First Time Opening My New Pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
K

kawisser

Well-known member
Sep 1, 2022
57
Indianapolis, IN
Pool Size
18500
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I was able to use my new pool for a couple months last year before it was time to close it. I got pretty comfortable maintaining the chemicals levels, so I'd like to open it myself and save a few hundred dollars. Correct me if I'm wrong, I just reverse everything the pool company did to close it, and then start working on balancing the chemicals. Seems fairly harmless to attempt opening it myself.

Question - besides liquid chlorine, are there any other chemicals that I should definitely have on hand before getting started?
 
kawisser said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, I just reverse everything the pool company did to close it, and then start working on balancing the chemicals
Click to expand...
That's it. Opening is CAKE because gravity fills the plumbing for you whereas they had to force it empty in the fall.

Did you watch them close it ? Did you take pics ?

You remove the plugs at the returns/skimmers, add the drain plugs at the equipment, fill the pump basket to the exit pipe and let her rip. (And remove/fold the cover)
kawisser said:
besides liquid chlorine, are there any other chemicals that I should definitely have on hand before getting started?
Click to expand...
CYA (purtirech on Amazon is $2 /lb in the bigger bags) and Muriatic acid. ($9.99 at Ace Hardware for full strength)

Is it a mesh cover or solid ?

And after you have one rodeo under your belt, we'll teach you how to blow it out in the fall. Spend the savings of year one on a cyclone (Maybe only HALF the savings. They wanted $700+ to close mine).

You'll save a ton every year thereafter.
 
Newdude said:
That's it. Opening is CAKE because gravity fills the plumbing for you whereas they had to force it empty in the fall.

Did you watch them close it ? Did you take pics ?

CYA (purtirech on Amazon is $2 /lb in the bigger bags) and Muriatic acid. ($9.99 at Ace Hardware for full strength)

Is it a mesh cover or solid ?
Click to expand...
I stalked and talked to the person the whole time they were closing it. My pool is pretty basic so I think it was a simple closing. I have all the caps and everything they took off, so it should be no problem putting it back together. We have a solid, retractable/walkable vinyl cover.

My CYA was always a little high last year since the installer put in a FROG system. I stopped using the FROG system (only liquid chlorine now), but the CYA is still a little high. Does that typically drop back down after winter?

I still have some Muriatic Acid leftover from last year. I kept it outside all winter. Should it still be good to use? I thought I read somewhere that it doesn't really expire.

I really appreciate the your help.
 
kawisser said:
but the CYA is still a little high. Does that typically drop back down after winter?
Click to expand...
It degrades 3 to 5 ppm a month, hardly noticeable during the season but totally noticeable when you walk away from the pool for months. Plus, even with a solid cover some rain may blow or flood under the cover to dilute it a little as well.

Mix it for a full day before you trust CYA or CH (or salt for those it's applicable). FC, TA and PH need 20 mins with full circulation.
kawisser said:
I still have some Muriatic Acid leftover from last year
Click to expand...
It pretty much lasts forever. (y)
kawisser said:
really appreciate the your help.
Click to expand...
That's what we do, and are happy about it. Come ask anytime. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: RuggedPool
Newdude said:
That's it. Opening is CAKE because gravity fills the plumbing for you whereas they had to force it empty in the fall.

Did you watch them close it ? Did you take pics ?

You remove the plugs at the returns/skimmers, add the drain plugs at the equipment, fill the pump basket to the exit pipe and let her rip. (And remove/fold the cover)

CYA (purtirech on Amazon is $2 /lb in the bigger bags) and Muriatic acid. ($9.99 at Ace Hardware for full strength)

Is it a mesh cover or solid ?

And after you have one rodeo under your belt, we'll teach you how to blow it out in the fall. Spend the savings of year one on a cyclone (Maybe only HALF the savings. They wanted $700+ to close mine).

You'll save a ton every year thereafter.
Click to expand...
I am planning to open my pool for the first time as well. Isn't he going to need some shock and salt too?

I see these pool opening kits on Amazon. Are they a waste of money?

 
Megarms said:
I see these pool opening kits on Amazon. Are they a waste of money?
Click to expand...
They ARE.

How could they possibly know what your pool needs ? One part of Louisiana gets 70 inches of rain a year, in the southwest, almost none. Some folks are covered, some open. Then there's different levels needed for vinyl or plaster, with fill water considerations on top of that.

Then - then, the all in one kits for closing or opening are full of clarifiers and algecides, which are probably copper based being the cheap generic stuff.

For opening, the pool needs to mix well for 24 hours, the water stratifies given lots of time in the off season. From there, we test and adjust as needed, with only what's needed. :)

Folks don't even need to know what's what. Just post up reliable #s and we'll get to fixin and teachin.
 
Exactly that. :)

No two off seasons are the same and while you'll get a feel for it with some years under your belt, there's no need to buy a bunch of stuff you might not need 20 bags of.

I buy my calcium and CYA from Amazon (puritech) early. The $2 a lb is too good to pass up and I'm covered for at least most of the season with the large bags, if I don't need it all at first.

Salt is pretty stable with pricing and also cheap. Most years the water softener salt at HD in the plumbing aisle (make sure it says 100% pure) is cheaper around $8 a bag. Last year the fancy pool kind was $8 and the water softener salt was $11, so I got the fancy stuff. Depending on the off season rain, you may need a couple bags, or 10. So hold off until it's time.

*never buy Chlorox salt. Iron has bit many members.

*never buy Chlorox anything for that matter. The CYA is ok if it says 100% pure, but nothing else from them.

*Mortons salt needs to be inspected for salt appearance. There were some issues last year with the bags being something else that was mostly dirt or dirt like. Folks realized it when it didn't dissolve on the pool floor, a little too late to do anything about it.
 
I do all of the close/startup work EXCEPT install/remove cover. My back appreciates that. Good advice is given here above. I'll add: We had a lot of rain...so didn't have to add any water this year. I set FC at close to around 15 ppm...added 1 gallon of algaecide at close, and another mid-winter...so the water was relatively clean when the cover came off excepting the debris...although it smelled like "sewer-gas"...Yuck. I prefer CAL-HYPO 73 over liquid CL (10% liquid from Walmart seems to be the best price I can find). I live in a wooded area....so I rake out the leaves that make their way into the pool over Winter...and then once only small debris the rake does not get, I find that running my Nautilus pool vac-bot 3-4 times has the pool pretty clean. Have to clean the filters out once per hour. Then I fire up the pump/filter...Get the pH and other numbers right with TF-100, and you are ready to SLAM. As soon as SLAM is done, I install my SWG and it's trouble-free all year. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Newdude said:
Nope. You're gonna let it mix for a full day after getting 5ppm FC in there, then you will Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. If you lose FC with no sun on the pool overnight, something is brewing and you'll SLAM Process.
Click to expand...
Are you saying to add 5ppm FC or add enough to reach 5ppm FC? And then don't add anything else until after letting it run over night?
 
kawisser said:
Are you saying to add 5ppm FC or add enough to reach 5ppm FC?
Click to expand...
I guess both. :ROFLMAO:

Add enough to reach 5ppm. You will likely need the full 5ppm.

kawisser said:
And then don't add anything else until after letting it run over night?
Click to expand...
Yes. Mix for a full day. Run the overnight test once it's good and mixed.
 
Newdude said:
I guess both. :ROFLMAO:

Add enough to reach 5ppm. You will likely need the full 5ppm.

Yes. Mix for a full day. Run the overnight test once it's good and mixed.
Click to expand...

So I believe my FC reading was .2 when I opened it. It was near nothing, but I could see the faintest pink when doing the test. Anyways, I got it to 5.6 last night, and it measured 5.4 this morning. Can you help me with next steps? What measurement do I focus on next?
 
kawisser said:
What measurement do I focus on next?
Click to expand...
10 ml FC tests. There is simply no need for .2 resolution with 25ml tests. Use 10ml pool water and each drop is 1/2 FC. You'll save 2.5X the supplies. :)

Then get us a CYA test in full sun per the instructions.

We'll go from there.

As a side note, I'm thrilled the FC held overnight. That's a good sign that things are going your way.
 
Newdude said:
10 ml FC tests. There is simply no need for .2 resolution with 25ml tests. Use 10ml pool water and each drop is 1/2 FC. You'll save 2.5X the supplies. :)

Then get us a CYA test in full sun per the instructions.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on the 10ml FC tests. I know the instructions said you can do either and I've just always done 25ml. If .5 increments on FC readings are good enough for you, then they're good enough for me :)

My CYA measured 50. Mine has always been on the high side ever since the pool builders left me, and glad to see it dropped some. I assume you would suggest to leave CYA as-is for now?
 
kawisser said:
My CYA measured 50. Mine has always been on the high side ever since the pool builders left me, and glad to see it dropped some. I assume you would suggest to leave CYA as-is for now?
Click to expand...
Yup. Let it be and it will slowly drift down, with no rush.

New mission: prove the water is good by doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Get the FC in range and clear of min. 7 or 8 is fine for the test at 50 CYA.

lc_chart.jpg

If you lose FC overnight, something is brewing that you can't see yet. Algae is microscopic and by the time you see it, you have a runaway train. So let the testing give you the red flags or green light. Read the link above for more details. :)
 
kawisser said:
what's next?
Click to expand...
No matter what FC is king and stays clear of minimum while we *anything*

Adjust ph to be in the 7s when need be.

CYA is good as is it.

Post up TA and CH. We're moving on to the long term things and have smooth sailing ahead. (y)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply