Another new pool owner and BBB convert

Bought a house over the winter that came with a 12 year old, 38x18, above ground, 20,000 gallon pool. Wasn’t looking to be a pool owner, but here I am. Thought I would build a good relationship with the local pool service store to “hold my hand” and educate me. So I hired them to open the pool and give me an orientation.

Well… let’s just say that experience did not go well on many levels. And then I found this site. WOW!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! I’ve learned so much from everyone here I feel I could open my own pool company and put that other one out of business. ;-) I also learned that the other company ripped me off more than I originally realized. Oh well, at least I’m on the enlightened pool owner path now.

The day after the pool was opened and the service crew dumped in unknown amounts of various Bioguard products, I took a water sample to the store for testing. PH was >8.4, FC 0, CYA 60, ALK 105, hardness 117. All those numbers were circled on the test printout and discussed, *except* CYA. And I was sold a package of test strips that did not have a test for CYA, as well as more (way overpriced) BioGuard products.

Needless to say, after spending hours perusing the great info here on the site, I quickly abandoned everything the pool company told me to do. For the past two weeks I have been using nothing but the BBB method. My chlorine of choice is a 12.5% liquid bleach from BJs specifically marketed for use in pools by a company called Austin’s, under the Pool Tech brand. I’ve been adding 64 oz of bleach every evening to achieve a FC level of 5. Other numbers at the moment are PH 7.8, ALK 120, hardness 50 - all measured using those strips - and the water is crystal clear. As soon as my “proper” test kit arrives from Amazon, the CYA test is the first thing on my to do list.

The only real question I have not resolved in my head is how often should the pool be shocked, and how much bleach to add to get to what level of FC. I've looked at the Best Guess chart, but without knowing for sure the CYA levels, I'm *really* just guessing here. Any guidance from the experts would be great. Again, thank you to all that make this site possible!!

Sounds like you have been doing your homework and doing a lot of reading! Great decision to order the kit. I hope you get it soon.

How often to shock a pool? Many pool stores will tell you that you have to shock weekly but that is not true. To be honest, I seldom shock my pool, It isn't necessary as a matter of routine. Basically, you only need to shock the pool if:

-- you let your chlorine level drop lower than the minimum level required based on your CYA level per the Best Guess Chart
-- if you have a CC reading greater than 0.5
-- if you have cloudy water which may indicate an impending algae bloom
-- maybe if you have an extremely high swimmer load (like after a party)

Sometimes, if have a lot of debris in my pool from a big storm (that we often get around here), then I might shock the pool.

Regarding dosing with bleach, in a 20K pool, each quart of 8.25% bleach will add 1 ppm of chlorine. There is a bleach calculator that you might find helpful. It is in the Forum Q & A section. I think it is the third thread from the top if I am remembering correctly.

Let us know if you have more questions. Don't forget to read on our sister website www.poolsolutions.com as well. Lots of good info there, too.

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

On outdoor pools, 'shocking' is usually not needed *if* you
(a) you maintain Best Guess chlorine levels,
(b) expose the pool to sunlight regularly (chlorine + solar UV break down contaminants chlorine alone has a problem with) and
(c) are not having a problem with algae or whatever.

Membership updated.

Thanks Watermom & PoolDoc! I have read all(?) the material over at the Pool Solutions site. Again, great info!

One other question for now: The vinyl liner, right above the water line, is rather dark gray and dingy. Using a brush or plain sponge on it has no effect. Is there a best practice for how to clean that? Any such thing as a "pool water safe" cleaner? Or do I just leave it alone?

You can use baking soda on a sponge; that works well for removing some forms of black water line grunge. But sometimes, the 'stain' is actually deterioration of the liner, which can't really be 'removed'.