but my alkalinity went up from 250 to 270. Any idea why that is, or what to do to correct? I will retest in the morning, but thought this was curious.

[Phillbo]

Since the SWCG is installed, why not go ahead and add salt and turn it on? You don't need to wait for the concrete pour to start using the system.