NEW! (AG pool & to forums) some advice needed

[PoolDoc]

1. My slightly low PH and subsequent reading tells me i should add about 2 lbs of Sodium Carbonate to the pool. Am I correct?

Add 1/2 box of borax instead.

2.My combined chlorine levels are high. I may have misinterpreted the test slightly, but the CC level is either .2 or .4 ppm. What may have caused it to climb so quickly? (the pool hasn't had a TON of use, so I am guessing this may be some of the havoc that the minerals will wreak on my pool chemistry)

Don't worry about this, till your pool has been running a few weeks (unless the CC starts getting higher!)

3. The calcium hardness level is also low, should I add calcium chloride?

Low calcium is not an issue for you.

4. Based on the recommendation given to me by Aylad, i did not perform a test for CYA. Should I do that now, since we've added stabilizer and the trichlor has been doing it as well?

Yes.

1.Where exactly should my attachment point be for the pump's copper ground wire? The installers did not take care of this. I purchased the proper solid ground wire and I do have it attached to the metal frame of the pool, but I had to remove the plastic cover that goes over the bottom of one my uprights so I had a good attachment point. I'm sure it varies from pool to pool, but i'm wondering if this is a common problem.

I have ZERO knowledge of AG pool wiring requirements; ask the electrician who hooked things up for you, what the code is. Failing that, call the pool mfg.

2. Should there be some kind of check or gate valve between my return and the pool? I removed and cleaned the pump basket the other day, so I closed the gate valve on the suction side of the pump, but there is no such valve on the other side of the pump, filter, or mineral infuser. I had to put a plastic cup over the return jet in the pool to keep the water from flowing out of the pump while I cleaned the basket.

It's helpful to have a valve like that.

Last question: Are my posts too long? I have not previously been a part of a forum community and I do not want to have bad etiquette. I'm finding that my reading has given me insight into how to care for my pool, but getting some reassurance sure has been helpful.

They are fine. We get a bit antsy, when people write 2 page newsletters about their pool, family, and Oh!, yeah, the chlorine -- but you're fine.

[BigDave]

I have a comment about your "pump's copper groud wire". I'm pretty sure you're referring to the pool bond and the bonding lug on the housing of your pump's motor (there should also be a ground in the electrical supply wiring). According to code in my town (when I built the pool last year) an AG pool requires #8 solid copper wire that encircles the pool completely and is electrically connected to every piece of metal (larger than 4") in or on the pool and the pump and any other electrical pool equipment and to the water itself. Your town may be different.

The pool bond is an important electrical safety system for your pool designed to make sure that everything your swimmers touch is at the same electrical potential helping to keep them from becoming conductors.

Your electrician should be responsible for installation of the pool bond. Did your electrician pull an electrical permit for the construction of your pool? Your electrical inspector should have examined the bond and verified it's connections.

Definitely call your electrician back and discuss the pool bonding requirements. Call the electrical inspector if you're unsatisifed with the electrician's answers.