Sionann - setting up my first pool EVER today and would like advice on chemicals

I'm completely confused on chemicals and where to even begin. I thought this might be the best time to ask for advice since I don't even have the water in the pool yet so no mistakes have been made at this point. :) I have limited resources in my area (mainly just a Walmart) and limited resources in my bank account. So where do I begin before I make a costly mistake?

Hi, Sionann, and welcome to the forum!!

I removed the link from your post because Ben is the only that can mod in links--and I don't know how long that would take, so in the interest of getting your post to the forum quicker, I took the link out.

You can do just about everything you need to do with a pool from WalMart. The best thing you can do first would be to run a set of tests on your fill water source and post those results here. From that, we can tell you what you're going to need. You do need a source for testing: we strongly recommend the Taylor K-2006 kit, which will test for everything you need (link in my sig) but you can get by for now on the 5- or 6-way drop-based kit that WalMart sells. If they don't have them, then try to get a sample and get it to a pool store and have a set of tests run--just don't buy the list of stuff they're going to try to sell you. Just tell them you already have it, then come back and post your test results.

I can tell you up front that you're going to need CYA (also known as stabilizer, conditioner, or balancer). I get mine from WalMart in the spa section in a 4 pound container. Just check the ingredient label, and make sure it says cyanuric or isocyanuric acid...that's the right stuff. You're also going to need some bleach. Plain, generic, ultra WalMart bleach is what I use in my pool. I would start out with 5 or 6 of the large size jugs for now, because you'll be adding once or twice a day until your stabilizer dissolves in your water.

I deleted your link before I looked at the pool--what size is the pool, and do you know approximately how many gallons?

We'll be happy to walk you through getting it filled and water balanced and ready to swim--and it's easier than you think! :)

Janet

It's 20' x 48", approx 8,000 gallons.

okay....so here's an update. The pool finished filling up Monday evening. I couldn't get the CYA until yesterday. I put the required amount (on label) for my pool capacity (2 1/2 pounds for about 10,000 gallons of water) in the skimmer and ran the filter overnight. This afternoon I checked to see if the CYA had dissolved and it appears it has. (I spilled a tinsy, winsy amount on bottom of pool and it was gone so I would assume the CYA in the filter is gone too since it was getting a lot more action than what was sitting on the bottom.) So today I added bleach to the skimmer, not much and tested it a few hours later. It didn't even register on the test. So I added a little more. Here are my latest readings.

Hardness - 250ppm
Total Chlorine - between 0 and 1ppm
Free Chlorine - 3ppm
pH - between 7.2 and 7.8
Total alkalinity - 180ppm
Stabilizer - 50ppm

I've been reading a lot on Pool Solutions and didn't want to overdo anything and get into the area of having too much of something.
Thanks in advance. :)

If Stabilizer (CYA) is TRULY 50 you absolutely do NOT want to add anything more. I usually say use 1/4 to 1/2 of what is recommended because you can always add more.
You must be using strips because your FC (Free Chlorine) reads higher than your TC (Total Chlorine). This is only possible because the TC pad on strips is worthless. By definition, Total Chlorine cannot be lower than Free Chlorine--because it's defined as the sum of Free Chlorine plus Combined Chloramines (CC) IOW, TC = FC + CC. From years of seeing this I can tell you that the FC pad on the strip is pretty good, but the TC is ALWAYS wrong.

Once you get a proper drop test you'll be able to confirm that CYA reading of 50. Plan on keeping your FC between 3 and 6 for now. Your CYA may go higher--it takes 48 hours to a week to fully dissolve. But we can make sure it's not a problem. In fact, living in Alabama, your conditions may be similar to aylad's and SHE runs a high-stabilizer pool without any problem at all, and does it deliberately. Why? By maintaining PROPER FC levels with a high-stabilizer pool, aylad is able to keep her pool sanitary and clean with a lot less additions of bleach.

Your Total Alkalinity (T/A) is a bit high, but, unless you find you can't maintain your pH, it's not a problem. Looks like you have hard water too, but a CH(hardness) of 250 with a T/A of 180 in a vinyl pool should not give you any trouble at all. So you don't have to "fix" it, you just have to watch it.

In other words, you are doing pretty darn good for a first-timer and your water is definitely swimable. Perfect? What's perfect? Safe and sanitary? Definitely!

Now even though funds are limited you should stretch your budget to get the Taylor K-2006 test kit. I know it looks intimidating but it will pay for itself this season alone in both chlorine and heartache. If you don't get algae because you've known your chlorine levels, you've just save a fortune on the cleanup you did NOT have to make!

Click on the link in aylad's signature and the PoolForum will get a small part of the cost to help pay for this place. However, equally good is the Leslies Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit. They have a lot of kits, but the FAS-DPD one is by far the best and not the most expensive. The FAS-DPD Chlorine test is the best, most accurate, and widest range test available for the homeowner, measuring chlorine levels from .2ppm to 50ppm! Plus it measures CC to the same range.

Remember: Pool maintenance is easy and no mystery. You worry mainly about chlorine levels and pH levels, and, you aim for chlorine levels determined by your CYA level.

Carl