Start-up with Quartzscape

[zz28zz]

Just had our 30k gallon in ground pool re-plastered using Quartzscape.
We filled the pool yesterday and I started the pump last night. Today I brushed it, back washed and recharged the DE.
Also added some stuff (forgot what it's called) to prevent any metal staining from the fill water.

The guy that did the re-plaster was asking me what kind of start-up I wanted.
I've been researching this for almost 24 hrs and my eyes are bleeding.
Hoping someone has experience with this type of plaster and knows what's best.

I'm leaning towards the acid start-up since it's supposed to expose the quartz and make it look nice, but I'm concerned the acid may compromise the overall integrity and service life.

Gotta make a decision pretty quick.

I'd like to start using the pool ASAP since this project was started in April and I'm quickly running out of summer.

Thx in adv
JC

[CarlD]

Hi!
It's a little concerning when the installer does not have a recommendation for the start up and curing period.
Why did you add something to prevent metal staining? Do you know for a fact you have a high concentration of copper or iron in your water? Our approach is generally do NOT add something hoping it will fix a problem you don't know you have.

Beyond that, I'll let our experts on hard-side pools comment.

[zz28zz]

Hey Carl;
We filled pool from a fire hydrant since the house is on a low capacity well. We apparently didn't flush the hydrant very well cause the water looked like it had something in it, I'm assuming it was rust. The water cleared up after a few mins but the deep end looked a bit murky. After running the pump for abt 18 hrs, it cleared-up considerably but I was worried abt the rust staining the new plaster/quartzscape.

I spoke to the plaster installer (he claims he is not a "start-up guy) and he's saying we need to add 4 gals per 10k gallons, so looks like we need to add 12 gallons of acid. Seems a bit excessive. I can't find a test kit locally that reads Ph values in the 5-6 range. After adding the metal sequestering agent I added 1 gal of acid. Abt 1 hr after that, the Ph was at 7.2...

[zz28zz]

Picked up a Taylor test kit today. Here's the results: (I have not added any chlorine)
Free chlorine= 0
Total chlorine= 2
Combined chlorine= 2
Ph= 7.8
Acid demand= 3 drops
Alkalinity= 140
Calcium hardness= 120
Pool temp= 82
CYA= <30
Saturation index= +0.15

Spoke to the installer again today. Now he's saying 1 gallon of acid for each 4,000 gals of water.
That sounded a little better than 4 gals acid per 10k gallons of water.
Shut off pump (lights are already out of water) and added 7 gallons of acid (pre-diluted). Swept pool again to help mix up acid.

Will leave Ph there for 48 hrs, then dump ~ 50 lbs of soda ash and see where I'm at. I'm assuming once the chems are back in balance, I can jump in. Anyone see any red flags??

[CarlD]

I would chlorinate with Cal-Hypo powder, to get your CH over 200 and raise your FC--catch it now before it becomes a problem and you grow algae! add stabilizer(CYA powder or liquid), and don't worry about Alkalinity--it will drop with all the Muriatic Acid you put it. But be prepared to add Borax to raise your pH back to where it should be.

[zz28zz]

Thx Carl.
I wasn't sure abt chlorinating with such a low Ph so I held off. I assume the Cal-Hypo powder needs to be dissolved with water before going in the pool. From what I heard, the plaster is especially susceptible to chems while it's curing. In regards to bringing the Ph back up, is borax better than soda ash. If so why? Roughly how much borax would I need?

Thx for the reply. I need the input.
JC