How to add or adjust chemical levels

[justlane4]

Thanks for responding so quick. I did fill out the entry form, hopefully that give you a better understanding of my situation. The cheap test strips that came with the pool are saying that the CYA is zero but I also have read how unreliable they are. I'm working on getting the recommended test kit but have one of the cheap Wal Mart Chlorine/Ph test kits. I am trying to keep the chlorine at 15 ppm like the chart says although i am just guessing that the CYA IS 0. Just bought 16 gallons of bleach to try and keep levels up for a few days hopefully that will work until I can get a better test kit. So just to be sure it's kill the algae, then adjust Ph, then adjust CYA all the while keeping chlorine levels between 1 and 3 ppm? Or can all the levels be adjusted at the same time, after the algae is gone of course.

[Watermom]

Kill the algae before adding CYA. As long as your pH is somewhere between 7.2-7.8 you don't have to do anything. If it drops lower, raise it with some 20 Mule Team Borax. If it goes above 7.8, lower it with some muriatic acid. (Read the using muriatic acid link in Janet's signature.) Don't test your pH when your chlorine is above 5ppm or you'll get a false reading. After the algae is dead and the pool is cleared up, keeping the chlorine between 1-3 will work as long as your CYA is less than 10. However, as your CYA level rises, so does the needed chlorine level. (See the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in Jan's signature above.) You won't want to keep your CYA at less than 10, however, or else you're gonna have a hard time keeping chlorine in the pool especially on a hot sunny day. We suggest a CYA level of 40-50 for most pools.

Until you can get the good kit (and you should), you won't be able to test chlorine readings higher than 5ppm. But, you can force your kit to read higher by using a dilution method explained here: Testing Without a Good Kit

Hope this helps.