I'm refilling my pool -- now what?

[polyvue]

My intention is to use the shock to start up and then switch over to a BBB regimen. I think I want to be targeting a 30 ppm CYA level; not sure about the initial FC level.

How should I proceed? Do I need to "superchlorinate" new water? Should I shock first?

Also, based on some other forum posts, I found a link to this pool calculator:

http://www.poolcalculator.com/

It has an option for setting goal levels based on troublefreepool.com, which also espouses the BBB method. Is that a good guideline for maintaining my pool once I've initially set it up?

Hi Mike,

The most important item in your arsenal is the test kit (but you knew this) so don't be afraid to use it! Once the pool is filled and the pump/filter has run an hour or two, take a sample from 18" down from the surface of the water and do all of the tests. This will give you a starting point and inform decisions about how much muriatic acid will be needed to lower the pH (assuming it needs lowering) and your starting TA and CH levels, Free Chlorine / Total Chlorine levels, etc.

My opinion is that you don't need to shock a newly filled pool, but you will want to increase the chlorine to your target level and add cyanuric acid (CYA) as soon as possible. I think your plan to start with Trichlor (not in the skimmer) is fine, but others here may take a different view. If this were my pool (with no SWG) I would do all bleach or supplement one bag of the Trichlor shock powder by dumping in enough liquid chlorine or 6% bleach to raise FC to at least 3 PPM on the first day. The CYA may take a few days to come up to your target.

Don't be in a hurry to adjust everything. Start with chlorine and pH, a few hours apart. Then, if TA or CH need to be increased, do this subsequently but on different days.

To the best of my knowledge the chemical levels suggested by the option you selected in the Pool Calculator align with those recommended here.

Greg