Newbie needs advice....so confused

[AndieP]

Thanks again Marie for mapping it out for me step by step.

I went to get bleach and pucks to start putting some stabilizer in the water but all Walmart had was HTH pucks that had copper added in them as an algaecide. Do I want that? I am trying to get away from putting copper in the water not add more. Are there pucks that don't have copper in them? I am thinking I might be better off to just order some stabilizer online.

I also decided I would check my calcium level since you asked about it earlier.....I tested it twice and both times came up with 100! The pool dealer kept telling me my calcium level was fine ....isn't 100 too low for a concete/plaster pool (which appears to have been painted too before we moved here)?

I haven't added anything yet b/c I just today had a chance to go get bleach and we are also dealing with trying to find a leak

Do I need to increase the calcium before adding bleach/stabilizer?

[Poconos]

If you go the puck route just be aware that I've seen containers at Sam's Club that were $10 apart in price for 40#, one said 'multi-use' or something like that and the other didn't. Cheaper didn't. Ingredients lists were the same...no mention of copper but I suspect the multi-use had it.
Al

[AndieP]

The ones I saw today also said "multi-use" or something like that and had copper listed in the ingredients. I didn't get them. I was just going to use them to put some stabilizer in the water since I can't find any cyanuric acid here. (Small town pool place hour away) Would it be better to just order stabilizer online instead of messing with the pucks?

[mbar]

Yes, order the stabalizer online - you can often find free shipping. I do a lot of my shopping online since I live in a small town too. You will also have to get some calcium in the water too. Walmart sometimes has calcium, or if you have a lowes, they carry it. If not order that online too - you need between 200 and 400 for a gunite pool. Use enough to get you to 200, sometimes what it calls for will take you over 200! So I always go for less. You should add the bleach now, you don't have to wait.

[AndieP]

OK, I have officially started the conversion

I am getting stabilizer, metal out, and calcium increaser. Yesterday I slowed added bleach to get to a level of 10.5 when I went to bed. This morning my numbers were as follows:

FC 7.0
CC 0
PH 7.2
TA 50
CYA 0

When I tried to test my calcium level it turned yellow instead of red. Do you know why it did this? My TA is dropping a bit...do I need to increase it?

I added 2 more jugs of bleach to bring it back up to 10....I just keep it at 10 all day today and tonight, right?

The water is clear...I can see the bottom easily but the deep end is just a bit hazy.

Thanks again for your continued help.

[AndieP]

I am still going at this...water was clear yesterday, brought bleach up to 11 last night and this morning the water is cloudy. I added stabilizer Thursday night so I haven't checked the CYA level yet.

My question now is do I continue to add the bleach at the return jet or should I walk around the pool with it or add it in the skimmer?

Also where do you add baking soda and Borax? At the skimmer?

Thanks!

[Dr. Spike]

I add my bleach slowly to the skimmer. Same for the borax and baking soda (I almost never have to use any though). I add the muriatic acid slowly by the return jet. I never add any chemical at the same time. If I have to use more than one chemical in a day I will wait about 4 hours (about 1 full cycle for my pool) with the pump running before I do.

I do not use any pucks. If you are, and have them or have had them in the skimmer, DO NOT add the bleach to the skimmer. Continue adding by the return jet.