New Pool and want to do my own chemicals....what brands are best?

[jimmerpro]

Hi - I am looking for recommendations of the best brands of pool chemicals. I also would like to know what are the best vendors to purchase from.
Thanks,
Jim

[CarlD]

You really need to read through our site. We don't recommend ANY brand of chemical additives because our whole philosophy, the B-B-B method, is based on adding the RIGHT things only regardless of the brand.

B-B-B stands for Bleach, Borax (as in 20 Mule Team Borax) and Baking Soda, three of the 5 chemicals you need to maintain your pool--and these 3 are on you grocery store shelves!

Of the other two, Muriatic Acid is available at hardware stores. Only the last chemical IsoCyanuric Acid, also called Cyanuric Acid, or CYA for short, more commonly called Stabilizer, is purchased at pool stores or in the pool section of WalMart, K-Mart, Home Depot, etc.

IF you have a hard-sided pool, you'll also need calcium carbonate.

But...to make all of this work and save you BEAUCOUP $$$$ you'll need a proper test kit. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 and K-2006C kits. Leslies On Line sells the FAS-DPD Chlorine Service Test Kit which is the same as Taylor's, in a different box.

Now I suggest you read in each forum the sticky sections, and go to our sister site, PoolSolutions.com, and read there, especially tips and other sections.

You'll learn that chlorine is chlorine whether it comes from a liquid, a powder or a tablet, but that powders and tablet add lots of other stuff you may or may not want. But Chlorine is the King of the pool, killing algae, breaking down old sun tan oil, disinfecting bacteria, and in general sanitizing the whole thing--you just have to use enough. We generally suggest bleach--you can ALWAYS use bleach.

You'll learn that how acid or alkaline the water affects how it feels and even how well the chlorine works. This is measured by pH. You raise pH when it's too low by adding Borax. You lower it with Muriatic Acid.

Total Alkalinity is a buffer that helps keep pH stable. You'll learn to increase it with baking soda, exactly what the pool stores sell at inflated prices.

You'll learn that stabilizer keeps your chlorine from breaking down to fast but too much requires higher chlorine level because it's a two-edged sword.

And that's it:
Chlorine for sanitation
pH for Acid and base adjustment
Total Alkalinity for pH stability
Stabilizer (CYA) to prevent chlorine breakdown.

[famousdavis]

But if its brand names you're looking for.....

.... I buy Arm & Hammer Baking Soda when I'm at Publix (my grocery store) to use for raising TA. ;-)

[waterbear]

But if its brand names you're looking for.....

.... I buy Arm & Hammer Baking Soda when I'm at Publix (my grocery store) to use for raising TA. ;-)

On a similar note, I buy Great Value Bleach and 20 Mule Team Borax at Walmart for my pool and I buy Muriatic Acid at Ace Hardware