What do to first upon opening???

[dschribs]

Hi All

First post! Great site

My wife and I just bought a home with an in-ground pool. 16 x 32 I believe it is. We close on April 30th and I am trying to learn as much as I can about pool care & maintenance prior to actually occupying the house. My question is related to actually opening the pool. I read all the posts about removing the cover, filling the pool, checking the pump/filter etc and I seem to have all of that down in my head. My question surrounds what you actually do to the water first when the pool is open? Some sites say shock right away, some sites say run the pump for awhile before doing anything, some sites say test ph first before adding shock or chlorine, some sites say adj alkalinity prior to pH - I'm so confused as to what the actual order should be - or if there even is an order...

So let's say I have the cover off, the water level is where it should be and I have been running the pump/filter for a few hours …now what????

- Should I just shock the pool first thing and then test the water a few hours later?
- Should I test the water before I do anything at all??
-Does the order in which you approach adjusting water chemistry depend simply on what the water testing tells you? In other words, should I basically just test the water and adress the element that is most "out of whack"??

I guess I need sort of a step by step guide in terms of the order in which to address water chemistry when opening a pool...

I plan on purchasing the Taylor K-2206 test kit after many recommendations on the form here.

Thanks!
Dan
Berlin, CT

 

[RobbieH]

You only shock when necessary. If you have algae, it's time to go through the shock process (it isn't a simple one-time addition of pool store stuff).

Test the water before doing anything, post the results. We can step you through the process, tailored to your pool's requirements.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Always test the water before you add anything and use the poolcalculator to determine how much of what you need to add ... otherwise you are flying blind. This will also help you determine what to change first ... general priorities are sort of like this: pH, CYA, FC, TA, CH ... although the first 3 are all about the same priority.

I would recommend the TF100 over the K2006 ... the customer service and 18 month warranty can not be beat and the quantities of the reagent are more in line with what you need.

Get that kit ordered and read through Pool School a few times and you will be ahead of the curve.

 

[dschribs]

Thanks! Very helpful.

In terms of buying chemicals to have on hand those first few days - I was thinking the following:

- 3" Chlorine Tabs. (I may switch to bleach at some point in time in the future)
- 20 Mule team Borax
- pH Down/pH Reducer
- Baking Soda
- Cyanuric acid (Stabilizer/Conditioner)

Does this list seem to make sense? What else should I have on hand?? I want to be prepared prior to opening the pool. The LAST thing I want to do is go into a pool store and ask them for a "start-up kit"!!!

 

[jblizzle]

I would not buy anything until you have tested the water with one of the recommended test kits and then know what you need.

Borax raises pH, pH Down (or better muriatic acid) lowers it ... why would you need both for example?
Baking soda raises TA ... if you have high TA fill water, you will NEVER need it

Have you found and read Pool School (button at the upper right of the page)? That will help you understand the chemistry.

You must realize what effects everything will have that you add to the pool. The tablets can be OK in small quantities, but they add CYA (stabilizer) that will build up and eventually make the pool uncontrollable.

 

[duraleigh]

20 Mule team Borax
- pH Down/pH Reducer
- Baking Soda

You may not need any of these in the foreseeable future. Test your water first.

 

[RobbieH]

To add to Dave's post, you may not want tablets either. Your CYA may already be too high, and without knowing where you are now, you don't want to add more CYA...