Just got our first pool

[SamirP]

Hi all,

So, we just got our above ground pool put up yesterday, and trucked in drinking water to fill it. The installer is coming back tomorrow to hook up all the equipment (pump, skimmer, etc).

Its a 27 ft round AGP, 54 inches high. It holds around 18,000 gallons of water.

Also, I have the TF-100 test kit ordered, but it hasn't arrived yet. In the meantime, I bought a cheap $5 test kit from WalMart to test initial PH and chlorine levels.

I've read at least some of the Pool School articles (enough to be mildly dangerous), and I'd like to make sure I have the starting process correct:
1. Since I'm starting from 0 CYA, the PoolMath calculator tells me I need to add 6 lbs of CYA to bring the level up to 40.
2. Once that is done, I measure the PH, and do whatever PoolMath says to bring it up to 7.5.
3. Once that is accomplished, I can test for chlorine levels and do whatever PoolMath says to bring it up to the recommended level.
4. And at some point, the TF-100 will come in and I can post test results to here to find out what else I need to do.

In the meantime, I have a couple questions:
1. In my case, without any pump/filter/skimmer in operation, is there any way for me to add the CYA now and get a jump-start on that? I've read enough to know it won't dissolve (quickly) without some water movement. Or do I just need to wait until the equipment is running?
2. How much time does there need to be between adding the CYA (which can take up to a week to dissolve) and rebalancing the PH and adding chlorine? Do I need to wait until each step is complete before moving on to the next? Or can these be somewhat overlapped?

Anyway, thanks for the awesome resource that is this site!! I just found it a couple nights ago and have already learned a ton. And still have a lot more to go...

 

[MarianParoo]

What is your actual water depth to check your volume?

I would only add 4-1/2 to 5# of CYA. You can start it dissolving in a bucket of water. Then when your pump is ready, you can pour it in. The CYA will be dissolved and ready to go, testable within a half day.

You can add chemicals at the same time except for chlorine and muriatic acid. They need at least a half hour between additions.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP! Congrats on the new pool!

 

[SamirP]

What is your actual water depth to check your volume?

I would only add 4-1/2 to 5# of CYA. You can start it dissolving in a bucket of water. Then when your pump is ready, you can pour it in. The CYA will be dissolved and ready to go, testable within a half day.

You can add chemicals at the same time except for chlorine and muriatic acid. They need at least a half hour between additions.

Thanks!! I'll go ahead and start it dissolving. And follow the recommendation to creep up to the desired level rather than try to get there all at once. Dealing with high CYA levels sounds like a pain to deal with.

We had it filled to around 51 inches, which comes out to 18,200 gallons according to PoolMath. I'll measure it exactly when I get home tonight.

- - - Updated - - -

Welcome to TFP! Congrats on the new pool!

Thanks!!

 

[SamirP]

First off, I measured the pool depth and its a hair under 48 inches, so on a 27' round pool, that gives 17,100 gallons. Also, we've been running the pool pump continuously since yesterday.

Yesterday, my cheap Walmart testing kit read a pH of over 8.2 and chlorine level of 1.5. Based on that, I added 4lbs of CYA and 58 ounces of 10% liquid chlorine, targeting a CYA of 30 and chlorine level of 4 (based on PoolMath).

Today, the TF-100 kit came in and I did some real measurements:
- Daily test: less than .5-1 Chlorine, greater than 8.2 pH.
- FC = 0
- CC = 0.5
- TC = 0.5
- TA = 80
- CYA = 30 (between 30 and 20, but closer to 30)

I didn't test for CH since this is a vinyl pool.

The obvious things that jump out at me are needing to lower pH and raise FC. CYA at least looks good.

Assuming I did these tests correctly, what now? Also, until everything stabilizes, do I keep running the pump 24/7, or scale it back to some number of hours per day?

 

[MarianParoo]

Here is a link to a PoolMath tutorial:
Pool School - PoolMath

For now, input your TA as now and goal.

Just focus on FC and pH. For FC, go with the add recommended. For pH, (and all other adds besides CYA), do half the recommendation and retest no sooner than a half hour later.

How does your water look? Is it clear?

 

[SamirP]

Thanks so much!!

The water looks great, very clear. Not at all cloudy.

I'm off to get some muriatic acid from Walmart.

 

[Davejavu]

You will save some frustration if you slowly adjust things rather than going too far and then having to undo a mistake. So when adding things like acid, it's better to undershoot, wait a bit and test. Then, re-add if necessary.

 

[MarianParoo]

Most chemicals can be added at the same time. The exception is MA and chlorine/bleach. Wait about a half hour between those two.