Got my Intex 14x42 Pool Up...So Whats Next??

[Dstone84]

I successfully put up my Intex 14x42 AGP this past Saturday. We have ran the pump for about 6 hours Saturday night but it hasn't been ran since. (it has been raining the past few days). We also have not put any chemicals in it yet, I purchased some Clorox test strips until I find a better test kit to buy. I have a few questions.

1. How much Chlorine should I put in the pool to begin with? Using pool math I have read that I need about 25 oz of Chlorine, do you think that is enough? I have read that I need to Shock/Slam the pool, is that necessary with this small of a pool (its about 3400 gallons).

2. I know I also have to put stabilizer in. I have read that the best way is to use the tablets and then put them in a sock in the skimmer. However, this pool does not have a skimmer? What should I do, should I just dump directly into the pool?

3. About how many days should I run the pump?

Thanks!

David

 

[jblizzle]

0. You need to order one of the Recommended Test Kits or decide to try to follow the Temporary/Seasonal Pool Guide

1. You should only need to add about 2ppm of FC to an initial fill and start getting the CYA level up.

2. NO! You can put pure stabilizer in a sock in the skimmer or hang in front of a return jet, but not trichlor tablets. With your rain levels, you could likely get by just using trichlor tablets in a floater in the pool.

3. You need to run for at least a few hours every day. See Determine Pump Run Time

 

[Dstone84]

2. NO! You can put pure stabilizer in a sock in the skimmer or hang in front of a return jet, but not trichlor tablets. With your rain levels, you could likely get by just using trichlor tablets in a floater in the pool.

Sorry I didn't realize that were stuff to increase CYA other than tablets. Since I don't have a filter to put in a sock do you recommend me to try the tablets with a floater?

 

[Richard320]

Sorry I didn't realize that were stuff to increase CYA other than tablets. Since I don't have a filter to put in a sock do you recommend me to try the tablets with a floater?

I would. Your pool is only about 3500 gallons.

Five 3" pucks @ 8 ounces apiece will raise CYA to 48 ppm. And they'll do most if not all the chlorinating as they dissolve, too.

Test the water with your strips (If it's not too late to return them) and put two cups of bleach in the pool now.

If you have some pucks, put them in the floater now, too.

Then get back to us and let us know what the test strips said and we can advise you on whether or not you need acid or borax.

You do definitely need a better tester than strips. I won't push you to buy the TF100 because it costs about as much as you paid for the pool. But something that uses drops and at minimum tests pH and FC. If it also tests TA, so much the better. You're looking ten to twenty bucks.

 

[Dstone84]

Thank you for your help. I just went to Leslie's and saw Chlorine tablets. They had 3 inch Chlorine tablets. However it didn't mention 'trichlor'. I am guessing they were the correct thing. The smallest pack was 10 for $40. However they were out of stock. Does this sound like the right thing?

 

[Richard320]

Thank you for your help. I just went to Leslie's and saw Chlorine tablets. They had 3 inch Chlorine tablets. However it didn't mention 'trichlor'. I am guessing they were the correct thing. The smallest pack was 10 for $40. However they were out of stock. Does this sound like the right thing?

Yes. Go knock on the neighbor's door and see if he'll sell you a few. Most pool owners remain ignorant and chlorinate with the pucks. Or flag down a pool service truck and ask him how much for five pucks.

 

[Razorhog]

Or go buy a small bucket of them at walmart. At one point I think they even sold a single pack made by Clorox

 

[Dstone84]

Hey yall, so far the water is looking pretty clear; here is a quick update.... About 2 weeks ago I put in 2 of those 3" trichlor pucks into my floater. They are just now about all the way dissolved. I initially thought that it would only take 2 - 3 days to dissolve, is it normal for it to take 2 weeks for them to dissolve?

I have been testing the water every couple of days. My FC levels has been around 1 - 5 ppm. I have been usually putting about 16 oz of beach in every 2 -3 days. However, stabilizer is still not coming up on my tests. I have heard that it takes about a week for it to register but I put those pucks in 2 weeks ago! Am I not being patient enough or do I need to do something?

Lastly, my PH is really low... it is at 6.2. I plan on adding soda ash this week. Do you all have any recommendations on the best way to increase my PH levels? What are the consequences of having such a low PH?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Crazyhorse712]

I just went through all this with my 18x48 Intex. I used the 20 mule borax to raise the ph. I went with straight stabilizer in a sock and just walked it around the pool while I was squeezing it. I've been getting liquid chlorine from Walmart. Here it's only $2.50 a gallon and I only need to add 24-28 oz every 2-3 days. Hope some of this helps.