New Pool Owner and Need Help With Chemicals

[aylad]

When you get stabilizer at WalMart, it's typically labeled "conditioner", and is in the spa section. Check the ingredient label--what you're looking for is cyanuric, or isocyanuric, acid. If one of those is the active ingredient, that's the CYA you're looking for. Once you find it and add your dose (aim for about 40 ppm using the directions on the label), it will take several days for it to dissolve and register, so don't bother to test for it for at least 3-4 days. Once the stabilizer is in the water, the only way you're going to lose it is by splashout or other means of losing water--it doesn't degrade quickly, like chlorine does.

[Watermom]

By the way, most of us never use algaecides. If you keep your chlorine levels where they need to be consistently, you won't get algae.