Intex pool startup

[jcwr56]

I have a 13'X39" Intex OGP with a 14" sand filter and Salt water system that I just set up yesterday. I added 75 pounds of salt using the chart provided.

I've followed instructions of having only the filter pump run for 24 hours as the instructions said before turning on the salt water generator.

At this time I haven't tested the water and I know my wife is dying to get in to cool off. I have a couple of pool stores near me and wondering should I just spend the money and get the proper testing kits or use strips in the meantime and order online.

I'll fill out the questionnaire to help the process along.

Thanks!

[Watermom]

The only kit we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C which is only available online. You can get it through the testkit page in my signature. This is the kit you want to get. But, since it does have to be ordered, you need something to use in the meantime.

Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)


+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.


+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

By the way, those SWCGs for Intex pools have copper electrodes in them. You do not want copper in your pool. Contrary to popular belief, it is copper that turns blonde hair green and not chlorine. You should go ahead and disconnect the copper electrodes.
Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[jcwr56]

Thank you for the reply!

I'll go ahead and order the Taylor kit but in the meantime will get the HTH kit from wal mart to hold me over and post results later this evening.

The water source is the same and I'll unplug the copper producer when I get home.

[Watermom]

Thank you for the reply!

You are very welcome

I'll go ahead and order the Taylor kit but in the meantime will get the HTH kit from wal mart to hold me over and post results later this evening.

................and I'll unplug the copper producer when I get home.

All good decisions!

[jcwr56]

So here are the results using the HTH kit....Water was tested between 6:50 and 7pm tonight. No one was in the pool since it was filled and the filter was running for 24 hours.

CL is less than .5
BR is less than 1
Ph is 8.2
ALK is 350 ppm
Hardness is 350 PPM
CYA is still clear at the 30 mark. (The mixture was clear when mixing the two regents together)

[aylad]

You won't have a reading for CYA unless you've added it to the pool. You do need to add some, though, whether you add it in in the form of straight CYA or whether you turn off the SWCG for awhile and just use trichlor pucks or dichlor powder, both of which will raise your chlorine, lower your pH, and raise your CYA. Most SWCGs require a high level of CYA to extend the cell life--check your owner's manual for what amount your unit requires.

You can ignore the bromine scale--this is a chlorine pool, so you won't have any bromine. Your pH, alk, and calcium are high. You can lower your pH and alk by using muriatic acid and the steps listed in the sticky under the "alkalinity and calcium" part of the forum (you'll have to log out and read it that way until your registration is upgraded--right now you wouldn't be able to follow a link there). You want your pH to be around 7.2-7.6. The alk will come down with the pH when you add the acid--the explanation is in the sticky.

[jcwr56]

Thank you,

I did take a look for initial CYA amounts and will pick some up later today.

So I have a two fold process, adding CYA and adding muriatic acid. Is there a proper order I want to do this in since both will cause a lowering of the pH?

[PoolDoc]

CYA will not affect your pH very quickly. Don't worry about adding both at the same time, but do NOT allow them to come into direct contact with each other.