What to do first?!?

[Jadamberg]

I recently bought a house with a 15' round 4 foot deep pool. I finally got most of the work done on the house and now it's time to focus on the pool. Originally it was swamp like but I have been using my leaf eater and skimmer to try to clear some of the gunk out. Now it's more blueish green with a dirt film. I hooked up my pump and sand filter up to the pool and my pool is almost ready to finish filling up. What do I do now? I tested my water and there is no cya, so I bought some stabilizer. I assume I need to finish filling up the pool, turn on the pump and filter on, do I need to backwash it a certain amount or anything? Then I assume I need to add cya. I'm not entirely sure how to add it, some say pour it in the skimmer some say use a sock, what's better? I have granule stabilizer. I also need to vacuum it, when is best to do that? Should I be running the pump and filter 24/7 till my pool is crystal clear? Once my cya is up to 30-40 I can slam it. Just need some advice getting to that point. Thanks so much in advanced!

 

[Texas Splash]

Once your pool is full and water is circulating, raise the FC with regular bleach first to about 10 ppm. See if it will stay there for about 10 minutes or so, or at least stay between 5-10 and not crash to almost zero. If the FC DOES hold okay for 10-15 min, then increase CYA to 30.

To increase CYA via granular stabilizer, place the required amount as calculated by the Poolmath calculator into a white sock and place in the poolside skimmer basket. For those concerned about suction flow to the pump, suspending the sock near a return jet or from a floating device will also suffice. Best never to allow undissolved granules to rest directly against the pool surface. Squeeze the sock periodically to help it dissipate. Once dissolved, consider your CYA adjusted to that programmed (target) level. CYA test readings should show a rise in 24-48 hours, however some pools may experience a longer delay to fully register. Best to confirm final CYA in about 5-7 days before adding any more stabilizer/conditioner.

While the sock is soaking, check/adjust pH to 7.2, then increase FC to "12" and perform a thorough "SLAM" (link below) until you pass all 3 criteria. After the SLAM, we can look at any other chemical adjustments. Hope that helps.

For your filter, you might consider a deep cleaning as noted on the Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter page.

 

[Jadamberg]

So I finally got my pump and sand filter working but my psi's are really low, is that normal?

 

[Mr Bruce]

If you have good flow from the return(s), what the gauge says isn't so important. With that being said, it should go to 0 when off and rise as the filter collects things.

 

[AimeeH]

So I finally got my pump and sand filter working but my psi's are really low, is that normal?

My PSI on mine ran low for the first couple of months of this pool season. Then one day it spiked.....and didn't return to zero when shut off. In my case I believe the low psi reading was a sign of it going bad since once I replaced it, everything was normal again.....and not low. But I seem to have bad luck with gauges even the "good" ones.....so now I keep a spare on hand.

 

[Jadamberg]

Are there usually psi's when you vacuum? I know if my vacuum is working there doesn't appear to be a good suction.