costo's thread - chemicals for above ground pool

We just put up an AGP -- Intex ultra frame 20'x48". I have not yet put any chemicals in the pool. I was hoping for some input on where to start.....

Hi and welcome to the pool forum. Congrats on the new pool! I assume it is full and waiting? Do you have a test kit? If not, the one we recommend can be found through the Amazon link in my signature. Either the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C which is the same kit with larger quantities of some of the most used reagents. if you buy through the link, the Pool Forum makes a little money which helps us to be able to stay online. Only buy if the seller is Amato Industries as some other sellers are substituting the K-2005 which you do not want.

What is the volume of the pool? What type of filter do you have and what size is the pump? We also will need some current testing numbers taken with a drops-based kit. We need to know the pH and alk for now since you haven't added anything at this point.

Do you have any regular unscented household bleach on hand?

Repost and we'll try and get you going. We don't want to wait too long or that new pool will turn green, much faster than you think!

I am not sure exactly the volume, I will have to check with my paperwork. Based on WxLxD calculations I will say 8000-9000 gallons.
I am using the pump that came with it which is the Intex Krystal Clear 635t 1500 gph with a size A filter.
I do have regular household bleach on hand.
What is a drops-based kit?

For now, go and add a 3-quart jug of plain, unscented 6% bleach slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running or slowly in front of a return jet being careful not to splash you or the liner. That will take your chlorine up to about 5 or so. You'll probably have to repeat the dose late afternoon and maybe evening. In fact for the first few days, you'll have to test and add bleach about 3 times per day until you get some stabilizer (cyanuric acid) in the water. CYA acts kind of like sunscreen for your chlorine. Without it, you lose all the chlorine to the sun really fast.

You're going to need a good kit. Do yourself a favor and order the kit I mentioned above. It will make your life much easier. In the meantime, go to Walmart and pick up cheap OTO kit (yellow and red drops). It will probably only register to 3, but you can force it to go higher with a dilution method described here:

http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/how-...d-testkit.html

That is a temporary measure, not intended to be a replacement for a good kit.

Each time you test the cl, add enough bleach to get the chlorine level back up to about 5ppm. In this size pool, each quart of 6% bleach will add about 1.8ppm of chlorine. Use that as a reference to help you figure out how much bleach to add each time you test.
Also, once you get the OTO kit, test the pH and report back. You want the pH between 7.2-7.8 --- I like 7.4-7.6 best.

Get a small container of CYA somewhere. It is sometimes labeled as stabilizer, conditioner or balancer. Check the label ingredients. If it says cyanuric or isocyanuric acid, it is the right stuff. Your Walmart, Home Depot or Lowe's may have it. If not, go to a pool store to get it but don't let them talk you into buying a bunch of stuff. Start by adding about 2.5 lbs.slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running. Then, run your pump 24/7 for the next 4 days or so to give it time to dissolve in the filter. Do NOT add more until a week has passed and you check the level. (If you order that kit from Amazon, it might be to you by then and you can test your own CYA level. If not, you'll have to have the pool store check it for you.) Report back when you get that reading in a week or so.

After your CYA registers in your water, you'll be able to go to testing and adding bleach in the evenings only.

While you are at Walmart, pick up several jugs of bleach. You'll use quite a bit especially in the first week. Also, pick up a box or two of 20 Mule Team Borax to have on hand. You can find it in the laundry aisle. Borax is used to raise pH when needed. Don't add any just yet until you post your pH reading for us to look at. Also, get a jug of distilled water.

Hope this helps! Don't wait too long to get the bleach in there. It is unbelievable how fast an unchlorinated pool will turn green!

EDIT --- I forgot to tell you not to backwash your filter for the week that the CYA is in the filter dissolving. Otherwise, you'll end up just throwing it out. Since this is a fresh fill, you shouldn't need to backwash yet anyways. Also, read lots of posts here on the forum to learn a bunch. Also, read at our sister website www.poolsolutions.com

I finally added bleach this am(approx 3-3 1/2 qts) slowly to the skimmer and in front of the water flow. I have been unable to find a drop test to test the water but am hoping to get one today and test this evening. I did go ahead and purchase the stabilizer but have not added it yet.

You probably won't have any chlorine left in the pool by this evening, because with no stabilizer the sun will consume it in a matter of a few hours or less. Until you have CYA in the pool, you're going to need to add bleach a few times a day to make sure you're keeping some chlorine in the pool. Go ahead and add your CYa, either in a sock hung in front of a return or slowly into the skimmer--but if you add it via skimmer, don't backwash the filter or retest for it for a week, because it takes up to 4-5 days to dissolve.

Janet

I have been adding some bleach daily, approx a quart. I finally got a cheap kit today(have had the hardest time finding one believe it or not) and tested it. Ph was 7.5 but did not get a reading on chlorine level. Im assuming its because I dont have enough to register but not sure on this. I went ahead and put a whole jug of bleach in and about 2 lbs of CYA into the skimmer(started to put it into the return stream but it didnt circulate well enough and just fell to the bottom eventually so Ill be cleaning that up later im sure???).

If you are only adding one quart of bleach one time a day without having any stabilizer in there yet, you are going to end up with an algae bloom. One quart will only add about 1.8ppm of cl to your pool and it will quickly be lost to the sun, leaving your pool unchlorinated for most of the day. It will take about a week for that CYA to totally dissolve. Until that time, you should be adding bleach several times a day. Please reread the first paragraph in post #4. Adding the whole 3 quart jug was good. That should have taken your cl to about 5.3ppm.

You also did the right thing to add the CYA to the skimmer. You don't want cyanuric acid granules laying on your liner. Run the pump 24/7 for the next 4 days or so while the CYA is dissolving in your filter.

Keep up the bleach additions and within a week when you retest the CYA, you should have enough in there that you can test and add bleach in the evenings only. You're getting there. Just have to keep it up a little longer.

I finally got a chlorine reading this morning from the cheapo kit I had got at walmart. It was actually too high to test but I had added a big jug of bleach last night, I then ran the pump all night. Not sure what effect this would have on the reading but I have added the bleach at night before and it didnt even register. I also took a water sample to my local Ace as they test pool water free of charge. Here are the results from that:
Water Quality:
Using Algaecide: No
Using stabilizer:
WAter clarity: Clear
WAter color: colorless
chlorine demand: normal
Water volume: 9400 gallons

Total Alkalinity: 153ppm
ph: 7.2
calcium hardness: 93ppm
cyanuric acid: 10ppm
free chlorine: 6.7ppm

Adding 2 lbs. to your pool should have added about 30ppm of CYA. It may be that it hasn't fully dissolved. I'd wait 3 days or so and test it again. If it is still only 10ppm, then you'll want to add a little more or you're going to have a hard time keeping chlorine in the pool especially on a hot, sunny day. Keep the chlorine levels up for another day or so. Test tonight an hour after you add bleach and note the reading. Then, test again in the morning within 2 hours of sunrise. If you have lost no more than 1ppm of chlorine, then you'll be in good shape. If you lost more than 1ppm, you'll need to shock it back up. Continue this cycle until you don't lose more than 1ppm of cl overnight.

Another thing you'll want to work on after you get your pool holding chlorine is lowering the alk. I'm going to go ahead and post the link so you can start reading about that process.

http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/lowe...p-by-step.html