Another newbie in need!

I've been reading for a while and I think I'm making some progress, but I wanted to make sure before I start adding things to the pool.

I guess a brief history may be helpful. We bought our house last year with an in-ground gunite 12,000 gal pool, which is now 10 yrs old. We are good friends with the previous owners so I know the history of the pool for the most part. The po used phos out and maintained fairly low cl levels and never had a problem, but it was just the two of them.

When we took it over I kept up the no-phos, but had a very hard time mainting cl levels. We often had family and friends over and also had a lot of rain last year. I was also less than diligent at checking levels like I should. The CH was low and we noticed more and more plaster was coming off.

This winter after closing it I only checked it once or twice, which was a mistake. When we opened it it was totally green and funky. I started to drain a little bit off the bottom and it stunk pretty bad (and I'm a plumber, lol), so I just went ahead and drained the whole thing, washed it out, and filled it up, which brings us to now. Thank you again if you have actually taken the time to read all of this.

So, the pool was filled friday morning with municipal water. That evening I checked just the chlorine and ph. I didn't write it down but I think fc was about 3, no cc, and I'm sure pH was 7.8. Using a Taylor K2005. I didn't do anything and left the pump running (with a filter cartridge, btw).

Saturday I tested cl and pH again. I think cl was .5 FC, and maybe 3 TC. I put two trichlor pucks in the floater and added maybe 1/4 gal of 6%bleach, left pump running 24 hrs.

Sunday I got smart and actually took a pen and paper with me:
FC .5
TC 3
pH 7.8
TA 60
TH 70
CYA 0

I added my last remaining trichlor puck to the skimmer, and the remainder of the jug of bleach that evening. It rained but I don't think we got much.

This morning:
FC 4
TC slightly above 4, maybe 4 (I don' think there was much change when I added r0003)
CYA still less than 30, probably 0
pH 7.2 I guess from the trichlor and maybe the rain? I was surprised that 3 partially dissolved pucks would make that much difference, but the TA is low. Is something else going on?

I added 12 oz (vol) borax about 2 hrs ago, and now pH is 7.3.

I know I need calcium. Should I start using cal hypo for a while, or get some calcium and continue with bleach?

Should I wait until the pucks are gone to check cya levels, or add some now?

Should I add baking soda to raise pH and TA?

I still have a little phos out, should I use it? I haven't tested phos levels.

Thanks again, I'm so glad I found this site.

Oh, and the water is clear and looks great.

If it were my pool, I might use cal-hypo for awhile since you need calcium anyways. Baking soda will raise alk but not really the pH. Borax will raise the pH but not the alk. Since you already have those two things you can do that. Or, instead, you can just use "washing soda" which will raise both. Either way will work.

And, go ahead and add some cya. Aim for a level of about 30. Remember, it will take several days to dissolve. Either put it in the skimmer and let it dissolve in the filter or put some in an old sock or nylon and hang it in front of a return jet or lay it in the skimmer basket and keep the pump running 24/7. Wait a week or so to retest for CYA before adding more. It is easy to add more if you need it, but hard to remove it.

Forget about the phos out.

BTW -- FC + CC = TC.

Hope this helps.

I've added borax twice, both times the pH came up to about 7.6, but then drops back down to about 7.2. Is it from the trichlor pucks? There were only three, and now one is completely gone and the remaining two are about half.

I've been using cal hypo for cl, but it hasn't made a difference in ch yet. Should I get some calcium or just wait it out?

Get the algae cleared up and then worry about your calcium levels.. Is the pool clearing? Is it cloudy? I suggested cal-hypo since you need calcium anyways, but *if* the pool is cloudy or not clearing up while you are having to shock it, you might switch to bleach for the shocking and then can switch to cal-hypo after it clears up. If it isn't cloudy, you can go ahead and use the cal-hypo.

Trichlor is very acidic and will drop your pH. Just watch it and add Borax when needed.

Hope this helps.

No algae at all, water is crystal clear. I'm just not sure if I should add calcium to get my levels up quickly, or wait it out and use cal hypo

I think I would just use the Cal-Hypo--the levels do need to come up, but I think they'll come up quickly enough if cal hypo is your main chlorine source.

Janet