New Pool

[ajb8898]

Hi, all. So, we bought a new above ground pool this year after our 18 year old one bit the dust last fall. I need help getting it all set up. The pool should be filled up with city water by this evening. Can you help me calculate how much chlorine I need to raise it 1ppm?

Our new pool is still 18x33 oval but it's 52" instead of 48" tall. We have the same pump as noted in my signature.

What do I need to do to get it initially set up as well? Please point me to a post if this is covered somewhere. Thanks as always!

[Watermom]

You might want to use the Super Simple start up recipe that you can find in my signature below. That is a good way to get started. Congrats on the new pool!

(By the way, I think your volume is more like 14K. 52" walls make the water level about 46-48" deep since the pool is not filled to the top of the wall. You can edit your signature by clicking on the tab in my signature below.)

Glad to see you back around this year!

[ajb8898]

Thanks!

I was a little confused about the start-up. It mentions using dichlor. I haven't used that in the past. Should I be?

[Watermom]

You don't have to but it is an easy way to start up a freshly filled pool since it adds needed CYA as well as chlorine. Once you get your CYA level built up to where you want it, then you can just switch to using bleach. If you don't want to use dichlor, you can just add some CYA separately and just use bleach from the get go. Either way works.

[ajb8898]

Ah, ok. That makes sense now. What is a preferable target for CYA?

[Watermom]

Most people like around 50. Some places that are extremely hot and sunny seem to be better with it a little higher. But, I'd start with around 50ppm. If you find that you are having trouble maintaining adequate chlorine levels throughout the day, you can always bump it up later. Just remember to keep your chlorine in the proper range for whatever CYA level you have so you can avoid algae. (Take a look at the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below for the correlation between CYA levels and needed chlorine levels.)

[ajb8898]

OK I think I'm on the right track with all my numbers

FC 12
pH 7.4
TA 140

except CYA is still low...somewhere at 30 or below. The other that concerns me is Calcium Hardness is reading at 30 and the charts I see in my kit say I need it to be at 200. Is that what you recommend? What do I buy to increase it?

[Watermom]

Vinyl pools do not need calcium.

[ajb8898]

Perfect, thanks!

[Watermom]

You're welcome. Pool stores love to tell people that they do, however. Can you hear the cash register??? Ka-ching!