A pool newbie with a few questions!

[mama_to_one08]

Hi all! We recently obtained an Intex 18x48 metal frame pool from my husband's cousin. They are getting a new one, so they decided to give it to us. It was just the pool though, no filter/pump, chemicals, nothing. So I went to a pool supply store, and asked the saleslady what all I needed to get for and open our pool.

She pointed out which filter/pump to get, a solar cover, and a pool maintenance kit. Next came the chemicals. We already have test strips, so we got a bottle of pH decreaser, pH increaser, shock, a chlorine duck and chlorine tabs. Another salesperson told us how to add the chemicals and instructed us how to test.

We got our pool filled and I tested it to see how I should proceed with adding the chemicals. The pH & alkalinity were both pretty high so I added the pH decreaser per the instructions on the back and it was still high. So after a day process of doing this, and one bottle of pH decreaser later, I finally got it to an ok level yesterday. So I added the shock per the instructions on the bottle then, put the chlorine duck in and tested it again and all the levels were fine.

I wake up this morning to test again and everything is sky rocket high again! Including the chlorine and bromine. What am I doing wrong or not doing? I am going to go broke having to buy bottle of pH decreaser every single day and something must be wrong because it says I only need one pound of pH decreaser for every 6500 gallons of water. Our pool only holds just over 4500 gallons. I used all 3 pounds of the pH decreaser and it did nothing.

Our filter is working fine but I don't even know if that has anything to do with anything else.

We've never owned a pool like this in our lives before so this is all a learning process. Please be gentle!!

[aylad]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!!!!

In an effort to keep you from getting what we call "pool-stored" anymore than you have been, let me advise you to take back the pH increaser (the same thing as 20-Mule Team Borax from the laundry aisle at the grocery store, but 4x the price). While you're there, take a fresh sample of the pool water in with you and have the store test it, using drop-based testing, not test strips. If they use test strips, get it tested at a different store.

The test strips are not very accurate, to begin with, so you don't know for sure that the levels you're testing are really as high as you think. Secondly, the high chlorine levels will cause even drop-based testing to read pH as falsely high, so you don't want to try to change pH or Alk while your chlorine is that high.

We also need to know what the ingredient is in the "shock" that you put in--is it dichloro.....ethylene, or is it cal-hypo? Have you added any stabilizer (CYA) to the pool? If so, how much? What kind of filter do you have? Sand or Cartridge?

The best thing you can do for yourself is get a complete set of tests run on your pool water, including free and combined or total chlorine, pH, alk, and calcium (not normally important in a vinyl pool, so PLEASE don't buy any from the pool store, no matter how hard they insist!). Post those readings here. In the meantime, put the strips away and buy a drop-based test kit. They can be pricey, but believe me when I say that they will save you their cost hundreds of times over in the next few years of pool ownership. YOu can buy them online, or sometimes at the pool store. Once you have a complete set of test numbers, post them here and we can advise you from there.

Also, read the "stickies' at the top of each of our forums, and it will help explain a lot for you. It's a lot of information, and at first can be confusing, but it will eventually "click" and you'll realize that pool-keeping can be pretty easy if you don't let the pool store mess it up for you!!

Oh, and by the way--check the ingredient list on your trichlor tabs--if one of the ingredients is copper, take those back too, if you can. Most pool store tabs don't contain it, but Walmart's do. You don't want to add metals problems to a perfectly good pool!

Once we get your pH where it needs to be, you won't have to keep adding the decreaser daily, so don't worry about that.

Welcome to the forum, and we'll be happy to help get you off to a good start with your pool!!

Janet

[CarlD]

Hi Mama!

If we get angry with a story like yours, it is NEVER at the pool owner but at the pool store that sold them a bunch of expensive stuff.

BTW, don't let them talk you into buying any calcium increaser or phosphate removers. Also no algaecides (there's a good one but we'll get into that later) You don't need these things.

Here's what you can use that's cheaper:

To lower pH: Muriatic Acid, available at hardware stores.

To raise pH: 20 Mule Team Borax (great stuff)

To raise T/A: Total Alkalinity--Baking soda!

To raise pH and T/A together: Arm&Hammer Washing Soda (usually on the same shelf in the store as Borax).

To raise chlorine levels: Regular, ordinary bleach.

Funny thing, the pool store sells baking soda, washing soda and bleach, but it packages them as "Total Alkalinity Raiser", "pH Up!" and "Liquid Shock" and charges a fortune for them, though they are the same as the stuff I listed.

We call it the B-B-B method: Bleach, Borax and Baking Soda for pool care.

Welcome! We'll help you LOVE your pool! Don't worry that it's little--that just makes it easier to learn and fix problems.

And I always say: On a hot day, sitting in a floating lounge chair, with a cold drink, listening to your favorite music or a summer's baseball game, there's no difference between a 15' donut pool and a giant expensive in-ground! It's cool, relaxing and, with our help, clear and clean!