Pool newbie-- possible baquasil

[stelr92]

Okay, so here are the pics of the pool today. Is this what you would expect?

http://community.webshots.com/myphot...ecurity=PAYHvO

[medvampire]

Looked at your pics. Untill you get a better tester the chem problems are gonna be hard for the pros here to help you. Didnt see a pic of the hole. I would be more concerned about it. You might use some jb weld and thread releaser in the skimmer to reform the threads. I would lower the ph after you get the pump going. Need to mix the acid and chlorine. The red color may be a iron problem but I am not a chem pro. You might want to get a metals test at the pool store.
Later
Steve

[stelr92]

I appreciate all the replies and suggestions. I have a strip tester that indicates the following.. Total hardness is at about 100, CL is at about 1, free chlorine is at 0 or 1, ph is 8.4, alkalinity is about 100, cyanuric acid is 40 or so.

About the hole.. I ended up pushing a piece of vinyl inbetween the hole and the pool, and also put a piece on the outside for good measure. I'm guessing the previous owners noticed it too because they poured some concrete right around it, which you can kinda see from the first poolpic. Upon closer inspection, I noticed several other small holes(think about eraserhead size) along the bottom of the pool, but I'm not too worried about em.

I had to work all day today, and had no time to devote to the pool so my cl level is all the way down to 1, and I noticed that my ph is 8.4 or so. I bought some muratic acid, and Im going to add that first thing tomorrow. I'm starting a week long vacation tomorrow, so I'll really have time to get crackin on this thing.

I have a few questions..
Muratic acid, how do I know how much to add? I noticed the bleach calc program mentioned before, anyone know where to get it? How do I know how many gallons my pool holds? It is about 17 feet across.

Your replies will be greatly appreciated.

[medvampire]

Holes
I would get a pic of the mentioned holes and post in the above ground topic and let the pros there give there more knowledgeable advice.
Testing
You will find a consensus here that test strips are not very accurate. I know your funds are limited (I can relate) but I would recommend going and getting a liquid based test kit. It will be very hard to balance your pool using test strips. Walmart has a 6 way kit for around $15. The Walmart kit does OTO for the total chlorine only but you might want to check the pool stores in the area and see if you can find a DPD test that does both free and total chlorine. I found a kit here that has free and total chlorine by DPD as well as other chems for around $35. I am not sure where you are located at so prices may vary. I feel its best to spend little more on testing and less on chemicals.
Chem in the pool
Like I said I am not a pro here.
Bleach Calc
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emwsmith...achCalc262.exe
Later
Steve

[stelr92]

Thanks for the link, I was able to figure out the right amount of muratic acid to put in with that. Things are looking much better in the pool today, I can see the bottom, and it is only a little cloudy. There is also a bunch of floating stuff, which I'm thinking is dead baquasil. I noticed in previous thread that someone suggested putting a sock over the skimmer cup, and I did that, and it seems that is really helping catch the baquagoo.

[stelr92]

Just wanted to follow up. Water has been clear for the last 2 days, so I changed out the sand in my filter today. All my chemical levels are looking good, chalk me up as a successful baqua convert. Thanks for the help guys!

[medvampire]

Happy to hear about getting the water clear...Just follow the BBB guide and you will have great water all summer. So what did you do about the holes?
Steve