NEWBIE - How to make fresh water ready to swim?

[bluenote]

Hi, I have been scanning the forums and trying to find a start to finish process of how to get a pool up and running. I'm in a situation where cost effectiveness is of the utmost importance, but that being said still want it to be safe and clean for my guests and I. In reality I was hoping to have the pool ready in two days. Is this possible, or does it take longer to equalize a pool after starting with fresh water?

Notes about pool: I'm a student so please don't laugh at this "first pool" of mine. My pool is an AG round 18' by 48". The water capacity is 20,000 litres of water (approx. 5300 gallons).

Questions:

1. How many days does it take to go from fresh water to fully ready?

2. What "generic" chemicals do I need to go out and buy? (I'm planning on using bleach)

3. What chemicals should I add right away before my first testing begins?

I think those questions will set me in the right direction for now. If I have posted in the wrong place please forgive me.

Thanks a lot for answering my questions. Hopefully one day I will have enough experience to help out others, but for now I'm in the pre-newbie category for sure!

-Bluenote

[Watermom]

Welcome to the forum! You can possibly swim the first day your pool is full. (assuming you are filling from city water and not well water which sometimes has some different adjustments that need to be made.) If you will test your fill water, we can better see what you will need to do. Use a drops based test kit - no teststrips.

Post results for FC, TC, PH, alk, calcium hardness. Pick up several jugs of plain, unscented bleach, and some cya. You may be able to find it at Walmart, Lowe's, or Home Depot, or you may have to buy it at a pool store. Just don't let them talk you into buying a bunch of other stuff. It may be called conditioner or stabilizer, but if the ingredients say cyanuric acid or isocyanuric acid, that is the right stuff. Post your results and then we can decide if you also need to buy some Borax and baking soda. Don't add anything to the water before it is tested.

[bluenote]

Thanks for the help. I'll have my initial numbers by tonight! -Bluenote

[PhantomAndy]

The main problem you will likely face is the water temperature - it's gonna be cold coming from City or a Well.

If you are on City water - I'd check your chem levels - and most likely you will be ready to swim right after filling. You will want to add the proper amount of bleach to your pool to get your Cl up to 2 or 3 ppm (since you won't have any stabilizer).

You may also want to consider adding a little stabilizer (aka. conditioner and CYA) so you will be able to maintain some Cl all the time. With no stabilizer you won't be able to hold Cl during the day.

Until you get your stabilizer level to 20 or 30 ppm, I'd suggest adding your bleach after sundown (enough to bring you to 3ppm or so).

I got in my 18x36 IG while it was filling off my water hose after it was about 1 foot deep in the shallow end (paddled around a bit in the deep end) but boy was it cold.

[Bruce_B]

I'm filling my 18' tomorrow and I plan to be in it while it's fillling. The water going in is the same water I shower with and drink so I can't imagine why it would be a problem to swim in, except for the temperature. At least I'll be in direct sunlight until late afternoon.

Bruce

[DCR]

You definitely have to get your CYA level correct, or it will not be possible to put enough bleach in to keep any acceptable level of chlorine. I went through this last year when I purchased my first pool. It did not matter how much bleach I would put in the next night my chlorine level would be immeasurable.

Get yourself a test kit that uses drops not strips. The strips are junk. Get some stabilizer (CYA) and follow the instructions exactly. Make sure you don't put in too much you can always add, but to reduce the CYA level you must drain some water out and refill. Pour the stabilizer in the skimmer. It takes awhile for it to dissolve, so run your pump for at least two days non-stop, and wait at least that long before checking it.

[Watermom]

DCR is right that without cya you'll have a hard time keeping a chlorine reading. Until your cya has a time to dissolve, you'll probably need to test your water and add bleach morning and night. Actually, it is highly unlikely that cya will be dissolved in two days. More like a week. Don't test for it, add more or backwash for at least that long. Also, I don't think you have to run your pump non-stop during this time. Whenever I add cya in the spring, I stay with my normal pump run times and have never had a problem.