Okie dokie....I'm dipping my toe in.....and scared... HELP!

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TXParrothead

TXParrothead

0
Apr 28, 2010
12
Ennis, TX
Ok, my new liner was installed about 2 weeks ago. I have a 16 x 32 x 48 oval AGP. I just bought Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System, Model CS8110. I haven't installed it yet, because I'm going out to buy all new hoses this evening.

Couple of questions: The kids have been swimming in the pool, and just in the past few days, it has started turning a pretty cloudy green color (yuck..) I couldn't get the salt water system and everything do to some budgetary reasons (oldest daughter had to go to the emergency room for some nice forehead stitches...etc...etc...etc.)

So, do I need to shock the water before installing the salt water system?
Do I add the bags of salt prior to turning on the salt water system? Also, the instructions do not tell me how much salt I need to add. The biggest oval pool in their table is 28' x '12 ' 48", which is only 6420 gals. I'm figuring mine is about twice that.

I'm have also added new sand to the sand filter.

Any help is appreciated, as I am an OBVIOUS NEWBIE. What order do I need to do this in?

Thanks in advance!!!
 
Jimmy Buffett would probably shock it. Well, he might not but I would! :mrgreen:

How have you been chlorinating it up till now?
Please post a full set of test results.
pH
FC
CC
TA
CH
CYA

You can go ahead and add the salt anytime. It takes it a couple of days for it to fully dissolve and read correctly.

I figured your pool to be about 12,000 gallons so you're right, it's about twice the size you mentioned so it'll take about twice as much salt minus a bag or two.
 
welcome :wave:

Jimmy is a billionaire...he would have someone do it for him...

Not installing the salt system is no excuse for not chlorinating your pool. Letting you kids swim in it in that condition is not particularly healthy.

At this point you need to shock, whether it is before or after you "install" your SWCG is irrelevant. You need to take control of the pool and keep it sanitized to make it safe for your family.

Post a full set of numbers including CYA and we can help guide you. What are your using (going to use) for testing?
 
Ok, I had some Natural Chemistry Pool First Aid, that I put in the pool this morning. I haven't let anyone in the pool in the last couple of days, after I noticed, it didn't look healthy... Although, they spend 75% of their summer in the lake....it can't be worse than that...right? lol

I have AquaChek strips, that I'm using, and here are the stats:
pH light pink color..but not the hot pink 8.4
FC color looks more similar to 0 than the 0.5 color
CC
TA 40ish
CH
CYA

not sure about CC, CH and CYA. These strips only have 4 boxes. The 4th is ppm STABILIZER value falls in the 30-50 color.
 
Ok, step one go to your local Wal-Mart and get one of their cheap drop based kits (either the OTO or better the DPD drop based test kits) the strip based tests are nearly useless, they leave way too much room to guess and are often inconsistent. While your there pick up some Muriatic acid from the hardware section (a Qt. bottle should be more than enough) to bring your pH down, and load up on bleach to shock the pool, a dozen large bottles should get your started.

Come home, retest the pH with the drop based test, plug your numbers into the pool calcultor and see how much acid you need to bring the pH down to the 7.4-7.8 range, add this and give it an hour or so to do its thing.

Then you will want to shock, again use pool calculator to find out how much bleach you need to bring the pool up to shock level, and keep it there until it does not drop overnight.

Ike

p.s. CYA is stabilizer

these test kits will likely only measure chlorine up to about 10 ppm, you will need to hold it closer to 20 ppm while shocking, to test for this the easiest way to do it is to dilute your test sample with distilled (or other non-chlorinated) water 50/50 then double the reading. The CYA chlorine chart shows you need 16 ppm FC when your CYA/stabilizer is at 40 ppm to maintain shock level, or 20 ppm FC if your CYA is at 50 ppms.
 
Howdy Ennis, Cedar Hill here. :wave:

Stick with the "crew" here and they'll assist you in getting "fixed up" in no time. And it will certainly cost much less than the pool store and actually work. :whoot:

Welcome to TFP. :-D

I'm heading over to Duncanville in a bit to check on a friends pool. She's just getting started with the BBB method and already recommending to anyone she can.

gg=alice
 
If the test strip is right your CYA/Stabilizer is at just about the right level, so make sure not to add any powered shock made with di-chlor or tri-chlor , also don't use any "stabilized" chlorine products like pucks as these will raise the CYA levels.

Ike

ps
Once you get the pH in the right range, according to the pool calculator (using a 50 ppm worst case on the CYA) you will need about 4 gallons of bleach to raise to initial shock level of 20 ppm, from there retest every hour or so in the beginning to see how much bleach you need to maintain that level. Again you will likely need to water down your test sample either 1:1 or 2:1 (with chlorine free water) and multiple your readings by 2 or 3.
 

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ok, I'm sure this is a stupid question...but I'm gonna ask it anyway. This is an ABG pool with a new liner...the bleach won't 'bleach' the color away, will it. :|

Also, do I need to do all of this before adding salt? Or is it ok to go ahead and add it?
 
Pour the bleach in front of a return slowly while the pump is running and you shouldn't have any liner damage. Some people "rest" the bottle in the water while they pour to save their back and avoid splashing their clothes.
 
Your safe on the liner as long as you don't dump all the bleach in one place at once, slowly pour it in, best place is in front of one of the return jets with the pump running (take a minute or two per jug). You don't have to worry about damage to the liner unless you way overshoot that 20 ppm shock level that you want to maintain. In other words, put in your initial aprox 4 gallons, then add a little every hour or two to keep the level even, what you don't want to do is something like pour in 10-12 gallons at once, way overshooting your shock level, that would be BAD.

Ike
 
Just to review

Go to wal-mart buy supplies and test kit

Test water, adjust pH down with the acid if needed

Once pH is in the right ball park add about 4 gallons of bleach to bring to initial shock level

retest and add bleach to maintain shock level until the FC levels don't fall by more than 1 ppm over night (from dark at night until before sunrise in the morning), repeat as needed, this may mean going back to Wal-Mart for more bleach. Once you start shocking it is important to keep the FC at shock level as best you can, the closer you are to getting done the less often you will need to add bleach to keep it at shock level. (using worst case 20 ppm number with 50 ppm CYA level here)

Ike
 
Ok, I got the drop test kit. It took 5 drops of solution 3 to get the PH to 7.6. I look that up in the chart, and it looks like I need to add roughly 2.5 pints of acid.

But, another problem. I have my new hoses connected, and filled the sand filter with sand, after I had to buy 5 new of those 'white tube' things. When I kick on the pump, dirty sandy water is coming out, so I turned it back off quickly. Question, is it normal for this to happen when you first turn it on, or do I have another problem?

I'm stuck, because I can't do the acid, until the pool filter is running....correct?
 

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