I hate my pool....

[Watermom]

You'll need to buy some CYA. It is sometimes labeled as conditioner or stabilizer. Check the label ingredients. You want cyanuric or isocyanuric acid. Add about 5 lbs. That should get the level to about 35-40. Add it slowly to the skimmer and then run the pump 24/7 for at least the next 4 to 5 days to give it time to dissolve.

In the meantime, it will be tough to keep chlorine in the pool as it will quickly be lost to the sun. You'll need to add bleach a couple of times a day at least for about the first week. Each time, add enough bleach to take the chlorine back up to about 6ppm. In a 16,500 gallon pool, each quart will add approximately 1ppm of cl. Once the CYA gets dissolved, you'll be able to test and add bleach in the evenings only. With a CYA of 35-40, you'll want to keep the cl between 3-6 all the time.

Keep the pH between 7.2-7.8. We use Borax to raise it when necessary and muriatic acid to lower it if it gets too high.

Try and get a good kit when you can. It makes pool maintenance so much easier.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted how it is going. Keep reading here on the forum and also on our sister website www.poolsolutions.com.

[Albatross]

Not ignoring your advice, just proposing a possible alternative. Since it looks like filling will take 10-12 hours, is it a good idea to put some trichlor pucks in a bucket and put the water hose in the bucket? Or I could put some in the pump basket and run the pump drawing from the bottom drain. I expect I can add the acid by putting it in a sock in a bucket with a hose also? Only reason for these suggestions is to minimize any chance of a bloom while its filling. I'm gunshy after fighting the 'swamp'.

[PoolDoc]

Sorry I didn't answer sooner. Got distracted dealing with an inappropriate response. It's probably moot, but I'll go ahead and answers so if anyone else reads this thread, they will benefit.

Filling with tabs in a bucket would be fine. You might want to make sure your hose's end isn't in direct contact with the tabs. And, you'll STILL need to make sure that there's enough chlorine - the tabs will help, but probably won't be enough. So, you'll need to pour bleach into the pool.

BUT, do NOT pour the bleach directly on the tabs. If you do, bad things *will* happen.