Filter / Pumps / New Pool

[rkooz]

Just got home and tested pool. Looks like I have no chlorine in the pool (stayed white after drops) and the pH looks the shade of 7.2-7.5. I am going to get distiller water now and do the test mentioned above.

Separate question, is it important to put on pool cover?

[Watermom]

If your chlorine is low (below 5ppm), then you don't need to use the distilled water to test pH. That dilution method is only necessary if your chlorine reading is over 5ppm.

Get some chlorine in that pool asap! While you are just using bleach, your chlorine is going to disappear fast since you have no CYA in the pool yet. For now, you probably need to add bleach a couple of times per day so it never drops down to 0 like it apparently did today. That is an open invitation to algae! It doesn't take long for a pool to turn green!

Whether to cover the pool is strictly a matter of preference. It will use less chlorine without the sun's rays hitting the water. But, whether the cover is on or not, you still need to run your pump/filter for several hours per day.

[rkooz]

Ok, my local pool store is closed so I just put in 6 doses of bleach. Is that enough? I am running filter now for the designated 6 hours per instruction manual.

[Watermom]

That should add slightly less than 5ppm of chlorine which is ok for a pool with no CYA. You may need to add some midday tomorrow in addition to your evening dose.

[rkooz]

I added the bleach last night as I mentioned (I actually did 8 doses) and ran the filter as per manual. Checked the levels today and the chlorine looked to be 5ppm (what should it be at and what is CYA stand for?) and the pH looked at 7.5. While my pool is not crystal clear, still having some kind of tinge, it looks really good and the best it has. I hope to have my order from Amazon this weekend which included the unicel filters, test kit and Kem-Tek 013 Pool and Spa All-in-One Concentrated Chlorinating Granules. I have the Mule Borax. Until then I'll use the bleach unless someone suggest different.

Thanks for everyone's help! Much appreciated!!

[Watermom]

CYA stands for cyanuric acid which is also sometimes called stabilizer. It is kind of like sunscreen for your chlorine. All outdoor pools need some or otherwise you quickly lose the chlorine to the sun ---- which is what will happen in your pool for the first few days. After you start using the dichlor which is a stabilized form of chlorine which means that it has chlorine and CYA in it, your CYA level will gradually rise and you'll start to see your chlorine lasting longer. You don't want too much CYA; most pools do well at around 50ppm. So, once you hit that, you'll want to switch back to only using bleach.

For now, while using bleach and having no CYA, each time you add bleach, aim to get it up to about 5-6ppm. It won't stay there long and as I noted in a previous post, you'll probably need to add it a couple times per day so you make sure it doesn't drop to 0. Once you get CYA in there, the needed chlorine level will change. Read this for more info about the relationship between CYA and chlorine:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/
(After the CYA level builds up, you'll be able to go to testing and adding chlorine in the evening only.)

When you start using dichlor, wait about 10 days to 2 weeks before you test the CYA for the first time or else you'll just be wasting your testing reagents. The test can't read anything level below 30ppm. It is not a test that you do too often.

[rkooz]

Basic silly question. I received the kem tek chemicals. How does one open the lid?

[PoolDoc]

Which chemical?

[rkooz]

While I'm. It home right now, I believe it was off the link under the super simple recipe for the stabilizer/chlorine

[PoolDoc]

It's a container of stabilizer?

I haven't been hands on with all the Kem-Tek packages, but almost all small CYA containers are either screw lid or else a pop-off lid that can be lifted, using a screw-driver to pry or pop it off.