What chemicals for a freshly filled pool? -- Do we really need the plastic feet.

[jen2sons]

This is our second year with our 24' x 48" Pro Series metal Frame Pool. we took it down after last season mostly due to it not being perfectly level and a lot of our pole feet bottoms broke. Wanted to get it all right this year we started by leveling the ground and now need to know what what chemicals should go in at the beginning to give us a great start. we did do the bbb method last year and had pretty good success with keeping the pool clean all summer but did not realize we needed stabilizer and never used it so have no clue what amount or even what it is.

Our second problem is the plastic feet that came with our pool all pretty much cracked as the summer went on last year. we feel it would be a waste to replace something that will most like break again. we were thinking of just placing the poles on pieces of buried wood or something instead. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.. Great site btw.

[PoolDoc]

A gallon of plain 6% household bleach will add about 6 ppm of free chlorine to your pool -- so till you get stabilizer in the pool, adding 1/3 - 1/2 gallon each evening will keep the pool in good condition.

Regarding stabilizer, the *easiest* way to add stabilizer is to use dichlor, which dissolves very quickly. If you have access to a Sams Club, they carry a few "PoolBrand" chemicals in most stores -- if possible, get their 24# pack of bags of dichlor shock. Each bag will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer to your pool. If you replace the bleach with 1/3 - 1/2 bag of shock each evening, that will get you stabilized quickly and easily. But, do NOT use the entire 24# right away -- you'll end up with very high stabilizer levels.

If you don't have a Sams, order dichlor from Amazon:

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs

Do NOT buy dichlor locally -- the dichlor carried at Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and most pool stores is diluted and blended with chemicals that have unpredictable effects. The Kem-Tek dichlor at Amazon is also un-diluted dichlor. Next year, if you prefer, you may be able to find some plain dichlor at Lowes or Home Depot; they carry a variety of brands, and sometimes have it. But you'll have to become an expert chemical label reader first!

I had been telling people they could buy stabilizer locally, since we hadn't seen diluted stabilizer . . . but I just got reports in the last week of voodoo blends of stabilizer. So, the safest thing is to buy at Sams or Amazon --- that way I know you are getting the right product.

Walmart does have three things you'll need:
+ 20 Mule Team borax (the dichlor will push the pH down, once the chlorine breaks down)
+ store-brand 6% plain bleach (Clorox is OK, but ONLY if you very careful to avoid the bleach plus (scent, gel, dye, etc) mixes)

+ the HTH 6-way testkit (drops) OR
+ a cheap OTO / phenol red kit.

The first two are in the detergent section; the kits will be in the pool section. In general, you should avoid Walmart / Kmart pool chemicals, but we often recommend the 'pool chemicals' from the detergent section!

You will also need the Taylor K2006 test kit. If you can get the HTH 6-way, you don't have to have it immediately, but you will need it either way.

[BigDave]

Using wood blocks buried even with the bottom of the pool sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I presume this is to keep the pole from sinking into the ground. Try to center the pole on the block so it's less likely to tip over. Use PT or other resistant wood as wet ground contact could rot the block in a summer.

[jen2sons]

Thank you pool doc. we have not filled the pool yet hoping this week some time to get it up and running. We have bought bleach and the borax to get prepared because we felt it worked very well last year. Our neighbor used all the traditional pool stuff and had a green pool most of the season. Ours sparkled and seemed actually pretty low maintenance with the bbb plan. I am sure with the added stabilizer and solar heater we will add this year it will be even better.

Big Dave. Yes we think they only serve to keep the poles from digging into the ground. They obviously did not matter too much as most of them cracked and broke within weeks of setting up the pool last year and it did not seem to make much difference. Perhaps it was suppose to help the legs from moving around too much.

[PoolDoc]

We have bought bleach and the borax to get prepared because we felt it worked very well last year.

Just remember, you need stabilizer from somewhere -- you can add it directly, or you can use dichlor or trichlor for awhile.