Another newbie with an intex......

[amyinraleigh]

First let me say this is a great site and the one I have joined and bookmarked for all the help and info I will need to fix the flub-ups and mistakes I make during the first year of my first pool! Thanks in advance!

I feel silly posting questions about my bitty blow-up beginner pool, but then I guess everyone has to start somewhere and it's the first time of anything that brings the most questions, right?

I know it is late in the season to get going with a pool, but here I am......We brought home an 18' 42" Intex and neither DH nor I have ever been around a pool that required us to to know anything about its care. I have been lurking and reading quite a bit, especially here since I found this site and believe I have come to a basic understanding of what needs to happen. Silly thing is, I don't know what to do to get started.

I want to use the BBB method. What is the best (read: cost effective!) way to get the initial amount of CYA I will need in my pool? I think a bucket of the "puck" things is usually really big, is there any way of knowing how many pucks I would need?

Would anyone be kind enough to explain to me (or point me in the direction of another thread) a timeline of what I should do/add: as my pool is filling up, through the first couple days?

Thanks so much for your patience and what I know will be excellent advice!

Amy

[CToon]

Hi amy ,

The first thing I would do if you havent already is get a test kit .The 5 way kit at walmart should be good. While you're there , you can get stabilizer (cyanuric acid). Its more direct than the pucks and you have more control over how much goes in.

From this site , look for MWsmiths Bleach calculator . its a good program to have .

and you might want to pick up some bleach.

ps: bet you get just as wet in your " bitty blow up beginner pool "

[ssweaser]

Adding to the previous post...I put a trouser sock (J. Smith from Kmart - on sale $1.50 pair) in the skimmer to help keep the small stuff out of the filter. Also put a pair of pantyhose over the filter to keep the bugs out of it. Works well and makes cleaning it alot easier.

I buy twin packs of filters at Walmart - mine are the B filters. Saves a few $$. And I change them out about every 2 to 3 weeks - washing them every other day or so, in the mean time.

I had an 18 x 48" pool that lasted 2 seasons and was left up year round - in the heart of Texas. It would have lasted another summer, but a hail storm w/ golf ball size hail did in the top ring.

Good luck and definitely get a good drop kit. Those test strips are junk.

[CarlD]

First let me say this is a great site and the one I have joined and bookmarked for all the help and info I will need to fix the flub-ups and mistakes I make during the first year of my first pool! Thanks in advance!

Thanks from all of us!

I feel silly posting questions about my bitty blow-up beginner pool, but then I guess everyone has to start somewhere and it's the first time of anything that brings the most questions, right?

Silly questions? We do see them but not from newbies. People who ask the same questions again and again don't listen to the answers are silly. But not newbies asking for the first time! NEVER be ashamed to say "Hey, what's that?"

I know it is late in the season to get going with a pool, but here I am......We brought home an 18' 42" Intex and neither DH nor I have ever been around a pool that required us to to know anything about its care. I have been lurking and reading quite a bit, especially here since I found this site and believe I have come to a basic understanding of what needs to happen. Silly thing is, I don't know what to do to get started.

The FIRST and hardest thing to do is establish a smooth and level site for your donut pool. Once you do THAT, the rest is pretty easy. My first pool was a 15'x3' Intex and we used it for 3 years--and loved it! And you get just as wet as you do in a big pool.

But after the mechanical part is done and your pool is filled, you need a good test kit first. You can splurge and order Ben's PS234 from PoolSolutions, or the Taylor 2006, or the Leslie's Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit. All can be gotten on line and while they seem expensive (in the $70- $100 range) you will THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS you bought it before the season is over! Barring that, the best cheapie kit is the WalMart HTH 5-way drop kit. Some WalMarts have them--here in NJ I don't see them anymore. I don't know about Raleigh--I haven't lived in NC in 23 years.

I want to use the BBB method. What is the best (read: cost effective!) way to get the initial amount of CYA I will need in my pool? I think a bucket of the "puck" things is usually really big, is there any way of knowing how many pucks I would need?

No, no, just buy the SMALLEST container of CYA you can at a pool store, or, better yet, at K-Mart or WalMart where it's likely to be cheaper. It may be called Stabilizer, Conditioner or Cyanuric or IsoCyanuric Acid. There's a wonderfully funny thread showing a funny but effective method for adding it to an Intex Donut. Start with 1/3 to 1/2 of what you estimate you'll need--it's always easy to add more, but you need to drain off water to reduce it. Do not use pucks in a donut--you are just asking for trouble. You are MUCH better off with bleach or dissolving Di-Chlor powder in a 5-gallon bucket in such a pool.

Would anyone be kind enough to explain to me (or point me in the direction of another thread) a timeline of what I should do/add: as my pool is filling up, through the first couple days?

Thanks so much for your patience and what I know will be excellent advice!

Amy

Here are threads I think you should read:

CYA Best Guess Table:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365

B-B-B:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1652

Beginner's guide:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1113

Alkalinity FAQ:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=195

Algae infestions:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3833

And, as promised, the CYA Delivery Method Par Excellence! Don't laugh! Ok, Laugh, but it's IDEAL!
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3254

BTW, July is not late in the season in Raleigh. I remember that pools didn't close till Oct 1! You can get a round 18' solar cover that will help keep the heat in and help warm the pool too. I liked to also use the tight-fitting Intex cover when I wasn't using the pool or heating it. It was a bit of a pain to use, and only lasted a season or two, BUT it cuts back amazingly on the amount of cleaning and chlorine you use, because it cannot gas off.

Vacuuming Intex pools can be a pain. The garden hose powered vacuums are VERY strong and inexpensive, but don't pick up fine stuff. Rigging up something to work through the filter is possible but requires some ingenuity. If you've got it, great! But another splurge that I have been delighted with is the PoolBuster vacuum. I haven't used a standard hose vacuum in two years--but for an Intex owner you may find it pricey relative to your investment in the pool--and I'd rather you get a good test kit first.

[amyinraleigh]

Wow. Absolutely everything - plus some reassurance and kind words - I needed to get me started!! Thank you all for taking the time to help me with what you must feel are directions and advice you give out over and over and over.....

We are still at the ground levelling stages but hope to be adding water w/in the next couple days. Today I will pick up a test kit, bleach, a small container of stabilizer, a trouser sock , some borax and some baking soda - I know from experience (avid fish-keeper) that our pH is quite high out of the tap and will probably require fiddling-with. I think I'm pretty comfortable with that aspect. I'm also fairly handy and have DIY'ed several different filters for aquariums, my last one plumbed with PVC. I may look into hard-plumbing the Intex pump/filter as I've read they are horribly under-powered - decreasing the plumbing resistance may help. I'm also already eyeing a 2000 gph pond pump I bought for a tank but haven't used yet - does anyone ever DIY a pool filter? HMMMMM....... I will definitely work on some sort of vacuum-tweaking!!!

ssweaser:

I put a trouser sock (J. Smith from Kmart - on sale $1.50 pair) in the skimmer to help keep the small stuff out of the filter. Also put a pair of pantyhose over the filter to keep the bugs out of it. Works well and makes cleaning it alot easier.

A "prefilter" - excellent idea, I have these in all my aquariums and it does indeed make cleaning much easier, filter may last longer too!!

CToon:
I think that is the test kit I will use for now, maybe when we upgrade pools I'll spring for the more expensive....I will get the CYA at Wmart too! As for the bleach calculator, I've already downloaded it and plan to use it - thanks, great advice!

Carl:
Thanks a bunch for your detailed advice - I'm off to read the links you were kind enough to take the time to include - THANKS!!

Amy

[CarlD]

I wondered about the "trouser sock". I use the "skimmer socks"--most pool stores sell them under one name or another for 3 for $5--sometimes for $5. They look like a Mr. Coffee filter with an elastic band, are reusable, and filter an INCREDIBLE amount of junk and goop.

[ssweaser]

All I can say is it works. It's like little girl's tights, but in a sock. they filter a ton of stuff out of my water.

I haven't had a chance to get to the pool store to check out the real thing.

[aylad]

If your fill water pH tends to run high, you also need to get either muriatic or dry acid to lower pH with.....the Borax raises pH.

Janet