Greetings,

New pool owner (well, existing pool, first-time pool owner). Did a complete drain of the pool on advice of Leslie's, then realized why they suggested that when going back in asking what chems I needed. Changing course.

I'm waiting for my fancy new test kit in the mail, but picked up the 6-way at Wally World for the time being (sorry, no FC available yet but assuming it's 0 on new water).
TC - 0
pH - 7.8
TA - 180
TH - 280
CYA - 0

I was under the impression it was "Shock first, ask questions later" but after poking around here for awhile, it sounds like I should get my CYA up first, THEN worry about FC.

If I'm reading correctly, I should go get a powder stabilizer, stuff it in a sock and drop it in/near my skimmer basket, and let the pump run for a few days straight. Test the CYA again in say 5 days, and if it's closer to 30, THEN start dropping in some bleach to get the FC (new test kit should be in by then) up to around 3-5.

Alternatively, I could spend a few extra bucks on liquid stabilizer, add according to PoolCalc, wait a day or two and then add bleach to get the FC up.

Is that correct? I don't wanna screw this up.

Many thanks for the advice!

Welcome to TFP!

You want to get the FC up to 2ppm first and maintain it while you add the CYA. After the CYA is dissolved, assume it reaches your goal and increase the FC as required based on the chart in Pool School. Then verify the CYA level.

Sounds like you are starting on the right track now that you found this forum.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

Thank you, Jason! I'm glad I found this site and forum, though the volumes of helpful info is a bit intimidating at first. Looking forward to the day (hopefully soon) I can read it all without going into mental overload.

Since I don't have a decent kit yet, and since this is new water, can TC be read as FC somewhat reliably for the first few days of the water life, or is that a bad assumption? I really don't want to go back to the pool store with samples and listen to sales pitches over and over. I do have some cheap test strips too, if those would suffice until the real deal gets here.

Thanks again for all of the terrific advice.

Skip the strips. FC should be very close to TC for the new water ... best you can do for now.

It is true that there is a lot of information here and in Pool School, but it all starts to make more sense the more hands on you get. The good test kit will certainly help with your understanding.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

Hey Capn7, I just did this last week. And Leslies tried to "pool store" me, telling me I need to shock immediately (shock what?) Anyway, my test kit arrived the day after I refilled and my initial numbers looked just like yours. I have used the pool calculator to get my numbers where they should be, although still fighting to get the TA under 100.

The pool calculator is amazing! It gives the power back to the pool owner, I have had a number of bad experiences when I paid others to care for my pool.
Jason, I believe you created the pool calculator? Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Not me ... JasonLion

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

Thank You Jason Lion!