intex 22' x 52' round

[SafetyBob]

Eagles, once you get that Taylor kit, then everyone here can start to really help you. Without it, we like you are only guessing. Next, what pool do you really have? 22' sounded strange to me and sure enough a quick search on the Intex site revealed no 22' pool. I assume you have the 24' x 52" pool.....which by the way is a nice pool.

Reading the owners manual to the saltwater system should have told you that you needed 310 pounds for the 24' x 52" pool. So you need a little bit more salt if you want to use the saltwater system. Personally, since you blew the money on it, put the required startup salt in it, turn it on and enjoy it. If you haven't figured out yet by surfing this sight, you will need stabilizer to keep the chlorine in the pool and not be burned off by the sun.....so you will need some of that soon.

Someone will chime in with a daily amount of Chorox you need to pour in just to keep things as they are until you get the Taylor test kit in. It will take a couple of weeks for you to get it together and get the chemistry right for you pool, after that is will be fairly routine and methodical.

So, your assignment is to ensure you really have the 24' Intex pool and find the owners manual for that saltwater system. Once the test kit comes in, the real work will begin. Also, if you don't have a cover for your pool, I highly encourage you to get one (I think Intex makes one for the 24' pool), it will keep alot of crap out of the pool and eliminate changing cartridges alot.

Bob E.

[eagles]

yes, it is the 22' x 52' round. i know the intex site doesn't show that one. it was purchased thru walmart. it shows up on their site. even the salt water manual does not list this pool. so i guessed on how much salt to throw in. i believe we used 6 bags in the beginning. since then we have added 1 more bag. it says 10,500 gallons of water.

hubby started to drain the pool, so a lot of water was drained out. hence why i was thinking i need now to add more salt. however, i don't have the salt water system hooked up since last night. just the pump.

i have read so much that i am confused now on the chlorine/stabilizerr and ph levels, its just not funny.
i think if i have read right, that chlorine is bleach. which i poured in last night. and since it worked last time, i went ahead and threw in vit c tabs. i did not count them, just took a bunch, 10 or so? i did that this morning, it doesn't look any different.

the pool now is blue, but not crystal clear blue. not really what i would call cloudy either.

so, till that kit is ordered and arrives???? would a best guess be to add more bleach? add more salt and hook the system back up? i just don't even know which way to go now.

and that ph thing, is really confusing me. like i said the test strip shows a red, which is not even on the chart, so i really don't know if its too high. and if too high, to i add the stuff that lowers it? is that the acid or the baking soda, and does this then take away the bleach?

see i can talk myself in a circle. lol

[eagles]

oh also, i don't see any covers for this size pool. its in the middle of a back yard, no trees or leaves or anything like that gets in it. about the only thing that does are the bugs. that is it.

[aylad]

You would be doing yourself a favor to leave the SWCG off for now, get the water balanced, and THEN turn it back on and use it for maintenance. They are much more efficient at maintaining chlorine than they are at clearing up water issues. The problem right now is that we are just guessing at your water parameters with strips, which isn't going to get us/you anywhere. Try going to WalMart and see if they have the hth 6-way drop kit that sells for around $20. If they have it, get it, run a set of tests, and post your results here. If they don't have it, then get the cheapie ($6 or so) OTO kit (it uses red and yellow drops for pH and chlorine) and test with that and let us know the results. If all of those aren't possible, then take a water sample to a reputable pool store and have them test your water, give you a printout of the results, and then come post those here. Resist the list of stuff they're going to tell you you have to buy--just smile and tell them that you already have it at home. Once we have a set of water test results to look at, then we can give you helpful advice. (Make sure they actually give you numbers for your test results--not just "good", or "low", or "high".

In the meantime, you need to keep some chlorine in the pool. How much to keep is really dependent on your CYA level, which is why it's crucial to know what it is--but at least try to keep 4-6 ppm of chlorine in there until we have some definitive answers. I calculate your pool's volume to be around 13,500 gallons. In that amount of water, each 1/2 gallon of 6% bleach you add will raise your FC by just over 2 ppm. So..I would add a gallon of bleach every evening until you get test results, and then we can help you go from there.

[eagles]

ok thanks, i will go to walmart today and try to find a kit. but, about that pool volume thing, if my pool holds 10,500 gallons of water, wouldn't your 13,500 be over? i do infact have a
22'x52" round intex pool. it holds 10,500 gallons of water.

and i feel like a real duh moment here, the pool CAME with a cover. so i can stop looking for that now. geeez, sometimes i wonder about me. LOL

[PoolDoc]

If you fill a 22' pool to 3.9 ft, you'll have 11,080 gallons . . . so your 10,500 is likely about right. I think Janet may have used the overflow depth (52") which gives 12,800 gallons.

[aylad]

Yeah, I missed the stated volume in one of the earlier posts in this thread...sorry. Too many similar threads makes my head spin!!

Anyway...

Your test results tell me that your pH is too high (needs to be brought down to the 7.4-7.6 range by using muriatic or dry acid, which will drop your TA at the same time). You can find the method to lower your alk using muriatic acid "stickied" at the top of the "Dealing with alkalinity and calcium" subforum from the Poolforum home page.

Your test results also indicate that you have zero chlorine and zero CYA, which are both not good. You need to keep at least 1-3 ppm of chlorine in the pool at all times until you get your CYA (stabilizer) levels up to where your SWCG manual says they need to be. As your CYA levels rise, so must your chlorine levels (see the best guess chlorine chart link in my sig for more info there and the chart). In the meantime, in a 10,500 gallon pool, each 1/2 gallon of 6% bleach you add will raise your chlorine by 2.9 ppm, so you can use that as a guide to figure out how much you need to add at any given time.

If the pool is still cloudy from the previous algae killing, keep the pump/filter running, and clean the filter as your pressure indicates. It will just take patience to filter it all out. But don't let your chlorine levels fall to zero, or you'll have a new algae bloom to deal with.

[eagles]

thanks aylad, but i don't see a sig for your post to find the best guess chlorine chart. i will search around and see if there is a sticky for that or another thread.

but just a real quick: you say i need 1-3 ppm in the pool. 1/2 gal 6% will raise by 2.9ppm. does this mean i only need one(1) half gallon? or is this per gallon of water. i am so confused and sucked at math. lol

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ok i just read and reread all the stuff about the acids and the best guess chart for chlorine. please help! i have no idea what i just read. LOL yes its been a long day and a hot one. i am confused as to how much bleach to add. i have 6 bottles i think sitting outside. just not sure how much to add. i don't want to waste it by not adding enough, but i don't want to add too much.

now about that acid stuff to lower my ph, can i just buy that ph minus from walmart? the acid kind of scares me.

thanks so much for the help. once i get the hang of this i will be good (i think), or at least not as dumb as i am right now.

[eagles]

alright i just tested using the hth 6 way kit. i have never done this before so i am not sure if i did it right. but here goes for my results.

total chlorine/total bromine test: i added 5 drops of the yellow. results, nothing. no color change at all.
ph test: added 5 drops of the red. it looks darker than or very close to the 8.2
total alkalinity test: added 5 drops of the first bottle, then ended up adding 25 drops of the other bottle. so from green to red it took 25 drops. it says to multiply that by 10. so 250
total harness test: added 5 drops of the first bottle, then added 23 drops of the second bottle. so from red to blue it took 23 drops. it says to multiply that by 10, so 230
cya: this water after adding the drops was suppose to turn cloudy? it did not. i was suppose to add this cloudy water to the view tube til i could not see the black dot. well i poured the whole amount and could still see the black dot.

so those are my results.