eric

[ericorlisa]

hi my name is eric and my wife's is lisa. we have two boys and one girl. ages 6, 12 and 19. this is our first year with a 24ft agp. we bought this pool used . it's a muskin tradewinds i think at least that's what ive determined from our research on google. it has a sand filter with a 1.5hp pump motor. so far the water is clear and the chlorine levels are good. we have a cheap 3in1 tester. checks clorine bromine and ph. the ph has been fluctuating daily and we have been staying on top of keeping plenty of chlorine in it. we have read a lot on poolsolutions.com so we know a little about what to do but we still need a lot of help. we've had smaller intex pools in the past and attempted to keep them clean. can you tell us how to administer the right chemicals and accurately measure the important number for safe swimming and fun with the least amount of effort.

thanks,
eric, lisa & kids

[Watermom]

First, welcome to the Pool Forum! Secondly, I would suggest that you get a good kit. Take a look at the kits on the Amazon link in my signature below. The Taylor-K-2006 or 2006C is the one we recommend. If you order through those links, the forum makes a little money, too. That kit will make your pool maintenance much easier.

Can you post any numbers for us? Also, tell us exactly what you have added --- meaning ingredients, and not just "shock." Do alot of reading here on the forum as welll as on Pool Solutions.

BTW -- That is a mighty big pump for a 24ft AG! I have the same size pool and I have a full-rated 1/2 hp inground pump on it and that is plenty big. My first pump for the pool was a 1hp and I downsized when it was time to replace it. The problem with big pumps is that they are so powerful that they sometimes will just push debris right through the sandbed and back into your pool. I hope you don't have that problem with yours.

[ericorlisa]

we have been using the walmart chemicals aqua chem 1 inch tablets in the skimmer and chlorine tablets in the chlorinator float. we put a pack of walmart shock in thursday evening and half a box of borax in pool yesterday according to our 3in1 walmart test kit this morning chlorine is 2-3ppm , bromine 3.4-6.5 , and ph is between 7.6-7.8 we are almost out of the chlorine tablets and plan to use 6% bleach instead. we need help to know how much bleach, borax and baking soda to use. not sure of anything right now. still learning.

[Watermom]

In your pool, each quart of 6% bleach should add around 1.2ppm of chlorine. How long have you been been using the pucks and what kind of shock did you use, meaning ingredients? Pucks and some types of shock add cya (stabilizer) so that is something you will need to test for at some point in the near future to find out your CYA level. For now, test chlorine morning and evening and each time, add enough bleach to get back to around 6ppm. When we find out your CYA level, we will adjust our advice. If you find in the evening that your chlorine level has gone to zero before the evening dose of bleach, you may want to try and add a little in the afternoon if you can. After you get enough stabilizer in there, you'll be able to go to testing and dosing in the evenings only. Your pH is ok. Don't add any Borax right now or any baking soda until you find out what your alk reading is. BTW -- you have a chlorine pool, not bromine. Ignore that reading. Consider getting a better kit. it will make things easier for you.

[ericorlisa]

we've been using the pucks for 2-3 weeks and have shocked twice when clorine was below .6ppm.what is a stabilizer? what kind should i get. i ordered the cheaper test kit you recommended i think it was $53. it will probably be next week sometime b4 i get to use it and i will post my readings at that time.

[Watermom]

Stabilizer is kind of like 'sunscreen for your chlorine.' Without it, your chlorine will disappear fast especially on a hot, sunny day. Sometimes it is called conditioner. The real name is cyanuric (or isocyanuric) acid. You may have to buy it from a pool store (don't let them talk you into anything else!) or sometimes you can find it at Walmart, Lowe's or Home Depot. Buy a 5 lb. container. Don't add any until you get your CYA level tested. The pucks and possibly the shock you've added may have already added some stabilizer so we need to know the cya level before advising you how much additional to add. This is something you don't want more of than you need in your pool! What was the ingredient on the bag of shock that you added? Good decision to get the good kit. Hopefully you'll get it quick!

[ericorlisa]

the shock is aqua chem: 58.2% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione and other ingredients 41.8%. 1" chlorinating tabs also is aqua chem: 99% trichloro-s-triazinetrione and other ingredients 1% and of course you know the ingredients of the half box of borax. that's pretty much it so far.

[Watermom]

Ok. The shock is dichlor and the tabs are trichlor, both of which are stabilized which means they add CYA along with the chlorine. As soon as you get your test kit, run a full set of numbers for us to look at. Once we know the CYA reading, we can better advise you on how high to keep the chlorine. If you happen to have a reputable pool store near you, you could ask them to test it for you, but don't buy any stuff they try and sell you. Otherwise, just wait til you get your kit.

[ericorlisa]

my son checked the water yesterday cl 1.5 ppm and ph 76-7.8. this morning no cl and ph 7.6-7.8. appears to have debris in water. not sure if all bugs or if its agae. i poured 48oz of bleach and 1 lb. shock. what do i do next? i got some black agaecide from family leisure. should i add this or wait?

[ericorlisa]

turns out my son cut grass with the riding lawnmower close to the pool which explains the debris in water. how long should i wait before taking a cya reading?