Ok, we just bought a house with an inground pool. It hadnt been opened in 2 years. (We're told) Pool looked like a swamp. Long story short, we had the water tested today and this is what our printout read: Free Available Chlorine 0.17 (low) Total Chlorine 0.17 (low) Combined Chlorine 0 (ok) pH level 7.9 (high) Total Alkalinity 73 (low) Calcium hardness 132 (low) Cyanuric Acid 5 (low) Copper 0.2 (high) Iron 0.2 (high) Manganese 0 (ok) Total dissolved solids 0 (ok) Saturation index 0.3 (balanced) I asked the lady at the pool store what I needed to do to get all the numbers into an acceptable range and in what order to do so. She said everything was fine despite what the printout said and that algae looked like our biggesr problem. She said to add 10 lbs of Shock and that everything should be fine. From what I've read, it sounds like those numbers DO need to be in an acceptable range. I dont have a fortune to spend on chemicals just to keep bouncing numbers around trying to balance everything. Not to mention that we have no clue as too what we're doing! Please help! I wanna get this pool ready and do it right! Thanks in advance!
New to pools
- Thread starter Tonya Laurentius
- Start date
pinguy
0
Hi! 
Stay away from the pool store. Their testing and advice is not accurate. Adding 10lbs of "shock" would be disastrous for your CYA or Calcium levels.
In order to properly maintain and get your pool clear, you need to self test. We recommend a K2006 Test Kit -or- TF100 Test Kit. Both are about the same price, but the TF100 comes with more reagents.
Once you have a kit, you will need to do a SLAM - ShockLevelAndMaintain to clear up the water. Give that article a read and come back with any questions.
Here are two more articles to get you on the right path:
- ABC's of Pool Chemistry - general overview of all the test numbers and what they mean
- How to Chlorinate your Pool - explains why solid "shock" powders/pucks will eventually lead to problems.
Stay away from the pool store. Their testing and advice is not accurate. Adding 10lbs of "shock" would be disastrous for your CYA or Calcium levels.
In order to properly maintain and get your pool clear, you need to self test. We recommend a K2006 Test Kit -or- TF100 Test Kit. Both are about the same price, but the TF100 comes with more reagents.
Once you have a kit, you will need to do a SLAM - ShockLevelAndMaintain to clear up the water. Give that article a read and come back with any questions.
Here are two more articles to get you on the right path:
- ABC's of Pool Chemistry - general overview of all the test numbers and what they mean
- How to Chlorinate your Pool - explains why solid "shock" powders/pucks will eventually lead to problems.
Please add the specifics of your pool to your signature line - plaster, vinyl, or fiberglass; volume; etc.
You don't need to spend a "fortune" on chemicals to maintain a pool. Having said that, pool ownership does come at a cost. Budget a couple hundred dollars for a summer season, obviously more for year-round use. After you get more familiar with pool maintenance you can shave costs with better planning (I spend around $5-$7 a week to maintain my pool, although some of that is attributable to erratic weather - lots of rain - as of late).
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