Brand new and overwhelmed above ground pool owner...

[JoeJet]

Today's Reading:

Chlorine: 5-10
PH: 7.2

I received my K2006 this afternoon!

Dichlor will be ordered tonight.

What's my next step?

Joe

[Watermom]

I assume, since you reported your chlorine in such a wide range (5-10) that you did not use your new kit to get your readings. Continue to follow the SS recipe but using bleach until you get your Dichlor.

Practice with your kit. Run all of the tests except the CYA test. Obviously, you have none in there yet and there is no reason to waste that reagent.

These testing demos may be helpful:
http://pool9.net/tk-guide/

[JoeJet]

Wow. What a difference 8 hours of 70 degree sunlight makes!

PH: 7.5
ALK: 100PPM Total Alk as CC
Free Chlorine : 0
Total Chlorine: 0
Calcium Hardness: 150PPM Calcium Hardness as CC
CYA: 0

Did the sun really burn all my Chlorine up in 8 hours?

Thanks,

Joe

[Watermom]

Did the sun really burn all my Chlorine up in 8 hours?

Yep! In a pool with no CYA, chlorine doesn't stick around long. That's why you need the Dichlor. It adds CYA as well as chlorine. After using it for a bit, your CYA will be built up enough that you can keep some chlorine in there.

I'm confused about your reported readings.
What does "ALK: 100PPM Total Alk as CC" mean? And, how about Calcium Hardness as CC?

[JoeJet]

That's what the YouTube video told me to record it as:

"Parts Per Million Total Akalinity as Calcium Carbonate"

"Parts Per Million Calcium Hardness as Calcium Carbonate"

Joe

[Watermom]

Ok. Gotcha. On the forum, CC typically refers to combined chloromine.

How do you like your new kit?

[JoeJet]

It's amazing.

Speaking of which:

Is my Alkalinity and Hardness fine?

Thanks,

Joe

[Watermom]

Yes, both are fine. And, by the way, don't let any pool store tell you that your pool needs calcium. We hear of that all the time but the fact is that vinyl pools do NOT need added calcium.

[JoeJet]

Hi again everyone!

So I've been keeping up with the pool and have maintained the following for a few days now.

Free Chlorine 1
Total Chlorine 6

PH 7.5

Alkalinity 100

CYA 30

My salt generator has been installed but I didn't want to start it until I had your blessing.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks as always,

Joe

[PoolDoc]

You probably need to raise your CYA level further, before you start the SWCG. Check your manual, but most units recommend (or 'require') levels above 60 ppm.