Please advice - want to make sure I start right!

[court475]

Hi all! I am so glad I have found this site. I have been reading and trying to soak in the information. Before I found you all, we were going to do Pristine Blue just because they make it sound so good! I always thought you had to do the "pool store chemicals" and I'm anxious to try the BBB method instead.

So, we are having our 24' x 52" AG installed on Saturday, and I want to make sure I start right. I believe it's close to 15,000 gallons. I assume that I fill the pool, then test the water, then use the calulator to see what needs to be added? What do you think I will probably need upon startup? I am so clueless about this and really don't want to mess up. Also, how long per day should I run the pump? I live in HOT South Louisiana and the pool will get a lot of sun.

I really appreciate any info you have to offer.

Courtney

[CarlD]

Have you read the stickied threads at the top of the Chlorine forum, the Testing Forum and the Chemicals and Porblems forum? That's a good place to start.

[court475]

Sorry - that title should be "Please Advise", not advice. I promise I can spell!

Yes - I've read all the stickies. I guess I'm still a little confused on starting up. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it and hope it's easier that it sounds, once I get the hang of what everything is for.

[aylad]

I would first get a drop-based test kit--the 5-way that WalMart sells will get you started. It sells for around $15. (Actually at our WalMarts in Shreveport it sells for $12.97) You're on the right track--fill the pool, test the water, post your numbers, use the bleach calc to get you to 3 ppm at first. You need to have on hand some stabilizer (also called balancer or conditioner at WalMart--ingredient is cyanuric or isocyanuric acid), some generic bleach, and some borax and baking soda. That should get you started!

Janet

[court475]

Thanks Janet! I went through all the stickies last night and made some notes. I think I'm figuring it out slowly but surely!

[brent.roberts]

Here's the link for the bleachcalc program that you will see referred to many times.

http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emwsmith...achCalc262.exe

A very good summary of tips is on the host page of this site and it is all written by Pooldoc, the owner of this forum.

It is at http://www.poolsolutions.com/ Be sure to note the "more tips" link that is none to obvious on the page(s). If you dig down in the site far enough you'll see a sort of autobiography of Ben that really gets to the heart of how he started this pool management strategy.

THE #1 thing. Don't put anything...nothing in the water that you are not told to do by the members here. It is far easier to add a bit more of something tonight or tomorrow than it is to try to correct a witches brew you've created by add junk that the pool store wanted you to buy. The water out of the tap that you are filling with will be basically OK with no panic to adjust anything except add a bit of bleach.

Stick with us. The people out there that tell you pool horror stories never learned the basics the way you will learn them here. When you understand it you will be able to relax and enjoy your pool much more.

Good luck