Need guidance for correct maintance

[Kat6098]

Hi All,

We bought a Bestway pool from Costco last year and had no idea what we were getting into. It ended up going south over the winter and we finally started over by draining it, cleaning it, replacing the sand for the filter and refilling it. I am now trying really hard to stay up on it, but really don't know what I'm doing. We went to Leslie pool store for help and I'm still not sure I know the process. We were told to buy and use conditioner enhancer, which we've bought, but I am not sure how much to use and do I use it before I use shock to get the chlorine higher, or do I even use shock as I've seen other post saying not to. I bought test strips until I get a better test kits. The results are below.
Free chlorine 0
pH 7.8
total alkalinity 180
hardness 240
cyanuric acid 0
Thanks for your guidance

 

[woodyp]

Welcome to the forum. Almost impossible to give good advice off those "guess" strips. Make your life MUCH easier and get a TF100 test kit. There's a comparison chart in Pool School. Then digest the ABCs of managing your pool water. Please add a signature line to your profile listing your pool paramaters like mine below so we can help you better. How many gallons and such. Pool Math radio button at top is your friend wheN figuring how much of ANYTHING TO ADD. With zero CYA. I'd get 4 FC in there quickly and maintain back to that level daily. Get some plain bleach and some CYA from Walmart on hand till your test kit arrives.

 

[Kat6098]

Sorry, I thought my signature was showing, but it didn't save. All the information on the pool should be showing. I was told to buy liquid chlorine, and have several gallons of it, will that be usable at all? What is CYA? Is there another test kit that will work that is more affordable until I can afford the TF100? Are one from Walmart usable at all?

 

[triptyx]

Yes! Most of us (who don't have salt water generators) use liquid chlorine here as our preferred way to chlorinate the pool. It's really the same as regular, unscented bleach, just usually in a slightly higher concentration.

CYA buffers your chlorine to help prevent the sun from burning it off, and the correct level of CYA also helps to make the chlorine less harsh on you, your swimsuit, and your pool liner/equipment. Start reading about the various chemicals and readings in a pool here: Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

As to affordability - the TF-100 is truly the best value. The kits sold at WalMart or your local pool store are usually missing critical tests that you'll need to take control of your pool. It seems like a lot, but when you realize how much you spend at a Pool $tore when you take their (usually incorrect) advice, it's actually quite cheap.