New Intex 14 x 48 Ultra Frame, need water balancing help!

[jaymel]

Hi everyone! So glad to have found this forum! You all seem so helpful. We just put up our new Intex 14x48 Ultra Frame pool last night and finished filling it this morning. I put the recommended amount of pool stabilizer to bring CYA to 50 ppm (haven't tested, my kit does not have that option). I shocked it and put a 3" chlorine puck in a floating dispenser and the pump (2500 gph Intex cartridge filter) has been running all day. I just received my test kit, Taylor drop-type kit, and have tested the water. The approximate results are as follows:

Free Chlorine: at or over kit range
pH: 6.8 or lower (that's the lowest the kit will measure)
Alkalinity: 160 ppm

I am confused on how to remedy the low pH and high alkalinity. It seems that the solutions are contradictory to each other. I ordered pH Up, but then when I went to order something to lower the alkalinity what I'm understanding is that it's the same thing they use to LOWER pH.... which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do. Is this a common problem? What is the best remedy?

Thanks so much for any help you can provide!

 

[linen]

Re: New Intex 14 x 48 Ultra Frame, need water balancing help

Welcome to tfp, jaymel

I shocked it and put a 3" chlorine puck in a floating dispenser and the pump (2500 gph Intex cartridge filter) has been running all day.

Take the puck out, it adds cya and lowers ph. Since you are already at 50 ppm cya, you should now chlorinate with bleach/liquid chlorine. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pool Your chlorine level will come down in a couple of days.

To raise ph, use Borax. The poolcalculator.com will tell you how much to use. When the ph test indicates 6.8, the actual ph can be lower. Add enough Borax to raise your ph to ~7.2, then leave the pump running and retest ph in an hour. Redose to 7.2. Repeat until you are measuring 7.2. Once your ph is in that range just maintian it normally. When it goes up to 7.8, reduce to 7.2. Don't worry about the TA for now.

 

[jaymel]

Re: New Intex 14 x 48 Ultra Frame, need water balancing help

Thanks so much! Since I've already ordered the HTH pH Up, do you suggest returning it and not using it? And using the Borax instead? And, for the bleach, regular Clorox household bleach in the laundry aisle? From your signature and what I've read on the site about shocking, it seems Clorox is the main chemical I should be using. Basically, all I need for basic pool maintenance I can get at the grocery store?

 

[Richard320]

Re: New Intex 14 x 48 Ultra Frame, need water balancing help

Thanks so much! Since I've already ordered the HTH pH Up, do you suggest returning it and not using it? And using the Borax instead? And, for the bleach, regular Clorox household bleach in the laundry aisle? From your signature and what I've read on the site about shocking, it seems Clorox is the main chemical I should be using. Basically, all I need for basic pool maintenance I can get at the grocery store?

Bleach, borax, and baking soda can come from the grocery store. Muriatic acid from a hardware store. We're about cheap here - only what the pool needs, by the cheapest route. Sometimes a higher concentration chlorine from the pool store or the hardware store works out cheaper.