Guidance for a n00b

Hi there, been lurking about for a couple of weeks and trying to learn what I can. Could use some help..

I bought a 12' diameter Intex pool and have set it up and filled it.
I have a Taylor K-1000 Basic test kit.

Following the "kiddie pool" guide, which my pool seems to qualify for, I put in about 6.5 cups of liquid bleach and about 2 cups of Borax yesterday. I ran the pump for a couple of hours and then tested, and the readings were both super high for chlorine and pH.

Today I tested again, not having added any other chemicals, and the chlorine reading seems to be almost non-existent. The pH reading is still at max (or higher if that is possible).

I can still smell some chlorine odor in the water, despite the reading being so low.

Where do I go from here? Do I put even more chlorine in, even though I put a lot in only yesterday? And do I need to get acid to lower the pH? I have been reading about it but I'm not sure exactly when to do what.
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

Hi, vermont and welcome to the forum.

We're going to need some testing numbers to be able to help. Also tell us the volume of the pool. Until you get some stabilizer in there, the sun is quickly going to deplete the chlorine. You can either add it directly as a separate thing or you can chlorinate with a stabilized product. Since this is a new fill, I think a good thing to use for a short time would be some dichlor powder as your source of chlorine. It won't take long before you have your stabilizer (CYA) level built up to where you want it ---- around 40-50 is good -- and then you'll want to quit using it and just use bleach. For now, go ahead and add more bleach and you'll also probably need to do so this evening as well.

As far as pH being high, yes, muriatic acid is used to lower it but without an actual pH number, I can't comment on that.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the quick reply.

The box the pool came in says the pool volume is about 1800 gallons. The calculator on the kiddie pool page says it's about 2200. So I guess 2000ish?

The testing numbers I got are:
Cl: .5 (or possibly lower, was barely visible)
pH: The highest the kit shows is 8.2. It was at least that, if not higher.

When you say "you can chlorinate with a stabilized product," what does that mean, exactly? What is a "stabilized product?"

Are dichlor powder and stabilizer only available through pool supply places, or can I get those at hardware stores?
How do I test the stabilizer level? Did I buy the wrong test kit? Mine only seems to do chlorine and pH.

How do I know how much bleach to put in at a given time?

Many places sell dichlor shock. I never buy it, but I think even Walmart may. Check the ingredient labels on their powdered shock. Stabilized products are types of chlorine that have chlorine and cyanuric acid (stabilizer) in them. Trichlor pucks are very common but will not add the CYA very quickly. That is why I suggested dichlor as it will add it faster. Since your chlorine is so low and by now ( 4 hours since you posted) it is probably non-existant, use bleach for now until you get some dichlor. In your pool, each cup of 6% bleach will add just under 2ppm of chlorine to the pool. Each time you test, add enough to get the cl level back up to about 6 or 7. While there is no stabilizer in there, it will disappear fast so you'll need to test and dose at least 2x per day and if you can, you may need a third time as well to make sure you keep some chlorine in there.

Another option if you don't want to use dichlor, is to just use bleach but also buy some CYA and add it separately. CYA is called several things --- stabilizer, conditioner, cyanuric or isocyanuric acid. If you decide to go this route, add about a half a pound slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running. Then, keep the pump running 24/7 for about 4 or 5 days to give it time to dissolve in the filter. This will take you up to about 30ppm of CYA. After about a week, your CYA should totally be dissolved. If your kit doesn't test for it and it probably doesn't, have a pool store check the level for you, but don't let them talk you into buying a bunch of stuff. Report the level here so we can see where you are. Once you get the CYA in there, you should also be able to go to testing and adding bleach in the evenings only.

You are right about adding muriatic acid to get the pH down. Small doses of muriatic acid (maybe about 1/4 cup) added slowly in front of a return jet. Be careful not to get it on you or on the sides of the pool. Wear gloves and glasses and be upwind of the fumes. Nasty stuff. 3 or 4 hours later, retest pH and redose if needed until you get to around 7.4-7.6 although actually anywhere 7.2-7.8 is ok.

Let us know which chlorination method you want to do --- either dichlor for now and switch to bleach later or go ahead with bleach now with CYA added separately. Both methods will work. Do the one you are most comfortable with.

Keep us posted on how things are going!

I don't have a skimmer (I'm not even really sure what a skimmer is) but I did some searching and found the suggestions in several places to use a tube sock to dispense cyanuric acid. I put 10 oz. of granules in a tube sock and hung it over the side in front of the jet, with a weight on the ground outside the pool to keep it from falling in. So far it's about halfway dispersed.

Is it really necessary to test the CYA level? If its function is to keep chlorine from dissipating as quickly, can I use the rate of chlorine depletion as a general guide and not worry about testing the CYA specifically? I ask because stand-alone CYA tests seem to be hard to find and I'm not excited about buying a whole other test kit in addition to the one I already have.

It is necessary to test your CYA level, because that's what will determine where your chlorine levels have to be in order to not get algae blooms. As your CYA rises, so must the minimum level of chlorine (see the "Best Guess chlorine chart" in the link in Watermom's sig). You don't necessarily have to buy a CYA test kit, the pool store can test it for you, but they're going to insist that you buy a bunch of stuff from them, most of which you don't need. So--if you can resist the pool store hype, they can do the CYA testing for you. If you can't....then you've been warned! :)

Next time you go to WalMart, take a look for the 5-way hTh kit--that one is less than $20 and includes the CYA test.

Janet

Okay well I don't have a CYA tester yet but I was able to borrow one. Here are my readings from today:

CYA 60 ppm (Too high?)
pH 7.5
Chlorine 0.5ish

If I'm understanding things correctly, I need to add chlorine (bleach) on a regular basis now. I have looked at the "best guess" chart for stabilizer/chlorine, so I think I know what I'm targeting, but what I still don't quite understand is how much to put in at a given time in order to get me there. Is there an easy way to figure out how much bleach to add every day? (And do I need to add it literally every day?)

A CYA of 60 will work just fine, but you won't want to use any trichlor pucks or dichlor shock in this pool as they will both add more CYA. Just use bleach. You'll need to keep your chlorine between 5-10ppm all the time. If you dip below 5, you risk an algae bloom. Test each evening and then add enough bleach to get back to 10ppm. In a 2000 gallon pool, a cup of 6% bleach will add just under 2ppm of chlorine. Use this as a reference to decide how much bleach to add each evening. For the first week or two, test every evening and you'll soon learn how your pool is gonna behave. You many find out that you can add bleach every 2 or 3 days without it falling below 5ppm. Time will tell but to start with, test cl and pH every evening.