New Pool

[scotto]

My wife made me buy an above ground 15 x 4 pool. I know nothing about pool chemicals. I have read lot of info. but still lost. What to I do after filling pool?

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

Wow!

Sounds like you are an enthusiastic pool owner. (NOT!)

#1 - buy bleach -- plain 6% household stuff. Assuming 15' x 4' deep round, you've got about ~5000 gallons. So a gallon of 6% bleach will add about 12 ppm of chlorine to your pool. Add about a quart of bleach every evening, till you get the rest of your chemistry taken care of -- the chlorine will dissipate in as little as 1 hour of full sun, so it won't get too high, unless you have a cloudy spell.

#2 - buy a cheap OTO / phenol red testkit (Walmart, or wherever) to test your pool water, and practice using it.

#3 - get your pump running and water circulating.

#4 - buy 3 - 5 pounds of cyanuric acid (stablizer / CYA / conditioner) and put it in a knotted tube sock. Hang the sock in front of the return, where the water comes back into the pool.

#5 - once you get some stabilizer dissolved, the sunlight won't instantly destroy your chlorine, so you'll need to start testing, so you don't get the chlorine too high.

#6 - Stay AWAY from pool stores -- they will sell you all sorts of stuff you don't need.

Hopefully, you don't have any special water problems, like filling from a well or using water with iron or manganese in it.

Otherwise, post back after a few days, with test results and info on how it's going.

Ben

[scotto]

How much stablizier do I put in the sock?

[Watermom]

However much of the amount that Ben recommended will fit. When it is dissolved, add more until you add the full dose. It will take several days. You can give the sock a squeeze occasionally to help it dissolve faster.