Just Set Up Pool...Need some pointers

[JSMANNING0001]

WOO HOO! Seems like everything is on a rolll....for the good... at least till the storms hit to night and it gets yucky rain water...anyways here are my readings...

FC 2
TC 1.5
pH 7.4
TA 70
CH 110
CYA 45 (in between 45-50. Not sure if the dot was supposed to be fully disappeared. It started getting invisible around 50 but could still faintly see it. Not sure how if it literally had to be gone..... if so it was 45)

I HAVE NOT ADDED CHLORINE since last night!!! WOO HOO! While it's not the greatest levels, it did stick. I would usually go out at lunch time and my reading would be clear...absolutely nothing! Do I need to add anymore? Anything I should do for this storm coming?

Now, what should I do about my TA? I would say baking soda but my pH is right on target. my TA has been running about 120-125 until...I am guess, I added the stabilizer...it dropped since then.

Does the low CH pretty mush refer to hard water just like in a bath? If so that might explain the weird feeling like hard water we were getting yesterday in the shower after getting out. It was a sticky/non slip feeling on my skin and when I touched my hubby and the baby in the pool.... how do I soften my water?

Thanks and I look forward to the feed back! THANK you guys so much for the help... I was a little terrified of the CYA thing as I was afraid I would go over or not enough though my main concern was going over....

[Watermom]

Yes, you need to chlorine. With a CYA of 45, you need to keep the cl between 3-6 all the time. Since you have dipped below that and also since you have 0.5 CC, I'd suggest shocking the pool again. Since you just added the CYA yesterday, I'd still wait until about Sunday or so and then retest for it again to make sure you have the final reading on how much is in there.

You can use a little baking soda to bump your alk up just a bit. Baking soda won't cause a big jump in your pH and even if it does come up just a little, that will still be fine. Add about a half a pound at a time and then retest after it has circulated for at least several hours. See how much it increases and then you can decide whether you need to add a little more. Aim for between 80-110 or so. Your calcium hardness reading is just fine.

[JSMANNING0001]

Thanks... I am new to this whole thing so can you explain shocking... I have 1 1/2 Big bottles of Clorox and a bag of POOLIFE Turbo Shock treatment. it says 78% available chlorine with 22% other ingredients. Says a minimum available chlorine of 75%.

It's about a 3lb bag but doesn't say. Will the calulator tell me how much to add? What would this be called? How often/ when should I shock. The bag suggest once a week but I'm not sure...(Obviously follow instructions but since the company has a lot to gain by every pool in the world shocking once a week I am wondering if that is necessary...)

Can you please tell me what merits a shocking? Is it something that I should do regularly or under certain situations...

Sorry for so many questions just not sure. Also the bags says I shouldn't shock unless the CH is 220 ppm or more!?!?!

Do I broadcast the granules in the pool as instructed? Just want to make sure it won't hurt the floor....

[madwil]

Shocking your pool isn't required, except when you have issues; many people, who maintain their Cl/CYA ratio, never shock at all!
Shocking just means to raise your FC up to shock level, and maintain it there until you pass the overnight drop test and have <.5 CC
Personally, if your water is clear, and you didn't let the FC stay low long (less then 6-8 hours maybe), I'd just raise FC to above 5 and keep it there- but Watermom is more proactive and shocks before problems...
I wait and try to "squeeze under the curve" of problems...
As far as the POOLIFE bag, we need to know the actual chemical name of it to tell you how good it is (or isn't)

[JSMANNING0001]

All the bag says is .... POOLIFE Turbo Shock treatment. it says 78% available chlorine with 22% other ingredients. Says a minimum available chlorine of 75%.

[CarlD]

Poollife Turbo Shock is actually Calcium Hypochlorite--Cal-Hypo. Unless your calcium hardness level is high, it's fine to use it, BUT DON'T MIX IT WITH ANYTHING ELSE! VERY DANGEROUS! (but you can safely put it in your pool when you've been using other chlorine methods. Just don't pour bleach over it, or put it in the skimmer with tabs already there).