New member asking for very basic advice

[linusstick]

Yes this will be one of those threads that the veterans of this board will roll their eyes at. Here's my situation. Had a new above ground pool installed (21' diameter, 54" high). The installers did the work when I wasn't there. Had the pool filled (then drained and refilled but that's another story). From this point on I can't find instructions as to what happens now. The water level is kind of high due to rain (not completely covering the skimmer but close) and I want to get the start up chemicals in the pool. I hired a guy to get it started for me (I work a lot of 12 hour days) and he doesn't work weekends so I'd like to do this without him. I've read a lot on line and on instructions but I keep hearing 2 different things. Some say the pool needs shocked first, some say the water needs balanced first. I can't find a step by step guide anywhere as to what to do to get started. I'm sure this has been asked before so if it exists here, you can point me to the thread. I did test the water today and got the following:
Free Chlorine- 0 (obviously)
pH- 8.4
TA- 80
TH- 200
CYA-0
Thanks in advance!

 

[pwrstrk]

Welcome to TFP.

As long as the water is still clear get it balanced. You need chlorine to ward off algae and stabilizer to protect the chlorine from the sun. PH and TA will also need to be checked.

Do you have one of our recommended test kits ?

Spend sometime in pool school reading.

http://www.poolcalculator.com/
pool-school/pool_water_chemistry
pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Your first order of business is to get the pH down to the mid 7's. Then add enough bleach to get 2ppm FC in there.
Then you'll want to add about 30 ppm CYA.

 

[Charlie_R]

Test kits

 

[woodyp]

zodiac-nature-2-vision-pro-useful-or-useless-t52017.html

There's one thread on that system--you can search for many more. We don't recommend it. Welcome to the forum!