Newbie with a 21' AG pool, wondering about copper

[BigDave]

I'd like to add that storing Muriatic Acid in the aluminum box may be a pretty poor choice as the HCL fumes are corrosive. Take a look at Using Muriatic Acid to Safely Lower Your Pool's pH. It has good advice for handling and storing MA. I put the bottle in a bag and close it, put the bag in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid that seals and then I put the bucket in a 20 gallon garbage can with a lid that shuts tight.

[The Frant]

BigDave, I will take your advice about storing my chemicals. The only indoor place I have store it would be in my garage, but my son's room is right above it. I've always been careful about what work I do in the garage, cleaning products, paint, stains, etc. I do have a 20x20 wooden shed with 16 ft roof. It one of those barn type sheds with the asphalt shingle roof. It does get rather warm in there. Would that be better or am I being too cautious?
He's my oldest but i've got two others just like him.

Also while cleaning out the pool, i noticed that I have small white grit on the sides of the pool. I have not had a chance to pick some off and vinegar test it. I'm adding that to my list of problems to resolve.

[PoolDoc]

Use a plastic 'lawn box', with a light colored lid. Something like this would be ideal:
Rubbermaid 5F21-00-OLVSS Deck Storage Box

[The Frant]

Ok I have the information about my filter. Its from Waterways and labeled "Millenium Ultimate Filtration" and has a sticker with FC125 on it. The pump is a Model SD-20-2N11CD and has a part number of PM2200-6P.

[PoolDoc]

Looks like it's a WaterWay Clearwater II FC125 filter -- check their catalog, and verify that, before you purchase the cartridge below:

http://www.waterwayplastics.com/wp-c...0.0510_web.pdf

The Unicel cartridge guide IDs the correct replacement as a either Unicel C8412 or an C8413 (pg 59). You'll have to measure the cartridge: the C8412 is 23 5/16 inches; the C8413 is 28 3/16 inches. The Filbur FC-1293 (23 5/16") or FC-2575 (28 3/16") are options as well.

23 5/16" long

Unicel C-8412
FIlbur FC-1293

28 3/16" long

Unicel C-8413
Filbur FC-2575

Be very careful if you purchase without using the links below; Asian made cartridges are sold deceptively online, at Amazon and elsewhere, with descriptions like "replaces Unicel C8412"! If you want further info, here are the links to the Unicel and Filbur cartridge guides:

http://www.filburmfg.com/uploads/res...%20Catalog.pdf
http://www.unicelfilters.com/pdf/replacement_guide.pdf

[The Frant]

That looks exactly like my filter. And it's the 28" one too. Is there a difference between those two filters?

And I've not been able to find plain liquid CYA. I've found a granular one, but the guy at the store says that it will just clog up my filter before it actually dissolves (2-3 Days). So he steered me to a liquid "CYA" that turns out to be monosodium cyanurate monohydrate. I'm assumed that the guy was full of it and left. So, are the granules OK? should I dissolve them in water first then add? My searches here did not find anything positive about monosodium cyanurate monohydrate, so i might be skipping liquid and going granular.

My test kit should be here soon, so I can get some more accurate numbers.

And thanks for all the help.

[PoolDoc]

CYA *will* sit on your filter for a few days, but it won't clog it.

Liquid CYA is based on the sodium salt of cyanuric acid you mentioned. A cheaper and easier way to add CYA is simply to chlorinate with dichlor granules for the first few weeks. For each ppm of chlorine you add that way, you also add almost a ppm of CYA! As long as you NEED cyanuric acid, this is a very good deal, both in terms of price and convenience.

If you have access to a Sams Club, their PoolBrand undiluted dichlor (50# bucket; 24# box) is usually the best deal going. But I'll post links to Amazon, in case you can't use Sams Club. Most other stores -- Costco, Walmart, Kmart, etc -- sell diluted dichlor.

To use dichlor, just add doses to the skimmer, with the pump running. With 13K gallons, a reasonable dose would be 1 pound (about 2 cups) in the skimmer each evening. Each dose will add about 5 ppm chlorine and 4 ppm of stabilizer. Once you have added (5) doses, you'll have enough CYA in the pool to have an effect.

Have you ordered a K2006 test kit, yet? Regardless, get a cheap OTO/phenol red kit, and adjust your dose the following evening, based on pH and chlorine levels.

Regarding your filter, apparently Water Way made two models of that filter, and you have to match replacements by length.

Here are the Amazon dichlor links:

PoolBrand granular dichlor 50lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.20/lb (May 2014 in Chattanooga)
PoolBrand dichlor bagged shock 24lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.50/lb (May 2014 in Chattanooga)

Kem-Tek dichlor 22 lbs @ Amazon => ~$3.50/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 12 lbs @ Amazon => ~$4.10/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 5 lbs @ Amazon => ~$5.00/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 2 lbs @ Amazon => ~$9.00/lb (May 2014)

Keep in mind that Amazon products normally ship free; and that in many parts of the country, you will not have to pay sales tax. Shipping + tax can increase the cost from other suppliers by 15 - 40%, so compare delivered cost, not nominal price.

KemTek brand products may also be available at local Home Depots; match pictures here to what you see at Home Depot, before you buy. Otherwise you may end up with diluted dichlor there, too.