Starting a brand new pool

[timwitort]

I am fairly new to TFP and have been looking through the postings and haven't found anything on how to start up a brand new pool - only maintaining pools that have been "up and running." We used Bacquacil for a couple of years but are switching to chlorine this year. When we uncovered our pool this spring, tests showed that it has zero FC, CC, and CYA and pH and Alkalinity are in range. This is somewhat expected since no Bacquacil products have been put in the pool for several months and traditional chemicals have never been used.

I read Pool School and saw the info on switching from Bacquacil to chlorine, but I'm not sure if that applies since there is no Bacquacil in the pool anymore. It almost seems like it's starting a brand new pool.

The water's pretty clear. Should I get the CYA up to 50 or so, then go through the shock routine at the 10ppm level?

Thanks for any guidance. I love the info on this site. I'm looking forward to having more control over the pool this year and spending less money!

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! You will need to be able to test FC levels higher than 10 ppm to complete the shock process. If you are testing with strips they can be very inconsistent and the results are often unreliable. The Taylor K21006 or TF 100 are drop based kits which are more accurate and have all the tests you need to maintain your pool.

Even though you have not added baquacil in a while you may have residual baquacil in the plumbing and filter. Put in enough chlorine to reach shock level according to The Pool Calculator and keep it at shock level until you pass the the overnight test. Once you have passed the overnight test, have .5 CC or less and the water is clear you will have completed the shock process.

If you water changes colors or does other unusual things after the first dose of chlorine then you still have baquacill in the water. The conversion process is basically the same as the shock process only you wait to add CYA and you will need to change the sand in the filter when the process is complete.

Let us know what happens after the first addition of chlorine and we can advise you when you should add the CYA.

 

[melissab]

I know people were helpful to me when we had our pool installed last summer. You might want to search, "new pool", "new installation" "new water" etc. I think you will find some info.

 

[timwitort]

Thanks for the info. I already tried to search for "new pool", but the search engine said the words were too common and refused to return any results. I'll do a few more searches. I ordered a K2006 test kit which is supposed to arrive in a couple of days. When that comes, I'll begin the shock and see how it goes. Thanks again!

 

[JasonLion]

Try using the search box way down on the very bottom left. There are two search boxes near there, try the one in the absolute bottom left that says Google Search.