Hi...I'm new to the forums and am very happy to have learned alot by lurking around. I do have a few questions though...First let me tell you where I am at waterwise:

I have a 16' Intex (don't laugh ) metal frame AG vinyl pool. Water depth is about 42" and I estimate around 5300 gallons of water--give or take. I setup and filled the pool at the beginning of the month and took a water sample to pinch-a-penny pool center for free testing. Chlorine was virtually nonexistent and ph was high at 7.8. Alkalinity was 175 and stabilizer was zero...all numbers were what i expected of my tap water. THey had me add muriatic acid, shock, and stabilizer. I went back a week later and everything was perfect except chlorine was still kind of low so I reshocked (we had a few inches of rain so maybe thats why?).

Anyway, my most recent test pegged the chlorine at 5 (total and free) with a ph of 7.6 and stabilizer level of 80ppm. Alkalinity at 125. My home test kit from home depot only measures a chlorine level up to 3 . I want to get a better test kit...i've heard of Ben's kit...how do i get one? Mine is useless due to the chlorine limitations and a lack of stabilizer test (CYA, right?).

Regarding stabilizer...mine is on the high side and I saw the "Best Guess CYA chart" on this site and it says that a chlorine level of 5 is ok with my level of stabilizer. Why is it that you need a higher level of chlorine when you have a higher level of stabilizer? How long does stabilizer last in your water? ALso, I use stabilized trichlor tabs in my floater...will they continue to raise my stabilizer level?

In case it matters...I had been using a powdered shock but I ran out so I got liquid chlorine from pinch-a-penny. It is VERY cheap so I'm just going to stick with that over bleach.

I'd love to hear what anyone has to say. I love my new "little" pool and want to use this opportunity to learn as much as I can about keeping it in tip top shape so that when I decide to upgrade to a "real" pool I will be a pro.
Thanks!