NEWBIE - How to make fresh water ready to swim?

[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.

[DCR]

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.

I was pretty sure I read on this forum that you should run your pump non-stop when adding CYA, and I believe the instructions on CYA says two days non-stop.

[Watermom]

I never have and have never had a problem.

[KurtV]

I was pretty sure I read on this forum that you should run your pump non-stop when adding CYA, and I believe the instructions on CYA says two days non-stop.

I'm sure that running your pump non-stop would help the CYA to dissolve faster, but to what end? If you add it through the skimmer and run your pump for "normal" periods, it will just be stuck in the filter a bit longer. I can't imagine what harm it would do there.

[cwstnsko]

Since CYA is an acid, before you turn off the pump make sure you know where the undissolved CYA is going to collect and whether that location is suitable for several hours of exposure to an acidic environment.

[waterbear]

Since CYA is an acid, before you turn off the pump make sure you know where the undissolved CYA is going to collect and whether that location is suitable for several hours of exposure to an acidic environment.

The pH of a saturated CYA solotion is 4.8 so it is mildly acidic. IMHO, I don't think it will cause much harm.
http://www.intox.org/databank/docume...acd/cie286.htm

By comparison, Trichlor has a pH of just over 2 , vinegar is just under 3, and unpolluted rain is about 5.6.