Hello! Not really a newbie, but at the hand of local pool stores, my self-confidence in maintaining my pool has taken a real hit!
I grew up taking care of our family in-ground vinyl pool many years ago and never found it to be a chore of any kind. I did the vac work, cleaned the filter, and maintained Chlorine and Ph levels and never had issue with algae. Fast forward 40 years and I how have a nice home with a great pool -- but a pool that has been giving me trouble for quite some time.
I’ll try to make this short. First, take a look at my Avatar and you will see what the pool looks like. It has an irregular shape with a 55’ swim lane, 7’ – 8’ deep center tank, and a 12’ diameter 18” deep half-moon sun shelf, and three waterfall and fountain features.
After spending a few months fighting off algae and discovering a CYA level that was “off the charts” and phosphates were at 400, I decided to flush, chlorine wash, and refill the pool a couple of weeks ago (the pool had not been flushed in the seven years the former owners had the house). So, I am currently trying to condition the water and get the chemistry correct. A question about finding the chlorine level always being low (except 24 to 48 hours after 2lb shock) is what drove me to this site.
I’ve read through a few posts already and will be purchasing the test kit right away (seems like that is the first and best thing to do!) and will share numbers when I have them – a tutorial on using the calculator would be a good thing if someone has the time to explain it well.
Excited to have found this group and hope to learn and share more as the days go by!
I grew up taking care of our family in-ground vinyl pool many years ago and never found it to be a chore of any kind. I did the vac work, cleaned the filter, and maintained Chlorine and Ph levels and never had issue with algae. Fast forward 40 years and I how have a nice home with a great pool -- but a pool that has been giving me trouble for quite some time.
I’ll try to make this short. First, take a look at my Avatar and you will see what the pool looks like. It has an irregular shape with a 55’ swim lane, 7’ – 8’ deep center tank, and a 12’ diameter 18” deep half-moon sun shelf, and three waterfall and fountain features.
After spending a few months fighting off algae and discovering a CYA level that was “off the charts” and phosphates were at 400, I decided to flush, chlorine wash, and refill the pool a couple of weeks ago (the pool had not been flushed in the seven years the former owners had the house). So, I am currently trying to condition the water and get the chemistry correct. A question about finding the chlorine level always being low (except 24 to 48 hours after 2lb shock) is what drove me to this site.
I’ve read through a few posts already and will be purchasing the test kit right away (seems like that is the first and best thing to do!) and will share numbers when I have them – a tutorial on using the calculator would be a good thing if someone has the time to explain it well.
Excited to have found this group and hope to learn and share more as the days go by!
That's a fantastic pool design. Until your test kit arrives (great decision by the way), I would simply rely on adding about 1 gallon of regular bleach each day to the water. Once you can post your own first test results, we'll help you get dialed-in to accuracy and avoid not only algae, but also the high cost of over-priced pool store chemicals - most of which you don't need anyway. 
