Brand new and overwhelmed above ground pool owner...

[JoeJet]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for welcoming me into your community.

So I purchased and had installed a 21 round (52 deep) resin above ground pool.

I have a Hayward filter which was installed and have a salt generator that is going to be plumbed and installed on Wednesday.

The pool was filled yesterday and the electrician (subbed out by installer) told us that we could use the pool just fine before Wednesday's install. He said to just shock it (with monopersulphate) and wait 30 min before going in.

The seller I bought the pool from said that before I run the salt system I should wait a week and let the Hayward run alone. Then bring him a water sample and he'll tell me how much salt to add, etc.

Does all of this sound right?

Thanks!

Joe

[Watermom]

Did you put the monopersulphate in yet?? I hope not! Let us know before we give you advice.

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[PoolDoc]

1. It only takes 2 -3 days to get a nice crop of algae going. On typical AG pools (over-sized pump; undersized filter) it can take weeks and $100's to clean up. Follow the instructions below, if you'd prefer to avoid that.

2. If it's on, turn your SWCG off (salt water chlorine generator). Don't turn it on, till you've added salt. Read the manual, while your waiting.

3. Return the monopersulfate if you can. It's essentially useless. It is NOT a sanitizer, and will do NOTHING to kill algae.

4. Go to Walmart and get a cheap OTO/phenol red testkit, and 8 gallons of PLAIN 8% household bleach.

4. Add 1 gallon the first EVENING you have the bleach.

5. Add 1/2 gallon every subsequent evening, AFTER you test pH and chlorine. If your chlorine test result is DARK yellow, skip the bleach dose.

6. If your pH is below 7.0 or above 8.0, report that result here.

7. Read about the Super Simple recipe -- it may not be the method you choose to follow, but it will inform you about some options.
http://pool9.net/ssr/

8. Let me say it a bit differently than I did in #1 above: it's much, MUCH easier to avoid pool problems, than to fix them!

9. Pool chemistry is intimidating at first. There's no way to avoid that, that doesn't involve wasting $$'s and time. We can make it much easier - but not completely easy. It will be easy later.

10. Any pool dealer or contractor that tries to start up your pool with monopersulfate is not to be trusted. They are either ignorant, or malicious.

11. Order a K2006. You'll need one to take care of your pool: http://pool9.net/test/


Good luck!

[JoeJet]

Thanks!

Well my wife tossed the bag of monopersulphate in.

Here are my specs:

The SWCG has NOT been installed yet.

Hayward Power-Flo Matrix
Hayward XStream

21' Round Resin 52" high

Am I screwed now that the monopersulphate is in there?

Do I follow the plan in the post above?

Thanks in advance!

Joe

[PoolDoc]

A single bag of MPS won't be a problem.

DO follow the plan outlined above.

[JoeJet]

Thanks PoolDoc,

I went ahead and ordered the K2006 and the K1766 from Amazon.

I'll be picking up the following tomorrow:

8 Gallons of Bleach
4 Boxes of Borax
Plastic Measuring Cups
HTH 6 Way Test Kit

Should I go ahead and buy my salt while I'm there?

The SWCG will be installed Wednesday. I'll assume I leave it off until you tell me otherwise.

Thanks,
Joe

[PoolDoc]

Salt keeps indefinitely, so if you've got room to store it, by all means go ahead.

[JoeJet]

Thanks again. I updated my signature with all of my equipment, at least now I'll know if my money was well spent.

I'll dump the first gallon of bleach tonight and report back my PH and Chlorine tomorrow morning.

Again thank you for your time and courtesy,

Joe

[JoeJet]

Chlorine: .5-1
PH: 7.2

Thanks,

Joe

[Watermom]

Add some bleach. Your pH is ok but if it gets any lower, you'll need to add some Borax.

Are you using the Super Simple Startup Recipe? Have you bought any Dichlor? You have to introduce CYA into the water via either dichlor or adding it separately.