Ordered My Pool

[aylad]

I agree with Watermom, pH and chlorine first, but it won't hurt to go ahead and add your CYA, just don't broadcast it like the label says, and if you add it through the skimmer into a sand filter, don't backwash the filter or retest for CYA for at least 4-5 days because it takes a long time for it to dissolve. Until you have CYA in the water, you're gonna have to make frequent chlorine additions because the sun will eat up a lot of your chlorine, so the sooner you can have it in the pool the better.

Janet

[dcombs44]

Thanks!

So, we had the sod removed last week, but I kept getting rained out on days I planned to work on leveling.

Well, we finally got to start yesterday (heat index of 110 degrees). About 4 inches down on the high side was a 4' x 10' slab of 10" thick concrete. Grrrrrr....

Took a big chunk of the afternoon to bust up the concrete and remove it.

Ended up getting a few of the blocks set for the posts using a laser transit level. Had to dig down a fair amount though, so we've got a fair amount of digging and raking left to do.

Back to the grind after work today.

[Watermom]

HARD WORK!!! But, will be SO worth it. Just keep picturing you floating on a raft with a cold drink in your hand!

[dcombs44]

Well, it's been a struggle, but we're almost there.

We started filling the pool last Friday afternoon. I took the day off to finish getting the walls up and the liner in. At about 9:00 pm after 10 hours or so of working on the pool, the liner slipped and couldn't be stretched back over the side. At that time, there was about 1.5 feet of water in the pool. So, we drained, replaced the sand that had washed out, refit the liner, and started refilling on Sunday.

I'm filling with a garden hose, so it's a slow process. Got it filled to just below the return yesterday, so I got the return and skimmer installed, and got the filter completely installed.

Will finish filling tonight, test the pump and add chlorine. This is day 3.5 with no chlorine, so I'm ready to get some sanitizer in there to keep from an early algae bloom. Assuming we finish filling and add chlorine tonight, we should be swimming by tomorrow.

What a process.

[Watermom]

I'd suggest going ahead and getting some chlorine in there now instead of waiting any longer. You are pushing your luck with that long with no chlorine and hot weather. Add some bleach and then take a clean broom or something and stir it around. You don't want to chance a brand new pool with green water and it will happen way faster than you would think. Add a 3-quart jug of bleach. Walk around the perimeter of the pool and reach as far away from the side as you can and drizzle it in slowly and then stir it around.

Also, remember that a pool with no cya in it will lose chlorine fast. So, be prepared to test and add chlorine at least twice a day for the first week or so until you get a cya reading. And, if somebody is home in the afternoon, maybe even test/dose then, too.

[dcombs44]

ok. I'll switch out of the shirt and tie at lunch and add some chlorine. I bought a few jugs of bleach last night as well as some borax and dry acid.

My tap water was testing a bit high initially, so I wanted to be prepared to get it down to where it needs to be. Once the pump is running, I'll get some CYA added.

Am I right that I read to hang a sock in front of the return to add CYA?

[Watermom]

You can either do it that way or you can mix it in a bucket of water and then slowly pour it into the skimmer. (That is the way I add it in my pool.) If you put it in the skimmer, just remember not to backwash your filter for about a week to give it time to dissolve. I also run the pump 24/7 for the first couple of days after I add it.

Also, don't test for it or add any more for about a week to make sure it has time to dissolve.

[dcombs44]

Added a jug of bleach and did a quick test with the wal-mart kit after I stirred it up.

.5 ppm chlorine
7.8 pH

I'll finish filling the pool tonight and run a full battery of tests with the Taylor Kit. The plus side is that our tap water reads .5 ppm of chlorine out of the tap, so as we add water, we're adding a decent amount of chlorine (or so it seems).

Should I try to get the chlorine to shock level off the start, or should I just keep it at recommended levels until CC is over .5 ppm? I was planning on trying to get it between 1 and 3 ppm before bed tonight and checking it again in the morning.

[Watermom]

Since your pool has had water in it for several days now with no real cl level to speak of, I'd probably throw in a 3-qt. jug this evening. Wait a couple of hours and test and see what that does for you. It will probably take you up to about 3.5. Then, I'd suggest testing it early in the morning. If you haven't lost more than 1pm of chlorine overnight, then I'd say you lucked out and despite the delay in chlorinating and filtering, you escaped something starting to grow. If you do lose more than that overnight, I'd shock the pool. Don't want to start off a new pool with icky stuff growing in there! Better take care of it right off the bat.

Keep us posted how it is going. And, have fun swimming this evening. You are gonna swim, right??

(In your pool, each quart of 6% bleach will raise the cl by about 1.2.)

[dcombs44]

Been tinkering all day. Got a few drips in the filter plumbing. I've been adjusting here and there trying to seal them up, but some are stubborn.

Latest Test Results:

FC: .6
CC: 0
pH: 7.4
Alk: 130
CYA: No reading yet.

I added 1.75 lbs (28 oz) of CYA this afternoon. I dissolved most of it in a sock, and the rest, I mixed in a bucket and added to the skimmer. That should get me to about 15 on CYA.

My nephew is in the pool right now. When he gets out, I plan to add 96 oz. of 6% bleach. Should get me to 4 ppm. I'll test before I go to bed and when I get up to see if any chlorine is used up over night. If it is, I'll shock tomorrow evening.

I did find that the local hardware store carries 10% Liquid Chlorinator for $3.99 a gallon.
The way I calculated, that comes out a fair amount cheaper than bleach.

A couple of questions:

1) Should I add more stablizer now? Say another 15 oz. That should get me to somewhere around 23 ppm. Then I could bump it up to 30 or so from there a little at a time. Or......should I leave it as is, test in a week and add more then?

2) I guess I only had one question for now.