New pool start up

Pool is finally done. It has been several years since I had to maintain a pool and I feel like I need to "re-learn" all over again. Can anyone help me find where on the forum I might find help with chemical levels for start up? I have a 20,000 gallon gunite inground pool with hydrazzo. It will be a salt water pool (but we are going to wait a few weeks before we start that up). I am looking for the water balance parameters. I know with the curing of the plaster that things will change rapidly. Any help or advice would be greatly appreicated.:)

First step is to go to each forum and read the stickie'd posts at the top. Ben, the moderators and some other experienced folks have written these in an attempt to answer questions we see repeatedly. They are good questions, but the answers don't change much.

Second step is to go to Ben's sister site: Poolsolutions.com and read EVERYTHING you can get to, especially the tips and the 100 reasons for a cloudy pool.

Third step is to get a good test kit. You've just spent thousands of dead presidents, now you'll need to spend a little more--more than $60 but less than $90. I have 3 recommendations on that.
Ben's PS-234 test kit is the best. It's the easiest to use, has logs and good directions and lots of refills. But Ben is swamped with filling orders so it takes time.
Then there's the choice of the Taylor 2006 test kit or the Leslies FAS-DPD Chlorine test kit. They are about the same.

But all three use the FAS-DPD chlorine test, which is NOT to be confused with a DPD chlorine test--they are not equivalent. These tests and others make these three kits all about the same...The latter two may easier to get quickly as on-line orders.

Several steps below that is the WalMart HTH 5-way drop test kit, for about $15. This is an incredible bargain and, in a pinch, can do fairly well. But after all you've spent, I believe it to be a false economy.

I know you'll ask about test strips. We do not recommend them as they are far more difficult to use CORRECTLY than drop testing. They are finicky and difficult to get a precise reading from. If you MUST use them, I will only suggest two: The LaMotte InstaTest 6 or the Hach AquaCheck 7. Both are as good as you can get in test strips--and you need to replace them with new, fresh ones every season. And they are expensive: Hach gives you 100 strips for $30, and LaMotte give you 50 for about $12.

Last: Forget about advice from the pool store. It will usually conflict with the advice we give you here. We can tell and show you why our advice works and theirs doesn't but they can't tell you or show you why theirs is superior. I KNOW this sounds arrogant, but the ONLY times our methods don't work is when they are not followed correctly, or something else is going on (and we usually pick that up as well.)

That's your starting point. Reading, and a good test kit.

Thanks for the quick reply. I ordered Ben's kit in June in anticpation for a June completion date....pool did not get completed until this week, but the good thing is I have the kit. I will go back to the pool solutions site and start reading. The pool company sent someone out to start up the pool and I did not like what they did....they added a lot of muratic acid (I know it needed some, but I prefer to add a little, let it adjust, test and then add some more. Whatever he did took the pool (which had just been filled the day before) from a PH of 8.2 to 6.8, alk from 120 to 40. I'm glad they are gone and I told them they don't need to come back - I will adjust my own way (with the help of Ben's kit) and some speed reading! I owned a pool several years ago and flawlessly kept it with the use of minimal chemicals (chlorine, muratic acid mostly). I followed the advice on this forum and never had a problem. It has been a few years since we moved and I feel like I forgot everything - even where to find the info on the website! Anyway, I appreciate your response!