Yet another first-timer with no clue what he's doing...

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Scout101

Scout101

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2015
245
North Kingstown, RI
Hey all,

Thanks for this site, just reading through things has been a big help. Bought a house end of last summer with an inground pool, and have never had a pool before, so I'm definitely going to be winging it here and begging for help. For extra fun, the previous owner hadn't used it in 2 years, so it'll have been sitting for 3 years now. Pool guy is coming to open it up tomorrow, and after that I'm on my own. I've only seen under the cover during the inspection, and will just say I've never seen the bottom of the pool. Gets dark and murky fast, so should be fun!

Bought my test kit through here, and intentionally opening it early figuring I'll need quite a while to turn the swamp into a pool this year. Appreciate the support in advance, and sure I'll be back in here tomorrow afternoon with pictures and begging for help! :)

Anything I should be gathering in the interim? Getting a robot is on my list, just waiting to pull the trigger on that until I see the mechanics of the pool actually work, as they're expensive as ****. Got a brush, net, vacuum, test kit. Bought a 4-pack of 12.5% shock/bleach, am I likely to just need some more, or am I in No Freaking Way area where I should get a pickup truck full? Any other chemicals or salt or whatever that I'm going to want to pick up immediately, or am I ok with what I have to start and can grab stuff as I go? Obviously will need test results to help answer that better, but other than knowing that chlorine was at "none" when they tested last year, I'll assume that 3 years of rain and snow have the water pretty close to just a fresh algae bath at this point.

And yes, have been reading the pool school threads, am just admittedly over my head to start, so appreciate the hand-holding and explaining things like you're talking to a 5 year old. I'm a quick learner, so hopefully will get out of that mode soon!

Thanks!
 
I'd start with at least a dozen bottles and see what that does for you "initially". Pick up a gallon of muriatic acid too. Test your fill water and your pool and get back to us. We'll have you up to 6 year old speed in no time! Welcome!
 
Welcome! :wave:

It starts with getting the water circulating so it mixes well so you can get some good test results. As soon as you have water circulating and you understand the valves, send the pool guy packing. Don't let him add anything to your water. You'll be stuck with what he did while he gets to walk away from it.

Then run all the tests in the TF100 kit. It will be worth it to skim through Extended Test Kit Directions just so you're aware of the testing notes in case anything is way out of whack. If you're unsure of something, watch a video or ask.

And then if you post results, we can walk you through the next steps. While awaiting replies, you can dredge for leaves and/or vacuum, because no matter what the next steps are, debris removal is going to be a part of it.
 
Welcome to TFP! You will probably need a truck full of bleach, but until you pull back the cover and test, there is no telling how much. In fact, while it makes head sense to buy ahead of time, its much better to have to run out and get a few more bottles then to have too much left over as it does go bad (and the higher the percent of chlorine the quicker it degrades). That said, with 40,000 gallons, you will most probably need quite a lot!

Anyway, again welcome!
 
Scout - welcome to the site. The best thing about the process and forum is that you don't need to understand it all at once. You bought the test kit and "spinner" ;) so you are in good shape. Just know whatever has been done to the pool can be undone with some persistence and patience. At this point, read the SLAM process about 100 times and be ready to test and add chlorine frequently. Woody mentioned 12 bottles, that should be a good start.

With the pool guys help get the pool opened and all the equipment running. Do your best to ask lots of questions about the plumbing and valves. Take notes or write on the pipes with a marker. I like to write on painters tape and stick that wherever so you can do it quick then clean it up later.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions. For only the cost of pictures, folks will give you anything you need. If you don't already have an account on a free photo sharing service like photobucket or dropbox get one setup so you can add lots of pics. Its easier to host the pictures on another site then add the link here in the forum for all to see your progress.
 
Welcome to TFP!

Agree 10 or 12 jugs to start. The learning curve is pretty quick once you get started. Do you have a leaf rake? Need to scoop out as much stuff as you can, it will make the SLAM go much faster and use less chlorine. You are also going to need 10lbs of CYA, aka stabilizer, to get it up to 30 ppm. In a sock (or 3) hanging in front of a return after the pump is running. It comes in 4lb containers, I get mine at Lowes.

Have you read this 4 or 5 times? Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Handy info on adding chemicals, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
 
Thanks all! Nervous, but ready to give it a shot. Intentionally opening this up at least a month before I'd consider dipping a toe in, so know I'm in for a haul. Mostly hoping the mechanical bits all work before I get to the water part, but will find out by lunch time.

Looks like the initial call is to go buy another couple 4-packs of the 12.5% bleach, bunch of stabilizer, and a jug of muriatic acid? Got the test kit, the big rake, brush, and a manual vacuum.

I figure the first step is just getting the water circulating (no reason to even link into the filter yet, right?) and just dredge the bottom and scrub the sides a bit. After I vacuum up the chunky stuff, THEN take some measurements and get started with mostly bleach?

Side note: i don't know that 40k gallons is right, just what was on the inspection report so I rolled with it. Bit of a funny shaped pool, and haven't seen down deep enough to know how deep the deep end even IS, so all I can go with for now. 20x40 is the rough dimensioning. I'll take a couple pics during the process tomorrow so you can at least see what we're working with. It's about the color of a mid-grate tea at the moment, with an excellent algae base coat :)

Thanks again!
 

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Wow, sorry about that. Yeah, both me. Apparently I registered when I bought the house and found the site, and forgot i had done it already when I started thinking about it again in January. I'll try and have fewer personalities going forward :)
 
Welcome to TFP, you'll do great! Just a side note, you are not opening early. You are opening on time. I would open around the last week of April or by May 1st annually for RI. Otherwise your water will get too warm under the cover and you'll have a swamp each spring. Let's try to make the murky water a one time thing! If you let the water get up to the mesh cover by spring, it gets warm quickly on the top layer and greens up quickly.

But to the task at hand, just follow the advice above and you'll be crystal clear in one to three weeks is my 'guess' and at MUCH less expense than a pool store would get you for.
 
Sounds good, and appreciate all the help! Pool guys should be here any minute to start the adventure, so will have some photos up after lunch. Will just try and get the water moving again, put in some elbow grease, and then can start the nuclear sterilization of the swamp water.

Appreciate the note on the timing. I guess I meant early from the standpoint of "no way I'm swimming while it's 50 degrees out", but yeah, makes sense with the stuff I've been reading on here to try and open it up before it gets nasty, and put it to bed after it's cold enough for things to stop growing. Like I said, I'm starting with a knowledge base of ZERO, so actually should be easier to indoctrinate me; no prior knowledge getting in the way and conflicting with the good advice!

And note for the mods: can lock the JScout33 account if that's how this board works, this will be 'me' going forward. Sorry for the confusion!

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the going-in situation, before cover removal.
Closed%20Pool.jpg
 
Last edited:
So, pool is official open. Mechanical parts looked good, they were surprised it had been closed 3+ years, so taking that as good. Heater isn't going to work, but will save that issue for later, as it was expected. UNEXPECTED, however, is that the control board doesn't look so hot. It functions, but no screen/display, and acts pretty flaky when pressing buttons. Doesn't always respond, and get kind of a GFI sorta click sometimes when turning the pump on or off. Not every time, and pressing it again gets you where you need to be, but getting the impression that my control board is going to need replacing very soon. Can't see anything on the screen, so can't work the SWG, pump timing, etc. I've got on/off and lights from what I can tell.

Anyway, pool guys started me with 5 gallons of 12.5% bleach, and am running the pump/filter 24/7 for now. scrubbed the sides as best I could, and dredged a wheelbarrow full of slime from the bottom. Did ok in the shallow end, tough to see enough to tell what I'm doing at the deep end, so hard to say.

Here's the updated pics: Right after cover removal, steps at the beginning, and same step shot after scrubbing a bit.
IMG_2161.jpg
IMG_2163.jpg

IMG_2166.jpg
 
So, was going to work on it more this evening, but naturally it's now pouring. Just leave it in filter mode and try again tomorrow after work? Any worry that the filter pressure would be a problem if I can't get to it all day? PSI seems to be sitting at around 15 after a backwash, 16 or so a while later. It jumped up quickly once, but I was dredging muck and I probably dragged a pile of it over the main drain. would that make sense?

I'm ok with this taking a while, trying to avoid any massive expensive mistakes due to not planning ahead.

Pool store sent a better guy while I was out to look at the control board. Seems to be acting somewhat better now, but still no words on the screen. Screen lights up, though, and didn't before. Didn't click/flake out when shutting the pump off either. The GFI breaker labeled "control" is now off, though, which seems odd. If that's not powering the board, what's it do? Other two are labeled Filter and Lights, I believe, and make sense.
 
So, at some point overnight, the pool shut itself off. Tied into the flaky board, or could there be a timer operating behind the dead lcd screen that shut it down or something? Started back up when I hit the filter button again, but not the best start.

Also, thinking whatever electrician worked this panel isn't so good at his job. The breaker marked Lights seemed to shut off the control board when i flipped it. The one marked Control doesn't seem to do anything; thinking the labels are backwards, as works fine with Control off. Can't see well enough to tell whether the lights work or not!

Will be at work all day today, so can't keep playing. Also going to be dark/rainy again, so at least the sun won't be eating my chlorine. Still not sure where I stand (hopefully tonight), so tossed a gallon of bleach at it and set the pump back up, hopefully that'll help.
 
No help on the board. I am sure someone will come along soon.

That is green! The Creature from the Black Lagoon green! hehe At least you are not growing pond plants and tadpoles! We have seen that as well.

Do NOT add anything to your water other than bleach until you test the water. We can get that pool looking like a jewel! When you test the water post them here like this:

FC
CC
PH
TA
CH
CYA

We will go through them with you and let you know what to do. You are off to a good start!

Kim:cat:

I LOVE your yard! SO pretty! I bet that is one of the reason
 

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