We just filled our Intex Ultra Frame 18' x 48" above ground pool. I could not find a "shock" treatment at Walmart that has CYA. Can I add the bleach and swim tomorrow without adding the CYA? I am going to check a pool store tomorrow (if they are open) to get some and add it tomorrow night but I'm sure my son will want to swim in it tomorrow before we can get the CYA.

Thanks in advance!!

You can, but without CYA in the water, either from CYA Stabilizer (powder or liquid), or from stabilized Chlorine (dichlor or trichlor) the sun will very quickly consume all the chlorine in the water.

I find that hard to believe! They call it other names besides Cyanuric acid. Look up Dichlor or Trichlor in the dictionary, you'll see what other names to look for. Also, Ace hardware is having a bunch of pool stuff on sale this weekend.

But yes, you can swim in it; you bathe in it without any ill effects don't you?

I only looked at the bags of "shock" and they did not contain dichlor. Should I check a different product labeled something other than "shock"? I was only looking for that because of pool school.

Hahahaha, Richard. No ill effects from bathing, I just didn't want to cause problems or issues before we even get started.

Walmart usually only has HTH and their shock is cal-hypo. HTH also sell containers of CYA granules that you can use to raise your CYA level.

You can buy "stabilizer" which is plain CYA, or dichlor, or trichlor; any of them will add what you need. Just don't overdo it. CYA is easy to add, hard to remove.

Thanks everyone. One more question, if I get a liquid stabilizer do I still use the 1 oz per 500 gallons suggested by pool school or is that formula only good for powders? Or can I forgo the 4 night step and just use the calculator and add the appropriate amount to raise my CYA level?

The Pool Calculator will adjust your dosage for either liquid or powder CYA

You can add straight stabilizer and be done with it. http://www.poolcalculator.com/ can tell you how much to add, whether liquid or powder.

You should have it bookmarked already.

Perfect. Thanks everyone! I'm sure as the water starts changing I will have more questions but you have been a great help in getting started.

About how much CYA is in dichlor? I'd like to use the old dichlor i have to raise the CYA.

Use the Pool Calculator. Enter the size of your pool at the top. Way down near the bottom there's a thing called "Effects of adding chemicals" Put in how much dichlor you have and it can tell you how high it will raise the CYA.

Thanks! I didn't realized dichlor was on the list. However, i thought that dichlor had more CYA than trichlor. But the calculator shows that trichlor has more per ounce. Is this true? is this calculator based on ounces of weight?