New Pool Owner

[rboutwell]

My name is Ray. My wife and I just bought a lovely older one in Wichita Falls, Tx. I've never wanted a pool before because of the perceived headache. Well, now I have one. The upside is it's small, approximately 8,500 gallons. I bought a book for dummies and have read it cover to cover. Also bought some chemicals and test kit from Walmart. I look forward to learning from experts on this forum!

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Well, first the bad news ... likely a lot of what you read now needs to be forgotten. What TFP teaches is a little different than the typical pool maintenance philosophies dating back 50+ years. What we teach is based on the science and chemistry and WILL keep your water clearer and safer for less money than what you read.

The 2nd piece of bad news ... the test kit you bought is not really good enough to follow the methods that we teach. Hopefully you can return it and invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits, which admittedly costs a good bit more, but I guarantee it will save you a LOT of money in the future.

What chemicals did you buy? There are very few "pool chemicals" that we recommend using as there are much cheaper, identical alternatives ... like borax instead of pH UP, or baking soda instead of TA UP ... which contain the SAME ingredient.

Have you discovered Pool School yet? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[rboutwell]

Thanks for the reply! I am all ears and ready to learn. I purchased HTH brand chemicals but have only used the chlorinating tabs. I did use baking soda to raise the alkalinity and according to my test I am at 130 ppm as of yesterday. My FC level is still off the chart and I have emptied about 6 inches and refilled (last Thurs). I will certainly invest in your recommended test kit as I want to do this correctly and economically. Thanks again.

 

[woodyp]

We're all about....."economically"!

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

 

[rboutwell]

I want to be accurate in my daily/weekly testing of pool chemistry. Can someone advise me on a good test kit? Thanks.

 

[pooldv]

I have been using the TF100 from TFTestkits.net for years. It is a great kit.

 

[jblizzle]

The tf100 certainly the best value.

 

[jm1]

Thanks Jason. Your links were exactly what I need before I start bopping around trying to figure out where to go.

 

[Casey]

Welcome!