Pool is filled, now what do I do?

[CrazyKittyLady]

I am a brand new pool owner in Southwest Ohio. I purchased the pool in February and it sat in boxes on my front porch until last Wednesday when they finally installed it. The workers left, the pool filled while I was at camp with my daughters and now I don't know what the next step is. The electrician is coming out (hopefully) this week to run a line out to the pump. In the mean time, I was told I could run it with an extension cord. I am heading to Lowe's today to purchase a 12/3 extension cord with a weird looking (marine/camper???) 20amp receptacle on one end (or purchasing an adapter) so I can start moving the water. What is next? Chemicals, conditioner??? The only test kit I have is the AquaCheck "goofy strips". I will swing by WalMart for the recommended yellow/red drop kit until the Tayler-2006 kit arrives. Here is what I have and the chemicals that came with the package I purchased:

Aqua Leader Influence oval 18'x33'x54" above ground pool with an ecco cartridge filter system and Aqua Smarte Plus System
4 lbs Swimway conditioner (balancer) (active ingredient cyanuric acid)
1 lb Swimway Blast (oxidizer) (active ingredient potassium peroxymonosulfate)
1 lb Swimway pH Plus (balancer) (100% sodium carbonate)
1lb Swimway pH minus (balancer) (Sodium Bisulfate)
1 litre of pool magic spring & fall + phosfree (by a company called Natural Chemistry) (no ingredients listed. says it reduces phosphates & prevents waterline ring
3 Aqua Smarte Plus MizerMax Pacs

The installers did not leave me any manuals, so I'm not even sure where the Aqua Smarte Pac goes. I have read several posts here on the forum and gotten some answers, but since I am brand new to all this, I am hoping someone can take my hand and guide me step by step on what to do next.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Watermom]

I cannot help you with your filter system as I am not familiar with it. Hopefully someone else can.

Do NOT put the Blast in the pool ever. Or the pool magic spring and fall stuff.

Test your chlorine and pH when you get the OTO/Phenol Red kit and post those numbers. Depending on those numbers, you may or may not need the pH Plus or Minus.

What are the ingredients in the MizerMax Pacs?

What are you planning to use for your source of chlorine? If I were you, I'd just use bleach and just add the CYA separately. I think you are going to need more like 6 lbs. of CYA but start with the 4 lbs. that you have. Once your pump is running, pour the CYA into an old sock and hang it in front of a return jet. Give it a squeeze every now and then to help it dissolve faster. When your K-2006 kit arrives, test your CYA level and report it, but don't test it until at least a week has passed since you have added it.

So that your pool doesn't turn green, go ahead and start adding some bleach. It is amazing how fast an un-chlorinated pool can turn into a swamp! Go ahead a pour a bottle of generic Walmart bleach (8.25% sodium hypochlorite) into your pool. Slowly pour it as far away from the sides of the pool as you can as you walk around the perimeter and stir it up as best you can with a clean broom, oar, submersible pump, etc. You will probably need to do this morning and evening until you get that CYA dissolved. Without CYA, chlorine is quickly lost to the sun. Once your pump is up and running, you can slowly pour the bleach into the skimmer or in front of the return jet but move the sock of CYA away first.

Hope that helps you get started. Repost when you get some numbers or if you have more questions.

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[CrazyKittyLady]

Thank you, Watermom. I didn't actually make it out to Lowe's today but will go first thing in the morning. I will also pick up bleach. The ingredients in the MizerMax Pac are trichloro-s-triazinetrione 99% and other ingredients 1%. It says available chlorine 90%. I guess this is my source of chlorine. I just don't know where it goes in the system. I will try to look that up. The one page of semi-instructions I DO have says "step 5) when chlorine reading is down to 1.0 ppm insert Aqua Smarte Plus MizerMax Pac." So it sounds like I need to turn on the pump add the bleach and the cyanuric acid (like you stated above) and check it daily until the chlorine reading is down to 1.0 ppm then insert the pac (after I figure out where to put it).

I will post numbers as soon as I have them. Thank you for getting me started!

[Watermom]

Does it say copper anywhere on those trichlor tabs? If so, don't use them. Contrary to popular belief, it is copper that turns blonde hair green and not chlorine like people think. If you are going to use those tabs (once you make sure they definitely don't have copper in them), then they will add CYA as they add chlorine. But, after awhile when your CYA builds up to 45 or 50, you'll want to discontinue using them and only use bleach. If you do decide that you are going to use them, you won't want to put all that CYA in separately, though.

Your other option is to not use them and just use bleach from the get go and add the CYA separately like I mentioned above. That is what I do. Your choice. Either way will work.

[CrazyKittyLady]

I do not see copper anywhere on the container. It doesn't say what the other 1% ingredients are.

[CrazyKittyLady]

Hi again!

Tested with oto/red phenol this evening. Chlorine is less than .5 and pH is 7.8. Electrician coming this morning. What is the next step.

Thank you!

[Watermom]

Get some bleach in there or your pool is gonna turn green! Add one jug of bleach by pouring it slowly around the perimeter of the pool as far from the sides of the pool as you can reach. Stir it around the best you can with a clean broom or oar or something. (Also, until you get some CYA in there, remember that you are gonna have to test and add bleach a couple of times a day to maintain a chlorine reading. Once the CYA dissolves, then you will be able to test and dose with bleach in the evenings only.)

[PoolDoc]

membership updated.

To reiterate WaterMom's recommendations, ADD BLEACH NIGHTLY, till you get your program going. You do NOT want that pool to turn green.

Pouring 3 gallons in tonight, and than 1 - 2 gallons every day after should keep you safe.

[CrazyKittyLady]

Finally got the pump plugged in yesterday afternoon. Last night I hung 4 lbs cyanuric acid (in 2 socks) over the side of the pool by the water return jet and I also poured in 2 gallons of bleach. This morning the numbers are Cl = >5 and the pH = 7.6. My total alkalinity is still very high 270ppm. No hardness (calcium?) detected (water didn't turn red at all with the drops just kind of light yellowish). Cyanuric acid level = 30ppm. Now what do I do? The Aqua Smarte Mizermax Pacs say to let the chlorine level go down below 1 before inserting the pac. It was below 1 until I added bleach, so should I wait until it is back down and put in the pac or should I keep adding bleach? I will be using those pacs as the chlorine source. Also, we are getting ready to leave for vacation and will be gone for 10 days. I was hoping to have the chemicals figured out before we leave so I don't come home to a pond. Should I leave the pump running while we are gone (I assume so). I was thinking that the pump would run 24/7 all summer, but I've read where folks turn it off sometimes. Any suggestions there would be great. The pump has a low and a high setting. I have it on high right now to circulate all the bleach, CYA, etc. Should I leave it on low while we are gone? There will be someone here part of the time if something HAS to be done while we are gone, but they won't be swimming, just looking after the house and the cats.

Thanks so much for getting this newbie started! When I tested the water this morning it was SO warm and the girls and I are just dying to take our first dip!!

Ashley :)

[PoolDoc]

To go on vacation, given your situation:

1. Insert your Aqua Smarte chlorine packs now -- don't wait for the chlorine to go down.
2. Lower the pH to 7.2 -- your high TA will cause it to rise slowly.
3. Purchase 15 gallons of plain 6% household bleach, and store it in a cool place accessible to your pool caretaker.
4. Run your pump on low for 1 day, to make sure everything works OK, then turn it to high, and leave it there till ready to go.
5. Before leaving, turn the pump to low, and the tablet feeder to a low setting.
6. Instruct your pool caretaker to add 1/2 gallon of bleach every EVENING -- NOT morning!
7. Instruct him/her to feel the pool surface under the water -- if it feels the slightest bit slimy, add a FULL GALLON more.

That's it.

[CrazyKittyLady]

Thank you for the vacation advice. I followed it and just returned home to a crystal clear pool that needs to be vacuumed. However, my house sitter didn't put in any bleach for the past 2 days and the Aqua Smarte pack ran out, so my chlorine reading is way down for the first time this week :( The Taylor K-2006 kit came while I was gone, so I ran the tests this afternoon and this is what I got:

FC=.6ppm
CC=0ppm
pH=8.0 (5 drops of R0005 brought the sample to 7.4)
TA=240ppm
Calcium=270ppm
CYA= <30ppm (I had to fill the tube all the way to the top to make the black dot disappear and there is no number up that far)

I am ready to get this pool balanced and swim! Any help would be greatly appreciated -- i.e.: what to worry about first? chlorine? pH?

Thanks,
Ashley

[Watermom]

Go ahead and get some bleach in there before the pool turns green. Then, you can add a little muriatic acid to drop the pH some.