This is partially a followup to an older thread https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/89405-exposing-the-aggregate-in-Diamond-Brite
I had my pool resurfaced with Diamond Brite Blue Quartz. To expose the color, the contractor used acid bath (or hot start - I never got the difference): he poured gallons of muriatic acid and had me brush it for a few days. Actually, just 3 days passed since we started this so I may be too impatient but I thought most of the changes in color happened in first day and then it's all the same.
What bothers me is that color is not uniform. There are some patches, the size of the palm - some smaller some a bit larger - that are whiter than ambient areas. No amount of brushing changes that. Generally, deep side of the pol is whiter than shallow one. The spa looks the best. The contractor said it's all normal and he'd add more acid to deal with it.
I looked at the sgm link given earlier http://www.sgm.cc/pdf/InfoSheets/Diamond_Brite_web.pdf and found that acid wash is the preferred way while acid bath is not. Too late for me, unfortunately. The contractor wouldn't do acid wash anyway, I suspect, b/c he mentioned some possible problems. More likely, it's easier for him this way. It is what it is for now. However when I called sgm they told me that acid bath is perfectly fine. I also looked at this set of instructions http://www.poolinspections.com/manuals/plaster/acid_start_up.pdf where they recommend 4 gallons of acid per 10,000 gallons. If I take it literally, maybe I do need 5 more gallons of acid to get it right. Any opinions on that? I am really confused by this bit: "AS SOON AS ANY PART OF THE POOL TURNS DARK, OR TO THE INTENDED COLOR, STOP THE ACID PROCESS BY GOING TO STEP 5". Like I said, my steps look good. Does it mean that should not let them add acid and just live with white patches?
Second, is water chemistry. I took a sample to the pool store. That total alkalinity is zero is normal per last link above. The pH their test showed is 6.6 which they said is the lowest possible for their testing equipment. It could be 3 for all I know. I keep asking everyone how to bring the water balance back to normal but nobody seems to know for sure. Most general advice is keep adding alkalinity increaser until it's in range and then balance pH. Any other suggestions? The other idea I heard is to pump some of the acid water out and add more fresh water from the hose which about 8 pH for easier rebalancing. Any thoughts on that?
Last question is when should I switch from recirculation to filtering and when to add sequestering agent?
Many thanks!
I had my pool resurfaced with Diamond Brite Blue Quartz. To expose the color, the contractor used acid bath (or hot start - I never got the difference): he poured gallons of muriatic acid and had me brush it for a few days. Actually, just 3 days passed since we started this so I may be too impatient but I thought most of the changes in color happened in first day and then it's all the same.
What bothers me is that color is not uniform. There are some patches, the size of the palm - some smaller some a bit larger - that are whiter than ambient areas. No amount of brushing changes that. Generally, deep side of the pol is whiter than shallow one. The spa looks the best. The contractor said it's all normal and he'd add more acid to deal with it.
I looked at the sgm link given earlier http://www.sgm.cc/pdf/InfoSheets/Diamond_Brite_web.pdf and found that acid wash is the preferred way while acid bath is not. Too late for me, unfortunately. The contractor wouldn't do acid wash anyway, I suspect, b/c he mentioned some possible problems. More likely, it's easier for him this way. It is what it is for now. However when I called sgm they told me that acid bath is perfectly fine. I also looked at this set of instructions http://www.poolinspections.com/manuals/plaster/acid_start_up.pdf where they recommend 4 gallons of acid per 10,000 gallons. If I take it literally, maybe I do need 5 more gallons of acid to get it right. Any opinions on that? I am really confused by this bit: "AS SOON AS ANY PART OF THE POOL TURNS DARK, OR TO THE INTENDED COLOR, STOP THE ACID PROCESS BY GOING TO STEP 5". Like I said, my steps look good. Does it mean that should not let them add acid and just live with white patches?
Second, is water chemistry. I took a sample to the pool store. That total alkalinity is zero is normal per last link above. The pH their test showed is 6.6 which they said is the lowest possible for their testing equipment. It could be 3 for all I know. I keep asking everyone how to bring the water balance back to normal but nobody seems to know for sure. Most general advice is keep adding alkalinity increaser until it's in range and then balance pH. Any other suggestions? The other idea I heard is to pump some of the acid water out and add more fresh water from the hose which about 8 pH for easier rebalancing. Any thoughts on that?
Last question is when should I switch from recirculation to filtering and when to add sequestering agent?
Many thanks!
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