New 4ft x 18ft start-up help please [Archive]

waste

04-26-2006, 07:59 PM

will be setting up my new pool sometime next week. Want to get all my "ducks" in a row so I have everything I need. I use bleach,borax and baking soda., but always have trouble with CYA. maybe this time I will get the right strat and maintain it. I appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks , Gladys
Gladys, welcome to the forum!
(Had to throw a curve ball for your first post, didn't you ? ;) )
The matter of stabilizer levels has been debated back and forth here a number of times and places - with no conclusive answer :( . Watermom has kindly reposted "Ben's Best Guess" chart for chlorine requirements vs. cya levels here - the first topic (it's 'stickied') on this thread has the chart. The thing about cya is that you need some to keep the chlorine in your water from 'burning off' in the sun (when a customer asks me what it is, I usually tell them that it's 'sunblock' for the chlorine) but too much leaves you vulnerable to algae and viruses while maintaining an 'acceptable' chlorine residual. Di-chlor and tri-chlor tabs contain cya, therefore using an autochlorinator will drive the stabilizer levels up, over the course of the pool season, requiring a higher level of chlorine residual to do the same job.
If you use the 'advanced search' option, you can search "mwsmith2" and get his bleach calculator (there's a link in his signature). Use his calc. to figure out how much cya you WANT to add, for your pool. (FWIW - I prefer 25 (optimal IMHO) - 40 ppm but, like I said, the 'poolforum jurry' is still out on where to keep your cya). As you will be using bleach to chlorinate, you'll need to keep an eye on your cya level as the season progresses, and replace any lost to splashout, or whatever else.
Hope this helps you - enjoy the pool