Hello! newbie with small pool. test kit?

[dkellogg3]

Pool newbie here... picked up a Summer Escapes 12'x30" easy set from a local tag sale site for $40! Wish I'd found this place before filling it last saturday. Going to pick up a test kit and get going with the guidelines set out in the Intex forum.

For this pool will the hth kit be sufficient?

[Watermom]

See if you can find an HTH 6-Way drops-based test kit (not 6-way test strips). We have an easy start up recipe that might help you. Read about it here:> http://pool9.net/ssr/

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[CarlD]

Y'know, I started with a 15' x 3' Intex donut round, and STILL I bought the equivalent of the K-2006 back then. Still have it. It was worth every nickel, even with a small pool. I STILL think it's a bargain, and the HTH 6-way is the best, cheap alternative.

IMHO (In My Humble Opinion.)

[dkellogg3]

Picked up the hth 6 way' 4 gallons of bleach and 2 boxes of borax. Going to do the metal bucket test then get started dousing with the chlorine. Calculated volvo is about 2000 gal. Sound right?

[dkellogg3]

Ok, tested (no color change), so added 8 doses (4 cups) of bleach, then skimmed vac'd, and put the filter on to mix. Checked pH (7.2) and chlorine (5 ppm). I intend to keep pH between 7.2 and 7.8, and chlorine up around 5 ppm with bleach until i can get my hands on dichlor. Good plan?

[Watermom]

Sounds fine. You'll probably find that you'll need to add bleach a couple of times per day. An outdoor pool without chlorine loses it to the sun fast!

[dkellogg3]

Great, thanks watermom!

As a general rule, how long should I run the rp800 pump (780 gpm) each day?

[Watermom]

I run my pump anywhere from 6-10 hrs per day and that is probably more than is necessary. Some people do it for 8 hours per day in two 4 hour sessions. There is no hard fast rule.

[CarlD]

Sounds fine. You'll probably find that you'll need to add bleach a couple of times per day. An outdoor pool without chlorine loses it to the sun fast!

Watermom means an outdoor pool without STABILIZER lose chlorine to the sun fast!

[Watermom]

Yep! That's what I meant! Thanks, buddy, for catching that! ;)