Intex pool newbie question

[schultzy]

Municipal water source. Haven't bought replacement filters yet.

Water test this afternoon:

Cl - .5 (was 5 this morning)
Br - 1 (was 10 this morning)
Ph - 8.2 (a little concerned about this one, same as this morning)
CA - 0
tot. alk - 600
Hardness - 60

Questions I have now:

When can I get the kids in the pool?
And what numbers should I be trying to keep it at?
And how many doses of bleach should I put in tonight?

14' X 35" Intex frame pool. Est. 3750 gal.

[PoolDoc]

Municipal water source.
2x [Cl - .5 (was 5 this morning)] = Br - 1 (was 10 this morning) (Same test; 2 scales)
Ph - 8.2 (you're going to be seeing this a lot!)
CA - 0 (= CYA or stabilizer; needs to be above 20)
tot. alk - 600 (Ka-wow! Ok, you got work to do!)
Hardness - 60 (no problem)

=> Test the TA and CH on your *fill* water. I'm guessing you're going to have to learn to manage high TA fill water.
=> Are you using dichlor to chlorinate? That will add the stabilizer you need; use dichlor instead of bleach OR buy

=> Your kids can swim, so long as there's chlorine in the pool. I'd recommend adding a cup of bleach OR 3 tablespoons of dichlor BEFORE and AFTER each swim period. Your pool volume can't store enough chlorine to handle a 'dose of kids' for several hours, without replenishing it.

=> Your TA is very, VERY high. You are going to have to go off the Super Simple Recipe and actively manage your pH and alkalinity. Buy a gallon of 31% muriatic acid, and READ the muriatic acid page: http://pool9.net/ma/ Then, read the alkalinity page: http://pool9.net/alk-step/

You'll need to experiment, but I think a 1 cup dose of muriatic will be about right. Try that, and see what your pH is after adding it. Once you've worked out a dosage, practice maintaining your pH around 7.2. Because of aeration, it will jump back up within a few minutes after 2 - 3 kits start splashing around in it. That's OK; just add another dose of acid the next day.

Please note: the required dose will DROP, as your TA drops. Eventually, you may be adding 1/4 cup doses. But you'll probably go through a gallon or two of muriatic first. DO wear gloves and glasses to add it. DO keep the jug close to, or even IN the water, as you measure out the dose. Doing so avoids fumes and splashing.

[schultzy]

Thanks for the detailed response.

I was afraid you were going to tell me that I was going to have to use the muriatic acid. There's a Lowe's near where I work, so I can pick some of that up tomorrow and some gloves.

Dichlor is on the way, right now all I have is bleach to work with. I'm guessing I should dose with bleach tonight so there will be chlorine in the pool, tomorrow morning? As well as dosing before they swim and after.

P.S. - Thanks for the signature!

[PoolDoc]

Yep. Always keep chlorine in the pool. (In warm weather, pools without chlorine can become ponds almost instantly!)

[schultzy]

Dosed with muriatic acid last night. TA is down to 380. I tried to put a cup in, but may have underestimated. I'll dose again tonight and see where we end up Wednesday morning. Ph is still 8.2+ of course.

[PoolDoc]

Keep us posted.

[schultzy]

First dose of dichlor last night and another dose of muriatic acid.

Ph is finally starting to move down - 7.8
Cl = 5
TA is still around 400

[Watermom]

Go ahead and add more acid. Continue to work to drop the pH down to 7.0-7.2. The directions for lowering alk are in Ben's post #7 above. It is a gradual process but will work.

[schultzy]

Ph is down to 7.5

TA is still at 400 after another dose of muriatic acid yesterday.

Forward progress!