Verndoggy
06-09-2013, 12:05 PM
and hoping to be smarter about all of this going forward! We just filled our pool this weekend (just had a new liner installed), using municipal water (two days via hose). This is our 2013 opening. As I write, I've just started the pump and it is filtering. I assume our water has no CYA/stabilizer, since there is no treated water in it.
For 20+ years we've operated with pool store advice as our guide, then relegated the pool store to "troubleshooter" status (after we became reasonably competent and confident managing our pool "without" them). We have never had a really good home test kit, however, and continued to use chemicals purchased at the pool store (until the past four years, where we've used primarily 3" chlorine tabs/pucks purchased online, which are administered via an inline chorinator which we installed). We've had decent success, but believe the use of pool store and/or online "shock" products and inadequate knowledge/tracking of the CYA build-up in our pool may have contributed to the early expiration of our previous liner, which showed a lot of fading and, after about 10 years of use became brittle and cracked and leaked out after we closed the pool last fall.
As a user of online forums the past years with regard to a couple of other recreational pursuits, I took a look online and found this pool owners forum and read some descriptions of the BBB method, which makes sense to me.
My present sense of things is that I will need to get a good test kit. In the meantime, with the water circulating and filtering, I know I need to get some CYA (pool store stabilizer) into the pool, so I'm waiting for them to open tomorrow so I can go do that. I've shut "off" my chorinator, although it stands at the ready in case I'm not up and running with the entire switch to BBB right away.
The water in my pool is green (expected, as we recall "metals" issues from previous "fills", but I have no test results). I would like to add chlorine, but my understanding is that about all I can do safely right now is to get teh CYA into the pool as job #1, to minimize the potential for staining if there is a metals issue. I should also order a test kit ASAP, I suppose.
I obviously waited pretty long here before this 11th hour discovery that the BBB method existed and am in a position of having to get up and running pretty quick. Anybody care to give me some direction on proceeding/approaching this "opening"?
Maybe I should go ahead with my previously planned approach of getting a pool store water test, obtaining and adding some stabilizer tomorrow when the pool store opens, then starting with the chlorinator (pucks). In this way, I guess I could essentially get it up and running, then switch over to the BBB once I get my test kit and am equipped to make some decisions?
Sorry for the stream of consciousness...I'll shut up now and listen. Thanks!
Lee
22500 gal., 18'x36' IG vinyl (built 1991), with sand filter, 1 HP Hayward Super Pump
Near Kalamazoo, Michigan
For 20+ years we've operated with pool store advice as our guide, then relegated the pool store to "troubleshooter" status (after we became reasonably competent and confident managing our pool "without" them). We have never had a really good home test kit, however, and continued to use chemicals purchased at the pool store (until the past four years, where we've used primarily 3" chlorine tabs/pucks purchased online, which are administered via an inline chorinator which we installed). We've had decent success, but believe the use of pool store and/or online "shock" products and inadequate knowledge/tracking of the CYA build-up in our pool may have contributed to the early expiration of our previous liner, which showed a lot of fading and, after about 10 years of use became brittle and cracked and leaked out after we closed the pool last fall.
As a user of online forums the past years with regard to a couple of other recreational pursuits, I took a look online and found this pool owners forum and read some descriptions of the BBB method, which makes sense to me.
My present sense of things is that I will need to get a good test kit. In the meantime, with the water circulating and filtering, I know I need to get some CYA (pool store stabilizer) into the pool, so I'm waiting for them to open tomorrow so I can go do that. I've shut "off" my chorinator, although it stands at the ready in case I'm not up and running with the entire switch to BBB right away.
The water in my pool is green (expected, as we recall "metals" issues from previous "fills", but I have no test results). I would like to add chlorine, but my understanding is that about all I can do safely right now is to get teh CYA into the pool as job #1, to minimize the potential for staining if there is a metals issue. I should also order a test kit ASAP, I suppose.
I obviously waited pretty long here before this 11th hour discovery that the BBB method existed and am in a position of having to get up and running pretty quick. Anybody care to give me some direction on proceeding/approaching this "opening"?
Maybe I should go ahead with my previously planned approach of getting a pool store water test, obtaining and adding some stabilizer tomorrow when the pool store opens, then starting with the chlorinator (pucks). In this way, I guess I could essentially get it up and running, then switch over to the BBB once I get my test kit and am equipped to make some decisions?
Sorry for the stream of consciousness...I'll shut up now and listen. Thanks!
Lee
22500 gal., 18'x36' IG vinyl (built 1991), with sand filter, 1 HP Hayward Super Pump
Near Kalamazoo, Michigan