New Intex Owner

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The pool is full and the shocking has begun!

I don't know of any pool supply stores in the Denver metro area so I ended up at a store that specializes in spa's. The sales associate told me to purchase a chlorinating product containing 63% dichlor. Against her advice I opted to purchase a product containing 99% dichlor. She told me the 99% dichlor is only to be used in a spa, she also informed me that everyone on the internet seems to have an opinion on the proper way to chlorinate a pool, using a floating puck with a tablet in it has been and always will be the most efficient way to do it outside of an SWG. I'll let her stick to her opinion but I am going to stick with BBB.

I now have 5 lbs. of dichlor, 4.5 lbs of CYA and 12 gallons of clorox. I'll probably pick up some baking soda and PH up at Walmart in the next day or two, we'll see where the test results come in. Unfortunately it was to dark outside to run a full set of tests on my fill water tonight. I'll run a full gamut of tests tomorrow when I get home from work.

I'll post results tomorrow as well as a few pictures. This summer I don't intend to do a lot more than what's been done in my backyard but we have pretty big plans next year.
 
As of 6:45 AM I have the following results

FC: 10
CC: 0
PH: 7.6
AL: 160
CH: 295

Since this is my first test and I only started shocking last night I did not test for CYA yet. I will start testing for it this evening. Because of the elevation and intensity of the sun here I am going to shoot for an 50 CYA.
 
A few things have changed since my last post.

FC: 8
CYA: 30

Those readings were taken at 6:30 PM this evening and the sun has had all day to pull the chlorine from the pool. I am thinking the large tree next to my pool is creating a lot more shade than I thought and the overcast morning has also slowed down chlorine depletion. Needless to say I didn't add any chlorine to the pool this evening.

I managed to fire up the Jacuzzi filter my FIL gave to me and it seems to be doing a good job, it definitely moves a lot more water than the Intex filter that came with the pool.

I found a smoking deal on an Intex SWG that I am going to pickup tomorrow. I was going to wait until mid week to fire it up in hopes of using the pool over the Memorial weekend but the water is only 66 degrees and the forecast has nothing but low 70 degree ahead so I do not anticipate much change in the water temperature. I'll probably put the SWG in tomorrow and hope the pool will be warm enough to swim in next weekend since my solar cover will be here on Weds.

I picked up one of the Intex magnetic lights earlier this week. It puts off a lot of light for it's size and power. All in all I have been very impressed with value Intex has provided with the products I have purchased so far.
 
Are you still doing the shocking process?

I agree about the intex value...that has been my experience as well (other than their cartridge filters).

If you do hook up the intex swg, if it has the copper bars, make sure you unplug them.
 
linen said:
Are you still doing the shocking process?

I agree about the intex value...that has been my experience as well (other than their cartridge filters).

If you do hook up the intex swg, if it has the copper bars, make sure you unplug them.
Click to expand...

With the FC @ 8 should I hit the pool with anymore shock?

I've been hitting the pool with dichlor. I have no way of weighing the chemicals I put in so I was adding 12 oz. by volume of Dichlor to the pool every night. I did it for 4 nights. I measured the FC this evening and will measure in the morning to determine how much loss I have overnight I figure if I have .5 or less overnight loss I do not have to worry about shocking the pool any longer.

Based on what I have read the SWG pools need a higher CYA level than a traditional chlorinated pool. I have a big bottle of CYA so I am going to put it in a sock and bring the CYA levels up with that.
 
I reread your thread and you started shocking right after filling? Why? If the water is fresh, most often you just need to get to a normal FC level in there to prevent algae from starting. Anyways since you "shocked' it (I am not sure you followed our process...see: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool), I think your plan of doing the OCLT is a good one. If your CC is less than 0.5 ppm, your OCLT is 1 ppm or less, and your pool is crystal clear, then you should be fine to let it come down to normal FC levels.
 
linen said:
I reread your thread and you started shocking right after filling? Why? If the water is fresh, most often you just need to get to a normal FC level in there to prevent algae from starting. Anyways since you "shocked' it (I am not sure you followed our process...see: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool), I think your plan of doing the OCLT is a good one. If your CC is less than 0.5 ppm, your OCLT is 1 ppm or less, and your pool is crystal clear, then you should be fine to let it come down to normal FC levels.
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Since my pool is only seasonal I followed the seasonal pool process in the pool school pool-school/temporary_pool_guide

Are there any potential ill effects for shocking the pool the way I have with the fresh water I put into it? I'm hoping that the shocking I have done to the pool has been a nuclear bomb in the sense that anything possibly living in the pool has been completely annihilated at this point. While that may seem like an extreme view I have a very pregnant (grumpy) better half who wants to enjoy the pool and the last thing I want to do at this point is have a temporary closing of the pool due to an algae bloom or any other bad water condition.
 
DiscoDan said:
Since my pool is only seasonal I followed the seasonal pool process in the pool school pool-school/temporary_pool_guide
Click to expand...
That document does not say to do the shock process...it say to just raise your FC initially to 6 ppm, and then to 8 ppm which is not up to shock level.

DiscoDan said:
Are there any potential ill effects for shocking the pool the way I have with the fresh water I put into it?
Click to expand...
Looking back at your thread, if 10 ppm is the highest you've gone...it really isn't that high it is right about a the minimum FC shock level.

DiscoDan said:
I'm hoping that the shocking I have done to the pool has been a nuclear bomb in the sense that anything possibly living in the pool has been completely annihilated at this point. While that may seem like an extreme view I have a very pregnant (grumpy) better half who wants to enjoy the pool and the last thing I want to do at this point is have a temporary closing of the pool due to an algae bloom or any other bad water condition.
Click to expand...
Do not "bomb" the pool. If your water starts to look dull, if it is requiring a lot of FC, or if you get CC above 0.5 ppm, then follow the shocking process in pool school including the FC levels required. Otherwise, just maintain the appropriate level of FC and CYA to keep the algae form getting a foothold in your pool.
 
linen said:
DiscoDan said:
Since my pool is only seasonal I followed the seasonal pool process in the pool school pool-school/temporary_pool_guide
Click to expand...
That document does not say to do the shock process...it say to just raise your FC initially to 6 ppm, and then to 8 ppm which is not up to shock level.

DiscoDan said:
Are there any potential ill effects for shocking the pool the way I have with the fresh water I put into it?
Click to expand...
Looking back at your thread, if 10 ppm is the highest you've gone...it really isn't that high it is right about a the minimum FC shock level.

DiscoDan said:
I'm hoping that the shocking I have done to the pool has been a nuclear bomb in the sense that anything possibly living in the pool has been completely annihilated at this point. While that may seem like an extreme view I have a very pregnant (grumpy) better half who wants to enjoy the pool and the last thing I want to do at this point is have a temporary closing of the pool due to an algae bloom or any other bad water condition.
Click to expand...
Do not "bomb" the pool. If your water starts to look dull, if it is requiring a lot of FC, or if you get CC above 0.5 ppm, then follow the shocking process in pool school including the FC levels required. Otherwise, just maintain the appropriate level of FC and CYA to keep the algae form getting a foothold in your pool.
Click to expand...

After rereading the wording of the article and the following:

Step 5 - the first four days
The first few days will be spent using dichlor to add chlorine while also raising your CYA level to help protect the chlorine from the degrading effects of sunlight. If you want to be able to jump into the pool as soon as it's full, use the Pool Calculator to determine the amount of bleach needed to raise your chlorine level to 6 ppm. Add that amount of bleach while the pump is running. Wait an hour to let it circulate before you use the pool.

The first four days, you will use dichlor to both chlorinate your pool and raise the level of CYA (chlorine stabilizer). The first evening, after you're finished swimming, turn the pump back on, test and make any adjustments to pH. Let the pump circulate any chemicals added to adjust pH (30 minutes or so) and then add one ounce of dichlor for every 500 gallons of water. To add the dichlor, add it first to a bucket of pool water and let it dissolve, and then dump that into your pool. Let the pump run overnight. This dichlor addition will raise the chlorine level to about 8 (assuming no chlorine was added prior . . . if it was, the chlorine level will be a little higher, which is fine), and the CYA level to 8.

Repeat the above procedure each evening for four nights total. At the end of four nights, your CYA level should be around 30, right where it should be. After four evenings of adding dichlor, STOP USING THE DICHLOR. This is really important, even if you have extra left over. There is a complex relationship between chlorine and CYA, and too much CYA is absolutely not a good thing

I apologize for my misunderstanding.

I misunderstood the process of the first four days with dichlor and thought the first 4 day process resulted in "shocking". I followed the first 4 days of the process according to this article. I followed the instructions here for the first four days and doing so brought my chlorine levels up to an FC of 10+, I figured that was "shocking" the pool and thought that following these instructions meant that you would shock the pool for 4 days.
 

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DiscoDan said:
I apologize for my misunderstanding. I misunderstood the process of the first four days with dichlor and thought the first 4 day process resulted in "shocking". I followed the first 4 days of the process according to this article. I followed the instructions here for the first four days and doing so brought my chlorine levels up to an FC of 10+, I figured that was "shocking" the pool and thought that following these instructions meant that you would shock the pool for 4 days.
Click to expand...
No need to apologize, just want to help you get swimming fast :)

I can see that following the procedure could cause higher FC levels and you were astute to realize you were effectively shocking your pool at FC 10+ ppm, which is fine.

I would still do the OCLT...I would guess you are going to be good to go :goodjob:
 
It's been a few days since my last post so I figured it's about time for an update.

My chlorine levels are holding steady. I push the FC up to 4 PPM and it's only dropping to 2.5 PPM over a 24 hour period. The CYA is sitting at 30 and I'm going to leave it where it is since the FC is holding so well.

Yesterday I received this http://www.amazon.com/Splash-Pools-Roun ... 521&sr=8-2 I didn't put it on until later in the day so I didn't notice any difference in the temp. Today I came home from work and the top 6" of the pool were pushing 85 degrees, once I kicked the pump on and the water was circulated the temp dropped to 72. It was 70 degrees this morning so clearly the solar cover is making a difference if I can pickup 2 degrees a day for a few more days the pool is going to be pushing 78-80 and that's the temperature I am hoping for.

It's been pretty windy here for the last week as a result I have a lot of dirt in the bottom of the pool. Unfortunately the Intex vacuum isnt a vacuum at all and the dirt blows right through the mesh screen. The pool looks good for an hour or so after I run the fake vacuum over it but all the dirt starts settling again within an hour. I first started looking at Diver Dave but I think I am going to end up going the Pool Rover Jr. route unless someone can recommend a better robot in the same price range.
 
Just checked and the pool is now 76 degrees. I can't wait for the day to be over so I can jump in.

My Pool Rover Jr. should be here tomorrow according to Amazon. Once I have a chance to run it tomorrow I will post an update on how it does.
 
The Pool Rover Jr. is here and running in the pool right now. So far it doesn't seem to like picking up a lot of the dirt in the bottom of the pool. I let it run for 2 hours and it did an okay job. I'm giving it another 2 hours to cleanup the bottom of the pool. If the bottom of my pool doesn't look darn near perfect after this next 2 hour run it's going back in the box and being returned to Amazon. I'm having a difficult time justifying a $300 purchase that doesn't get the bottom of my pool spotless.
 
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