New Pool needs how much clorine and acid?

[aylad]

Hi Beary,

Congratulations on the new pool...40000 gallons, wow, that's a big one!! I'm going to let someone else address the acid start-up for your pool. That's the way they commonly start new plaster pools. The normal range for pH is 7.2-7.8, once you get your pool established, but I don't know what to tell you in terms of if it needs to go lower because of the new finish. I'm sure one of the others with plaster pool experience will chime in soon.

Do you know what kind of chlorine he put in the pool? And did he say anything about coming back later, or is that the only startup that you're getting? Did he mention putting any stabilizer in the water? Without stabilizer, the chlorine he put in there will likely be gone in a few days, thanks to the sun. You really need to find out if he put any stabilizer in the pool--a quick call to them should confirm that. In the meantime, test your water for Cl at least daily, and if the level gets below 3, then you're going to need to add some bleach to the water to keep algae from growing in it. And if they didn't add any stabilizer, you need to. You can get it from WalMart, Lowe's, Home Depot, or most any other store with a pool section. It's also called conditioner, balancer, stabilizer, but the ingredient is cyanuric or isocyanuric acid. Add it through the skimmer, but don't backwash or re-test for it for about a week. Follow the label directions for how much to add based on 40000 gallons for a target of 40-50 ppm. You can always add more later.

You do need a good test kit....most of us use Ben's PS234 (see it at Poolsolutions.com), and some of us use the comparable Taylor kit...I've never used the Taylor one, I have Ben's, and I can tell you that it measures everything I need it to. There is also a kit with a salt level test, which you'll need eventually, too. At a very minimum, you can go to WalMart and buy their 5-way drop-based kit for around $15 and it will measure what you need for now, including stabilizer levels. One of the other important tests that you need to do is for calcium--with a plaster pool if you don't keep your calcium level up high enough, the water will leach the calcium out of your plaster, causing pitting and rough spots in your pool finish. I believe 200-400 is the level you need to have.

Janet