New here, where to begin??

[ellenicol]

Thanks for the info so far. I read everything you said I needed to and then some (brain overload!)
All I have is the walmart 5way test kit. These are my reads as of a few minutes ago.

Chlorine - 5
Ph 6.8
Alk 50ppm
CYA 60 ppm

Ok so where do I go from here. If you could advise that would be great. I'm really at a loss on how to really get started with this whole thing. Thanks

[CToon]

Hi ellenicol,

Since you have brainoverload , I'll try and keep it simple

Alk range -- yours
80-120 ----50 you need to add baking soda

ph range ---yours
7.2-7.8 ----6.8 borax to raise ph

Cl @ 60 cya -- 5-10ppm youre at the bottom of good , so you need to keep
it there or higher

look for MWsmiths bleach calculator, its a great little program for figuring quantities


Ready for more thinkin yet ?

I would get baking soda in first to raise alk . It will raise the ph also , but only slightly. Using the bleach calculator I figured your 24 round at 4' so , so 6lbs of baking soda isnt bad to start. When you get the Alk right , check the ph. If its still not up to snuff , add borax, but only dump in some at a time , wait & check, so you dont over due it . when you get in range , its good.

As for Cl , the kit only tests up to 5 .you neeed to stay there or higher.. CarlD has a shot glass method around here that makes sense to me if you have to use it for testing

Trust me , once you got it down , it works and its really easier than pool store way

[ellenicol]

Thanks for all the advice so far. Bad news is my husband accidentally put a hole in the liner while scrubbing tonight shortly after my last post. We had a flash flood all over the back yard. So no more pool

We are planning on fixing and or replacing but it might not be for a month or so. I will be back then!!!
Thanks again.

[Watermom]

I feel your pain. Just last Friday I had to replace my liner, too. So sorry!

[CarlD]

Thanks for all the advice so far. Bad news is my husband accidentally put a hole in the liner while scrubbing tonight shortly after my last post. We had a flash flood all over the back yard. So no more pool

We are planning on fixing and or replacing but it might not be for a month or so. I will be back then!!!
Thanks again.

Yowch!! Get a liner repair kit and patch it if the hole isn't too big. It's quick, it's fast, it's permanent--but it's ugly.

However, an empty pool is uglier.

[ellenicol]

The hole is about 3 feet wide and on the bottom of the pool near the side, so not sure that would be fixable.

We actually would like to get a new one if we can afford it but have no idea where to begin. Do you have any reccommendations on a type of above ground that is nice? The pool we have is SUPER old and we basically were just waiting for it to break! Thanks anyway!!