Quick Question About SSR

Hello,

I have recently put in a 15'x42" Summer Escapes Pool in my yard. I live at the beach and wanted to start with something smaller to see if it would be worth making a larger investment. Short attention span with things most of the time. Haha.

I put it up this week after leveling the yard. I filled it with water and am already able to enjoy it. The pump has the cell within the filter (planning to purchase higher quality filters also per the instructions on this forum) so I bought the 1" chlorine tablets that go inside. They are Kem-tek 177. They are keeping the chlorine at the ideal level per the water tests I have done so far. I wish I would have read this forum prior to purchasing the largest container of them I could find and I would have purchased dichlor instead. With that said, as long as I keep my chlorine levels at the ideal levels for the SSR can I still use borax and be as successful? I am ok with calling it a loss on the chlorine tablets if needed, but wanted to check first.

Also, I bought a good pole, vacuum, and hose from Lowes. I have also purchase the Aqualife 2pk of magnetic LED lights with remote and have been impressed with them so far. Any other items I should invest in? Not looking to upgrade filter quite yet.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You can use trichlor pucks but just be aware that they have CYA in them and will cause your CYA level to rise and rise and rise. Every outdoor pool needs some CYA or else the chlorine is quickly lost to the sun. The problem comes when the CYA level gets too high. Most people don't realize that the higher your CYA level is, the higher your chlorine level has to be to keep algae from getting started. Take a look at the chart at this link for the connection between CYA and chlorine:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

In addition, if you are going to use the tabs for an extended period and thus have high CYA and need high chlorine levels. you'll have to have a kit that can test it. The kits that you will be able to buy locally will only measure chlorine levels to 5ppm. However, the Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy) will allow you to test way higher than 5ppm. You won't find it locally but can order it through this link:> http://pool9.net/tk/

The tabs are acidic and will drive your pH down, so keep an eye on it and make sure you keep it above 7.0. (By the way, when your chlorine is above 5ppm (or above 10ppm with Taylor kits), you will get falsely high pH readings. So keep that in mind when you are testing. You can always dilute 50:50 with pool water and distilled water and then test pH normally with that mix if you need to.

Hope this helps. Welcome to the Pool Forum! :)

(Until you registration is completed, you won't be able to see the rest of the forum while you are logged in. So, copy that link and then paste it into a browser window after you log out.)

Just to add to Watermom's advice: Please take actual readings of your measures and post them. We tend to have a very different idea of what "ideal" chemical levels are than pool stores and we want you to NOT have problems with your pool, nor spend more money than you need to on it.

Welcome!

Thanks Watermom! So should I start with the daily dose of Borax?

You will want your pH level to be the determining factor about that. If your pH dips below 7.2, you'll need to add some Borax. Never let it drop below 7.0.

Do yourself a favor and order the K2006 I linked above. It will make your pool maintenance so much easier!