Just Set Up Pool...Need some pointers

[CarlD]

OK, forget about calcium. You have a vinyl pool, calcium is therefore not important. For now, ignore Total Alkalinity as well. In fact you may not have to worry about it at all.

The "OK" indicators on strips and some testers are to be ignored. Correct FC levels are absolutely related to the CYA (Stabilizer) level in the water. Strips frequently don't give the same reading as drop tests. Trust the drop test kit first.

For now, only worry about pH, FC and CC levels, and CYA. Nothing else really matters for you (later, you'll know why, but for now let's just stick to these 3).

Carl

[JSMANNING0001]

Thanks Carl...I will stick with those ... I didn't think that calcium mattered from reading everything on here but when I called the pool place to see if they had the kits I was looking for before I drove an hour their, I read her my stick and she said I needed to get calcium in right away or the water being to hard would rust/eat my pump up along with my metal.... guess not?

I am mainly focussing on the pH FC and CC levals and gonna put in some CYA tonight in a sock. Can I just hang it from the ladder which is about 3 foot away from part that puts the water back in the pool (sorry still get used to the lingo..) I really don't have a way to hang it around the part that shoots it out as it is almost flat....do I have to run my pump 24/7 with that?

Do I need to get the cc/cya levels right and then worry about pH? My pH is currently around 7.8...will get better reading tonight with the better strips.

Gonna go add about 35oz of bleach cause it's showing almost clear with no faint signs of yellow....can't keep the choline in their to save my life... then again...can't hardly understand this $5 drop test from walmart. barely has any shade variance.


EDIT: Added the 35oz of chlorine and checked immediatly... .... it said 5ppm I know that was too soon to test and I tested on the other side of the pool but I just had to see if that thing was working cause I can't seem to get it above 1ppm. How soon after adding bleach should I actually be testing?

[Watermom]

I don't think you are adding enough bleach at a time. In a 5900 gallon pool, each quart (32 oz.) of 6% bleach will only increase the chlorine level by 2.5ppm. Adding only 12 oz. at a time isn't going to give you much chlorine ---- especially since with no CYA in there, it is going to quickly be lost to the sun. I think you better start adding larger doses of bleach at a time or your freshly filled pool will soon turn green! It doesn't take long for that to happen. My suggestion is to add a 3 qt. bottle of bleach which will take it up to about 7.6ppm, but it won't stay there long. In a matter of hours, it will fall. Test it around 3x per day if you can and each time add enough bleach to get back to around 6 or so. Doesn't have to be precise. After you start to get a CYA reading, you should be able to test and dose in the evenings only.

To answer a few of your questions, you can test the chlorine a couple hours after you add it. You can add the CYA to a sock and hang it in front of a return. I don't think I'd hang it from a metal ladder. It is probably best to leave the pump running while the sock is hanging to speed up how fast the cya will dissolve. You can also give it a squeeze a couple of times a day as that will also speed things up. Another method for adding it is to add it directly into the skimmer (slowly) and let it dissolve in your filter. That is what I do. After doing so, I usually run my pump 24/7 for a couple of days. Also, don't backwash the filter for up to a week or else you'll just throw the CYA out with the waste water.

You are ok with pH of 7.8 but no higher. I'd wait a day or two and get a couple more readings. Adding the CYA may cause it to come down a little. If after a few days it is still reading 7.8, you might want to consider using a little muriatic acid to lower it. But, let's just wait a bit on that.

[CarlD]

"she said I needed to get calcium in right away or the water being to hard would rust/eat my pump up along with my metal.... guess not?"

Correct! She was SO wrong she was contradicting herself! Adding calcium makes the water HARDER not softer. (that's why the test is called "Calcium Hardness") And hard water causes scaling that damage metal. It's usually water that's too acid or too alkaline that eats metal.

Carl

[JSMANNING0001]

Got my test in...she sold hubby moriatic acid to lower it...told me 2 cups to lower it 0.4...however I was 7.8-8.0. I did the math according to the book that come with my kit, it only needed about 1 1/2 cups ...that dropped it down to 7.2...glad I didn't put the full two cups in....is that ok? or should I know add baking soda to bring it back up.

As for the CYA, I couldn't find anything that said clarifier, condistioner or stabilizer. I did buy 1" chlorinating tabs. It says kills bacteria and controls algae... Janet told me to get Tri-chlor tabs...I guess I expected it to says that ...oops I found those tabs and got them because it says trichloro-s-triazinetrione 99.%..... Is this right? How many should I use...I forgot to get a floater so I can just put them in a sock, hang them from my ladder and still swim....do I need to keep adding bleach for a couple days or with those start adding chlorine right away? I know the CYA will take a while.... also..just to make sure, can we swim with them in there? How often should I add?

Current Readings:
FC: 0
TC: 0
CC: 0

pH: 7.2-7.3
TA : 120

Walmart is out of Borax as usual and I do have baking soda but that will raise the pH & TA won't it? Should I use it and add the tri-chlor?



Also, I have noticed today....that when I take my sample, after letting my arm dry it burns a little...could be my dry skin but it hasn't been bothering me...and it only burns on the area that was wet..nothing serious just a little noticable...could this be from no chlorine or my pH too low?

[madwil]

pH at 7.2 is not to low- 7.2 to 7.8 is the good range (so 7.2 is the low end, but not excessive)
The tabs will gradually add Cl and CYA as they dissolve, continue to monitor FC and add bleach to maintain your Cl levels
Your pH should rise over time, but watch it- the trichlor (the pucks are trichlor) can cause it to go down- so you may need to use some borax initially to boost it/keep it above 7.2.
Once the CYA is in, you should quit using the tabs and the pH will start to rise...
you can add the baking soda if nothing else, but it doesn't add as much pH as borax and will also increase TA more...
not sure about the skin burning- may be just the dry skin getting acclimated, but may be something in water- the chlorine will kill it if its something in the water

[CarlD]

You can raise pH by aeration and that will NOT raise t/a.
Aeration can be done by a fountain, by splashing 12 year olds, by pointing the return(s) as the surface so the water ripples or bubbles.

Your chlorine is 0. This is never good. Add bleach or some form of chlorine immediately, up to shock level. I'd add a full gallon of bleach right now. That should get your FC up to the 10-12 range which is the shocking level for 0 CYA.

Carl

[aylad]

I did buy 1" chlorinating tabs. It says kills bacteria and controls algae... Janet told me to get Tri-chlor tabs... I found those tabs and got them because it says trichloro-s-triazinetrione 99.%..... Is this right?

Yes, those are trichlor tabs. You'll do better to put them in a floater, because if you hang them from a sock next to your liner, you're going to get fading of the liner from the acidity of the tabs. Also, I would remove them from the pool while swimming so that you don't accidentally swim into a pocket of concentrated trichlor, which would be very uncomfortable, and possibly damaging, to your eyes.

You did a good thing by testing your pH and adding acid accordingly, not just blindly following the pool store's advice. That's what we're trying to teach people here to do. Good job!

I agree with Carl, though--get some chlorine of some type into that pool ASAP before you end up with an algae bloom!!

Janet

[JSMANNING0001]

Well, I got the tri-chlor tabs but were too chicken to use them, afraid I would mess something up... I did go back after researching online to find what i was looking for the...the purple label of stabilizer that was way over my reach so I didn't see it.

I added about 33 oz by measuring cup since i couldn't do the 32 oz by weight. I hung it in a stocking off the return last night and well, playing with it today i noticed it dissolved easily so I played with it for about 10 min and got it all dissolved and was being shot across the pool by the water from the return. I added 40 oz of bleach and we will see how it does tomorrow. I can't check the levels at 4am when I got to work but I can check around 6 pm. To niece she could not swim as I didn't know what the water would be like tomorrow and could not test the bleach. I will test EVERYTHING tomorrow. Since the cya is all dissolved will it be safe to check it tomorrow or wait a few more days....?

Sorry for not waiting for yall's answers.... I went with Janet's original help which I planned on from the git-go but couldn't find what i was needing... I found it and did it! Hopefully things will get better.

Also, pump has been running for over 24 hrs and I titled the return up to bubble the water this evenign...guess i need to keep it going 24/7 till eveything evens out?

Now, as long as my arm don't fall off tonight from having it in the HIGHLY concentrated, cloudy levels of cya being dissolved around my arm, then hopefully I will be back on here tomorrow evening with some test results!


Thank you all....