Above ground Pool startup procedure

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steppinthrax

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Mar 12, 2012
87
Maryland
I have a 24' 48" round above ground pool that came with the house I bought in september. I recently took the cover off in attempts to start up this pool. I found the water to be black and green. I used a water hose to add water so that it is above the skimmer hole and discharge. I bought a 19" leaf rake bag and went around the pool bottom, removing large bags of leaves from the bottom. Now I have a "somewhat clean" pool with no leaves. I can't see the bottom. I ran the pump and filter (hayward sand filter) a bit to check operation and it seems to be working. The pump and filter are hooked up properly. I have the skimmer pipe going to the intake of the pump and the output of the pump going to the "pump" side of the hayward filter and the discharge side going to the dischage of the pool.

I was doing some reading. It seems I'm going to need to put in some sort of copper based chemcial to kill the alge and follow it up with a flocculant???? I believe this is a 13K gallon pool. What is the procedure. I know someone is going to tell me to read some articles on this forum. Where are the sticky's for this?

Thanks
 
George N has got you pointed in the right direction. You don't need a floc or algaecide. Copper based algaecides are especially problematic as they leave copper in the water. This is what turns hair green. Copper also stains liners.
 
257WbyMag said:
George N has got you pointed in the right direction. You don't need a floc or algaecide. Copper based algaecides are especially problematic as they leave copper in the water. This is what turns hair green. Copper also stains liners.
Click to expand...


OK, so based on what I'm reading I need to shock my pool until the pool clears up. I need to test the FC and CC levels based on the article.

Then why do they sell the other stuff in the store (the algicide and flock??), What are the benefits of this stuff v.s. just shocking the pool?

What are the next steps once I get the levels correct and the water is clear (after shocking). And I've also removed much of the pool debris from vaccuming and using the skimmer net???
 
If you read that entire page and the links it has on it you will know how to shock, when to stop and how to keep your pool clean.
They sell it because people will buy it not knowing better. This forum is to teach us how to care for our own pools with the least amount of cost and aggravation.

I suggest you read all the articles in Pool School and get one of the recommended test kits (see my sig below).

The Pool Calculator will show you the levels you need.

And when we get stumped there's always someone here to help us :-D
 
Flocculants have certain specific uses, but they are rarely needed and algae blooms are not one of those indications. Polyquat 60 based algaecides are ok to use since they don't use copper. Anyway, copper algaecides and flocs are sold most often because folks don't know (or care) whats in them. They have a problem with their pool and are just looking for a quick fix, even though the fix may cause more issues later that they aren't aware of.

There are two types of granulated chlorine that is commonly used for shocking and both can result in high levels of certain chemicals in the pool that can be problematic later. Dichlor can raise your stabilizer level to above normal limits really quickly. Calcium hypochlorite can cause one's calcium hardness to be high enough to cause problems. This is why we recommend shocking with plain ol' 6% bleach. It only has what you need and virtually none of what you don't. It's cheap and works quickly and is easy to measure.

Click the link for Pool Calculator in my sig line. It allows you to plug in numbers to calculate dosages for chems in your specific pool.
 
257WbyMag said:
Flocculants have certain specific uses, but they are rarely needed and algae blooms are not one of those indications. Polyquat 60 based algaecides are ok to use since they don't use copper. Anyway, copper algaecides and flocs are sold most often because folks don't know (or care) whats in them. They have a problem with their pool and are just looking for a quick fix, even though the fix may cause more issues later that they aren't aware of.

There are two types of granulated chlorine that is commonly used for shocking and both can result in high levels of certain chemicals in the pool that can be problematic later. Dichlor can raise your stabilizer level to above normal limits really quickly. Calcium hypochlorite can cause one's calcium hardness to be high enough to cause problems. This is why we recommend shocking with plain ol' 6% bleach. It only has what you need and virtually none of what you don't. It's cheap and works quickly and is easy to measure.

Click the link for Pool Calculator in my sig line. It allows you to plug in numbers to calculate dosages for chems in your specific pool.
Click to expand...

So liquid bleach (from the store) is the cheapest and best to use. I heard that you need to use a lot of it (maybe 100 or more gallons) before the test numbers start showing differently?
 
steppinthrax said:
257WbyMag said:
Flocculants have certain specific uses, but they are rarely needed and algae blooms are not one of those indications. Polyquat 60 based algaecides are ok to use since they don't use copper. Anyway, copper algaecides and flocs are sold most often because folks don't know (or care) whats in them. They have a problem with their pool and are just looking for a quick fix, even though the fix may cause more issues later that they aren't aware of.

There are two types of granulated chlorine that is commonly used for shocking and both can result in high levels of certain chemicals in the pool that can be problematic later. Dichlor can raise your stabilizer level to above normal limits really quickly. Calcium hypochlorite can cause one's calcium hardness to be high enough to cause problems. This is why we recommend shocking with plain ol' 6% bleach. It only has what you need and virtually none of what you don't. It's cheap and works quickly and is easy to measure.

Click the link for Pool Calculator in my sig line. It allows you to plug in numbers to calculate dosages for chems in your specific pool.
Click to expand...

So liquid bleach (from the store) is the cheapest and best to use. I heard that you need to use a lot of it (maybe 100 or more gallons) before the test numbers start showing differently?
Click to expand...

OK, i was wrong, I'm reading you will need to use 1 gallon for every 10K gallons of water.
 
I don't know where you're reading that you need to use 1 gallon for every 10k pool gallons but, here we stress testing before adding anything to your pool. I've never heard of anyone using 100 gallons of bleach to clear a pool, though I'm sure it's happened. 50 gallons isn't unheard of but that still works out to less than it would take of something else.

A good test kit is your first priority and then read, read, read all the articles in Pool School on defeating algae.
 

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steppinthrax said:
Then why do they sell the other stuff in the store (the algicide and flock??)
Click to expand...

Because the overwhelming majority of pool owners don't want to understand what's going on in their pool. They just want a magic bullet, magic pill, magic wand that will give them clear water. This lack of knowledge leads to wide profit margins.
 
Welcome to tfp steppeninthrax :wave:

You have gotten good advice from the previous posters!

If you are a person who likes to only spend the minimum of money needed to fix your pools water, then you have come to the right place. Troublefreepool.com teaches pool owners to understand the basic whys and hows of pool chemistry. Pool stores and pool supply companies teach pool owners how to spend money :mrgreen: (at least many of them do) but not always the whys and hows.

I know it can be a bit overwhelming going back to school (poolschool that is) so here is a preliminary list of reading for you from pool school to get you started:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/defeating_algae
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/temporary_pool_guide
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_water_chemistry
These articles will get you started, though you will want to eventually read the rest of poolschool. In addition, we are here to help answer all questions! :-D
 
So last night I put in several gallons (roughly 3 gallons) of bleach in the pool. I let the pump run till this morning. The pool color has changed from Black to green now. When I first put the bleach in I noticed I could start to see the bottom (roughly 30 mins after). I don't have my test kit in yet. I need to test the chlorine and CYN levels, I ordered a kit yesturday. But it's coming from WA!!!!! I notice the pool water smells a lot better (no bad smell). But the pool water is now Green, so Black -> green? Does this mean the alge is dying etc.... Also I had my pump running from 5:00 pm yesturday till now!!!!!
 
Should've ordered from Dave (tftestkits)! :hammer: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

It probably means that you WERE killing the algae. Unless you test and add more each hour the bleach you put in there is completely gone by now. You really need to back off just dumping stuff in your pool and wait till your kit gets there.

You did order the K-2006 and not the K-2005 didn't you???

Adding 3 gallons of 6% bleach to a 12,000 gallon pool raised your FC by 15 ppm which may or may not be enough to raise it to shock level.
 
OK, it appears I"m getting my testkit today, I've been reading the articles, however, they don't seem to give a sequence of what to check during the startup of a green pool?

This is my thinking.

1. Check FC and CYN.
2. Based on CYN I add the appropriate amount of liquid bleach (based on the chart).
3. check every hour and keep adding Bleach to keep it in check.
4. Scrub pool wall and clean floor.

Question: If CYN is too high I should think about just draining and refilling the pool??? What is too high???
Question: When should I start checking TA and PH?
 
First thing to check is pH. Adjust as needed. Because once you start shocking the pool the pH reading will not be correct.
If it's really low check TA.
Then check CYA (cyanuric acid).
Then check FC (it's likely zero) and add enough to get to shock level.
3 & 4 are correct.
 
Bama Rambler said:
First thing to check is pH. Adjust as needed. Because once you start shocking the pool the pH reading will not be correct.
If it's really low check TA.
Then check CYA (cyanuric acid).
Then check FC (it's likely zero) and add enough to get to shock level.
3 & 4 are correct.
Click to expand...

How high is too high for CYA? What should the CYA number be before I need to drain?
 
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