New User with new liner

I am new to this forum. I am having a new vinyl liner installed in my inground pool this week. The pool holds about 15,000 gallons I believe and we have a basic sand filtration system. I am wondering what I need to add once the liner is installed and filled with water. The old liner is very faded - I would assume from years of shock and chemicals being used. Not sure? Anyway - we would like to keep the new liner looking nice and not getting damaged for as long as we can. We have only lived here a short amount of time relative to the initial installation of the pool so I'm not sure of how it was treated in the past. In addition to the initial start up information, any recommendations on test kits? We have just used strips in the past that weren't too accurate. We basically have just thrown shock in it when it looked like it needed it and brushed it a bit to maintain as long as we have been here. We are wanting to do it the "right way" now and would appreciate any advice you could give us. :)

Your questions are easy!

Use our Super Simple Start-up Recipe to get the chemistry going:> http://pool9.net/ssr/

And, order a Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy). Won't be able to buy it locally but you can get it through this link:> http://pool9.net/tk/

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

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Thanks! This seems simple enough. We'll see if I'm still saying that in a few weeks. :) Is dichlor shock the same thing that you buy in the pound bags at Wal-mart (Aqua-Chem)? We have about 10 lbs of that if it's acceptable to use. If not - we will head to Sam's. If I'm understanding correctly - we follow the 7 day start-up plan with the bleach and borax. Then the Pool Care plan is the daily routine we'll follow from there on out. So we will be adding some shock and some borax and testing everyday, is that right? I really didn't know we needed to test daily. I thought a couple of times a week to test was ok and we were told by the pool supply company to just add a couple of pounds of shock per week. Go figure... Anyway - thanks again!!!

A lot of pool stores and pool chemical companies are selling blended dichlor with unwanted ingredients in them. Sam's Club just happens to have one we know that is unblended. By the way, what are the ingredients and percentages of the Aqua-Chem stuff?

The start up recipe has steps to use bleach and borax for people who need a few days to get some good dichlor. But, once you have some good unblended dichlor, start right in with the directions and doses for using it.

You do have to test daily at first. A freshly filled pool has no CYA (cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer) in it. CYA is kind of like sunscreen for your chlorine. Outdoor pools with none or not enough will quickly lose all of their chlorine to the sun. The reason we tell people to use dichlor for the first few weeks is because it adds CYA and chlorine at the same time. It actually adds 9ppm of CYA for every 10ppm of chlorine that is added. So, after using dichlor for awhile, you build up enough CYA in the water so that it may be that you can go a day or so between testing. But, I will caution you that pools that are not tested regularly are the ones that get in trouble. I don't know about you but I'd rather spend 2-5 minutes per day keeping my pool clear than deal with days and days and lots of $$ cleaning up an algae bloom. (By the way, once your CYA builds up to around 50 or so, you want to quit using dichlor and begin just using bleach for your chlorine so that your CYA doesn't get too high. Another guide that would be useful for you to read explains the relationship between CYA and chlorine:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

Regarding "we were told by the pool supply company........... Stick around the forum for awhile. You'll soon hear a lot of things that pool stores tell people that are just flat out wrong. I've been a part of this forum for years. I told Ben (PoolDoc) just the other day that we should have been keeping lists of all the ridiculous advice that people have been given. We could have written a book!

Hope this helps. If you have more questions, we'll be here! ;)

Thank you - thank you!!! You are awesome and have been a great help! I'll definitely keep reading and asking questions as we encounter any problems.

You are very welcome! :)

Note --- I did edit and add a little more to my post above. You were quick and read it while i was editing it! Just wanted to let you know so that you might want to go back and read it again.

I think the Aqua-Chem dichlor from wall mart may have copper - please check the ingredients. The dichlor from Sam's club appears to be a good deal.

The 7 day plan is really for filling and waiting to get dichlor. Start chlorinating with dichlor as soon as you get it.

The dichlor plan is time limited, once you've used about 13lbs dichlor in 15,000 gallons you'll want to move to regular maintenance. Most of us chlorinate with bleach every day.

Daily testing and response to the pool's needs are the hallmarks of our method of pool care. You'll soon get a feel for your pool and how it reacts. The only tests you really need to perform daily are pH and chlorine (Free Chlorine and Combined Chlorine). Less than five minutes a day for a problem free pool. The recipe types of pool care (where you add x of this every week and y of that) will ultimately cause expensive, frustrating problems. I can't count how many stories there are here of pool owners doing everything the pool store tells them to do only to wind up with a green pool ands empty pockets. The BBB method we teach here is safe, effective, and efficient. Your friend who own pools will be jealous of your water and will think you're lying when you tell them how little it costs to maintain.

Congrats on your new liner and new water. Start it and keep it right and you'll enjoy your pool more than fight with it.

Read all you can at poolsolutions.com and the stickied threads here especially in the chemistry and testing forums and you will be on your way. We'll be here to help if you need it.

Thanks Big Dave for your input. When I looked on the Aquachem container it said sodium dichloro-s-triazinetione 58.2% Other ingredients 41.8%. Other could include almost anything including copper. Looked at their website and couldn't get any clarification on what the "other" was. I will definitely read up on here and hopefully be able to enjoy the pool with not alot of hassle.

The "good" dichlor is 99% with 55-57% chlorine. I just can't guess what the other 41.8% is in the Aqua-chem you've got. It may be innocuous, it may make your pool harder to control. I just don't know. Dichlor with copper is usually proud with names like "dual action" or "deep blue" or "mineral enhanced". All junk in my opinion.

I don't now see a problem using the stuff you have - but (here's the rub) I don't really know what else might be in there. You'll need a little more than that 10 pounds of ??? to get to a reasonable CYA so use it if you can't give it away. If your neighbor wants it - give it to him and buy the good stuff.

I'm with you. Starting from scratch with new stuff. Thanks again for the advice.