Re: spring prep and a new pool owner
Ah yes, the long-neglected pool battle. Been there myself. My pool was abandoned for at least 3-4 years before I bought the house, and I let it languish for several more years.
I'll save the mods the trouble: Get a Taylor 2006 test kit. Without it you are running blind. Imagine having thousands of dollars invested in something, now you need to invest $50-100 more for the proper test kit.
Find the area under user settings to change your signature and add your info because there are far too many people posting for the mods to keep up. It helps them have a quick glance of your pool type and size. Put the type (IG Gunite 18,000 gallons with X pump and X Filter). The important stuff is size, type like gunnite or vinyl, location, and filter type. DE Vs Sand etc.
You can buy a taylor made knock-off (everything but the DPD-FAS drop test) at wal mart and that will tell you your CYA. My bet is that it's '0'. I wasn't clear whether you used strips or the cloudy dot test in your first post. Don't use test strips, they aren't accurate and only give you mixed results. You need to get some CYA in the pool or else a good portion of your chlorine is not being used to kill algae and getting ate up by our blistering Texas sun.
Good luck, I'm just an amateur like you, but I have done everything from replacing the pump and filter to fixing the piping to the skimmers and installing a salt cell etc. I sincerely hope the mods don't mind me posting, but I have been in your shoes, and in some ways still am.
~18K gal IG Gunite -- 1-HP Pentair Whisper Flo with new 2-speed motor. Intermatic T1000 Dual Speed Timer -- Tagelus 60D sand filter
Hayward SWCG (up to 40K gal.) -- Polaris 280 and booster pump -- Rainbow (now Pentair) in-line chlorine Feeder.
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