New Pool & Starting From Scratch!

[tnt69]

The pool is nearly full & will be able to turn on pump & filter early tomorrow morning (could have done it this evening, but had to go to work & will turn off water before full). We have purchased the bleach, borax, baking soda, stabilizer, muriatic acid & the test kit arrived today. You said when we turn on the pump to ....." add all the stabilizer slowly, TO the skimmer, so it wont clog the pipes, with the pump running."..... We are TOTAL NEWBIES, so do you mean add to the skimmer at water line or to the skimmer basket near the pump? Also, how do you add the other things...bleach (can it be poured in the chlorinator or is the chlorinator really not usefull anymore), the muriatic acid...etc? They are building the deck around the pool now, so we put the winter cover on while filling to keep junk out, so we have not been able to add beach as it filled, only 1 3qt bottle!

[aylad]

Addyour CYA to the skimmer at the water line--the idea is for it all to go through the pipes into your filter, where it will sit and dissolve. The alternative to that is to put it in an old sock and tie it up in front of your returns and let it dissolve there. You can give the sock a squeeze occasionally to help speed it up. When you add bleach, do NOT put it in the chlorinator, if there are or have ever been trichlor tabs in it--chlorine is chlorine once it gets into the water, but you don't want different forms of chlorine coming in contact with each other before they're completely dissolved in water. Watermom puts her bleach into the skimmer, I pour mine slowly into the return stream, being careful not to splash bleach on the sides or my clothes....either way works--although with trichlor in the feeder, I really think pouring it into the pool is the better way. Do not add muriatic acid into the skimmer--it's too acidic and will be bad for your motor to go through as concentrated as it will be. You want to pour the acid very slowly into the return stream, taking care not to splash on the pool, clothes, skin, eyes, etc, and do NOT breathe the fumes. It's nasty stuff, so just be careful with it. Wear gloves and eye protection while using it. Borax can be added through the skimmer if you ever have to raise your pH.

Janet

[Watermom]

And, baking soda can also go into the skimmer if you need to raise the alk. Again, slowly.

Post a current set of testing results when you try out your new kit!

[tnt69]

Thanks for all the great help!! So I guess the Chlorinator is pretty well obsolete with the BBB Method, would it be alright to simply bypass it (take it out completely) & skip an xtra hose & run directly back to the filter?

[aylad]

You could do that, or you could just let it stay empty and open the flow up all the way...

The inline chlorinators do have their uses, but the key is to know HOW to use it without getting yourself into trouble. They are great for adding a low amount of chlorine, consistently, or for use during vacations to ensure that chlorine is being added to the pool. When my CYA gets a little low, especially if the temp is hot like it is now (air temp 106 so far, and it's only 1:00--yesterday we got to 110), I'll turn mine on and set it at 2 (on 1-5 scale) so that it's constantly feeding a little chlorine into the water to supplement the bleach additions. And when people go on vacation, they can be a good way to prevent coming back to green water. It's just that they're not to be depended on for sole chlorination method. So...if you don't have a flow restriction problem with it, I'd just leave it connected and empty, turning the flow rate up, in case you need it again in future seasons.


Janet

[tnt69]

Great advice, never thought ahead to when we might be gone for a while. Getting used to using the Taylor test kit, alittle overwhelming to start, but after doin it a few times it is a snap. Are you in the desert west? How hot does your water get in those temps & do you try to cool it down & how?

[aylad]

I'm actually in the Northwest corner of Louisiana. This time of year my pool temp averages around 92-ish if left alone, but this summer has been much hotter and much more dry than usual-- as far as rain goes, we've only had a few sprinkles here and there, but it's been more than 2 months since the last real rain shower. So the air temps this last couple of weeks have been between 105-110, and yesterday was our 32nd day in a row over 100 degrees. Water temp 96, and that's with me running the hose in to top it off from city water for approximately 10 minutes every couple of days.

As far as cooling goes, I sometimes run my pump during the night instead of during the day with a fountain attached, and that has a small cooling effect, depending on the humidity level. The only really effective way to cool it, though, is just to run the water on the slide while the kids are in--which is basically refilling from tap water. It can substantially drop the temp of the pool over a 2 hour swim period.

Janet