Brand New Pool Owner.....Already doing it wrong apparently?

[67mike]

I just bought and installed a coleman 16 x 4 foot round AG pool. It is Vinyl with steel frame and uses a cartridge filter in the pump.

Any way, I bought a floating chlorine dispenser and after a few calls I was told to run the DUAL function chlorine/cya 3" pucks.

Someone pointed me here, so I started reading last night and it seems I am doing it wrong?

So, I bought the strips and the shock strips as well.....they are not accurate?


I guess what I need to do ASAP is buy a proper test kit and then: liquid bleach, CYA, and PH down powder? Anything else?

Thanks for helping a total NEWB.

 

[BoDarville]

Welcome to TFP!

Yes, the advice you were previously given is not good.

You are right on the money by realizing the need for one of the Recommended Test Kits to properly manage your pool. I use the TF-100 because it's the best value and they have a freshness guarantee. You can order it here: TFTestkits.net. They ship fast - you should have it in your hands in 2-3 days with normal shipping.

While you are waiting for your kit to arrive, here are some resources to give you an overview of managing your pool using our methods:
1. ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry
2. Chlorine CYA Chart
3. Recommended Pool Chemicals
4. Recommended Levels
5. Pool Math

You will need plain unscented liquid bleach w/o any thickeners for ongoing chlorination. Would hold off on getting CYA or pH down powder until you get some reliable test results. You may already have adequate CYA in the pool from use of the pucks. As for pH, most pools have a tendency to drift up or down (mine drifts up). If the pH in your pool turns out to drift up like mine, I would use muriatic acid as opposed to pH down powder to lower it.

 

[67mike]

Thanks for the help.

 

[67mike]

I have a question:

What is the ORDER that you adjust the parameters in?

I assume the chlorine is number one thing I need to get up to correct levels in my newly installed/filled pool?

ALSO: Locally they only have the Taylor kit....is that OK, or should I order the TF kit and ????what to do in meantime?

Thanks Again.

 

[pooldv]

The Taylor K-2006 is the kit to get in CA. They can't ship the TF100 to CA.

There is no real order of how to do things. Except that FC and PH are important to keep in range at all times and can change daily. CYA, TA and CH are more gradual changes and will not cause your pool to take a rapid swing in the wrong direction.

It is important to add CYA right away to protect the chlorine from the sun.
It is important for FC to be at target level at all times and never drop below minimum, Chlorine CYA Chart
It is important for PH to be 7.2-7.8

 

[67mike]

The Taylor K-2006 is the kit to get in CA. They can't ship the TF100 to CA.

There is no real order of how to do things. Except that FC and PH are important to keep in range at all times and can change daily. CYA, TA and CH are more gradual changes and will not cause your pool to take a rapid swing in the wrong direction.

It is important to add CYA right away to protect the chlorine from the sun.
It is important for FC to be at target level at all times and never drop below minimum, Chlorine CYA Chart
It is important for PH to be 7.2-7.8

OK:

I am finding that locally they have no kits.

There is a pool place that will test my water for free.

I have the dual action puck in the pool now, and I have test strips.

????What to do...I can order the TF kit but what to do in the meantime....just use the strips or can I just get a MINI kit and test the ph and chloride???

Thanks

 

[BoDarville]

pooldv is right in that the TF-100 kit cannot be shipped to Canada due to an agreement with Taylor Technologies. The TF-100 reagents are based on Taylor chemistry. There is a distributor in Canada where you can get the K-2006 - only downside is the price compared to what it is in the US. I would argue that it's still worth it. You need the FAS-DPD chlorine test which the K-2006 has. No sure where in Canada you are (it's a big country), but the only other options are (1) If you have friends/relatives in the US who live near the border...you can have a TF-100 shipped to their house and take it back with you, and (2) See if the LaMotte 7022 is available in Canada and price it out vs. the K-2006. In any event, I would not try to manage your pool using test strips - they are simply not precise enough. For example, on one test strip I saw recently, it had several ranges for CYA. One of these ranges was from 30-100 which was listed as "Good". As the amount of chlorine you must maintain is based on the CYA level, there's no way you can manage your pool with a broad range as a test result.