Opening pool for first time with chlorine

Hi All - well some of you might remember that I tried to convert my baquacil pool to chlorine last season unsuccessfully despite lots of great help and advice here - and ended up doing a drain and refill, starting with fresh water. We had a successful though short swimming season using the BBB method and I am getting ready to open the pool for the first time with chlorine. I have searched for a sticky on the site for a guide but can't seem to find it.

So, I thought I would just post my numbers and ask for some general guidance.

I have an above ground 10,000 gallon pool ( oval) in Mass. I have not uncovered it yet but did get a water sample today to see where things stood so I could get all the necessary chemical ahead of time. The water looked clear to me from my peak at it - but I suppose I will know better once we take the cover off this weekend ( hopefully if the weather holds)

So, my FC was like 0 to .5. CC= 0 pH = 7.2-7.3 alk= 50 CYA 40ish ( was approximately 60-70 at closing in sept).

Once i get it up and running I just need to know what to do in what order.

For example, do I have to get it to shock level chlorine ( for my CYA) for a bit or not if the water looks clear? Do I adjust FC first, then deal with alkalinity. I'm happy with the pH for now - this is sort of where my pool's sweet spot has always been. I was not planning to add any CYA - just be careful with using up too many trichlor pucks and pushing it up too high. Finally, Ben had me use some polyquat in my freshly filled pool and again at the end of the season. do I need it at start up now as well? and if so how much?

FYI - I used trichlor pucks for most of the season until by CYA hit 60ish and then I used bleach ( 12.5%).

Sorry if this info is already posted somewhere:)

Lastly - my subscription expires in june - when can I reregister and how? You guys are the best! Thanks so much. aciam

Hi, and welcome back!!

When you open the pool, unless you have metal problems, I wouldn't worry about the polyquat. Most folks around here use it to close for the winter, and some use it when going on extended vacations, or have metals in the pool, but many of us, me included, never use it. Since your CYA is 40ish, and your chlorine is so low, I would definitely shock the pool on startup....and keep it at shock level until you can test at night and again in the morning, and lose 1 ppm or less of chlorine. At that time you can let it drift down to the chlorine level that is appropriate for your CYA (see the link to the best guess chart in my sig). pH is fine, your CYA will rise with the trichlor, so you can just push the alk up a little bit with some baking soda. Otherwise, you look like you're in good shape--and this season is gonna be SOOO much better for you! :)

The link for subscribing is also in my sig, if you want to resubscribe--and we do appreciate it!

Thank you so much! Just what I was looking for! Hoping to open this weekend - and if anything else comes up I will be back to post! aciam

Happy to see you back - on such better terms.