Brand new pool owner = new to BBB method

[stslimited84]

I believe I have this sorted out for the most part now. Seems as tho I was making quite a newbie mistake. The vacuum w/the same debris catcher bag has been in the pool since we bought the house a week ago. After adding the shock dosage earlier this afternoon, I realized this probably shouldn't be in there especially with that bag full of debris.

Well lo and behold, I turned off the pump then disconnected and removed the vacuum from the pool. I finally saw a current in the water! Tested the water after about 20 mins and got a reading between 12-15ppm! Well after feeling some relief and needing to eat, I got lunch and returned to walmart to buy more bleach.

Returned home, tested the water at about 345 pm, and got a FC reading of 3 ppm. Progress! Since I dont have internet at the house yet, I used calculations previously printed the from poolcalculator.com based on raising the 3 ppm to 12 ppm. It called for 3 gals 3 quarts. I added it, tested the level at 410 pm, and got a reading of 15 ppm, woohoo!

Im going to test the pool water tonight when its getting dark and make the necessary adjustments. Couple of questions for you guys and gals:

1) For clarity purposes, based on a pool size of approx. 25000 gals, 1 gallon of 6% bleach will raise it by how many ppm?

2) I tested my Ph a couple times today and got readings of 7.0. I believe I need to raise this to 7.5-7.6. The above listed calculator states I should add 11 lb of borax by weight. Is that accurate?

3) I'll test for the CYA and post the results. Would this be a good price for it? http://www.lowes.com/pd_86401-1772-0...ine&facetInfo=

4) Getting ahead of myself (hopefully only slightly), once the pool reaches the point where it loses 1ppm or less overnight, what are the next steps?

[Watermom]

1. Approximately 2.5ppm

2. Never add 11 lb. of anything at once. You may either overshoot your target or end up with cloudy water. Add a box of Borax and wait several hours. Then retest pH and redose if needed. Anywhere between 7.2-7.8 is ok. Once your pH starts to move, you might want to go to smaller doses than full boxes at a time. Do NOT test pH when your chlorine is high, however, or you will get a falsely high pH reading. Test pH before adding a new dose of bleach.

3. I don't know. I haven't bought any CYA lately.

4. When you can pass the overnight test, I'd keep the chlorine high for one additional day for added insurance and then let the cl drift down and maintain it between 3-6ppm all the time.

[stslimited84]

just got back from testing the pool at sundown. FC was at 1 ppm. TC was at 3. Ph was at 7. CH was 230 ppm. Ta was 90 ppm. The CYA was something less than 30 but i couldnt tell b/c the tube was full and i could still see the dot although cloudy. The chlorine tests are approximate (and consequently less accurate) bc the colors are hard to distinguish sometimes (see further down in post)

i added 3 gal 3 quarts as i did earlier to bring it back up and then tested the water a little bit later and got an approximate reading of 10 ppm. Again Im not sure b/c the colors are hard to distinguish and I had to use the dilute method b/c the reading was above 5 ppm.

Im going to add the CYA tomorrow as you suggested.

I edited out the borax comment bc i just saw your earlier reply. 10-4 on the borax instructions.

I also ordered the Taylor K-2006 kit as suggested on here and am going to return the one I got at leslie's...its too freakin' hard to read the color adjustments for chlorine, especially at shock levels or anything above 5 ppm. Unfortunately the kit wont be here until next week

how we doin' so far? what ya got for me?

[Watermom]

Check the post above yours. I just replied one minute before you posted again. Good decision to get the Taylor K-2006. You won't be sorry. You're doing fine! Keep us posted how things are going.

[stslimited84]

Thank you so very much for the help! I will most certainly be donating to this site.

Can the CYA and borax be added at the same time (seems as tho they can be).

I have another dilemma which I need help with. So within the past week Ive had a ton of stuff going on. Closed on a new home. Been doing some renovation to it. Reading, learning, and applying new info to maintain a pool for the first time On top of all this, Im going on vacation on friday and will be unable to provide the pool with my undivided attention as I am now. At this point, I'm not sure the pool will be out of the shocking stage by early friday morning. That being said, how can I get through the next week without coming back to a swamp. I will not be home but I have family who will be watching the house and pool. They have never had a pool and have no knowledge about pool maintenance.

What would be the best course of action? put several (if so, how many) 3" trichlor pucks in a floater and leave the pump on all week?

Its been a whirlwind of excitement and activity with all this going on and im trying to keep my head from spinning off, lol

[Watermom]

How often are the family members going to come and check the pool? Let's see what kind of overnight loss you have for the next couple of nights and also how the water looks by Thursday. Also what kind of chlorine loss you have from one evening to the next. Then, we'll make a recommendation for you. Even if you don't complete go algae free the whole time you are gone, we can help you clean it up when you return.

EDIT -- It is ok to add CYA and Borax one after the other.

[stslimited84]

How often are the family members going to come and check the pool? Let's see what kind of overnight loss you have for the next couple of nights and also how the water looks by Thursday. Also what kind of chlorine loss you have from one evening to the next. Then, we'll make a recommendation for you. Even if you don't complete go algae free the whole time you are gone, we can help you clean it up when you return.

EDIT -- It is ok to add CYA and Borax one after the other.

Will add the CYA and Borax tomorrow.

as far as people checking on the pool...one or two family members will be at the house on a daily or every other day basis renovating and can check on the pool.

[PoolDoc]

It's a plaster pool, so excess chlorine won't hurt anything. 30K pool, so 1 gallon of plain 6% bleach = 2 ppm.

Do this:

#1 - Buy 4 gallons of bleach for EVERY day you'll be gone, plus 8 more gallons.
#2 - Have your family add 4 gallons each day, preferably in the late evening. Don't bother with testing.
#3 - YOU add 4 gallons each day, the first 2 days you're back, because you probably won't have time to pay attention to the pool.
#4 - Caution your family that that they need to purchase AND ADD 1/2 gallon for each person who swims each day.
#5 - Tell them that the chlorine levels may (or may not) be VERY high - if they swim, and add the extra bleach, it will be fine. BUT they should wear old swim suits or swim without them, since the chlorine levels won't hurt people but may hurt the swim suits. (That said, very high chlorine can dry or 'chap' your skin.)

[famousdavis]

The only question I can throw my two cents towards is this one: 3) I'll test for the CYA and post the results. Would this be a good price for it? http://www.lowes.com/pd_86401-1772-0...ine&facetInfo=

I bought 4lbs of stablizer (not 3lbs) at a local pool store for the same price ($13.83 for my nearest Lowes). Maybe check your local pool supply store for a better price.