My First Pool

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Dima

0
May 21, 2014
49
Brampton, Canada
Good day guys, just joined this forum to get some help from the professionals. I just bought a house with the inground pool, pool is not opened yet and I never run a pool before. So was not sure where to start. My wife asks me for a complete water change, I know u dont have to do that every year, but maybe we do it ones after the previous owners. They said pool was closed by professionals.

So here is what I am thinking to start with:

1. Get a good test kit, I am from Canada so looks like I cant get TFT kit, can u suggest any from this site ?
http://piscines-apollo.com/cubecart/test-kits.html

2. Do a complete water change.

3. After that I guess I will do a full water testing and post results here for advice of professionals.

Does it all sounds reasonable ? I used to run a salt water aquarium for 10 years, so I am thinking I can handle the water testing myself. I like the BBB method described on this forum, is there a way to go for me too ?

Thank you guys!
 
Welcome, eh! :wave:

Very few of us are "professionals" here. Mostly we're just knowledgeable amateurs. Professional just means they charge for it; read a while here and you'll see that professional has nothing to do with knowledge.

The only test kit worth buying is the Taylor K-2006. And they want a lot for it in Canuckistan. But they have the monopoly, so what are you going to do? Unless you have reason to cross the border, and even then the pool store probably won't stock the thing. You could try ship-to-store. But before I digress into a discussion about smuggling...

If you have a saltwater generator, you'll probably want a salt test, too.

Why do a complete water change? How do you know it needs it? Is your pool vinyl-lined? If so, you don't want to drain it all the way anyway, lest the liner shift and wrinkle, so you'll be stuck dealing with some old water anyway. The proper way to tame this pool is to test the water and then make a decision about draining or not based on facts. That said, keeping the wife happy and starting with a clean slate has a certain appeal.

How about filling out your signature? It helps us recommend things if we know what the pool surface is, what equipment you have (like a SWG) and what type of filter you have. If there are waterfalls or fountains or a spillover spa, they can affect chemistry, believe it or not. It's good to know these things. There's guidleines and directions on how to do it in this article: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/115-read-before-you-post
 
Thank you for your help Richard. I am moving to the house in a week, right after that I will create a proper signature, need to take a look what kind of equipment I have and etc. I just wanted to get some feedback on test kit, as I would have to wait till it arrives. I know its a Chlorine pool not salt water. So Taylor test kit is the way to go, however I found two, can u recommend one of them, and what is the difference between them ?

K-2005
http://discountpoolsupply.com/chemicals/water-testing/taylor-2005-professional-test-kit

and

K-2006
http://piscines-apollo.com/cubecart/test-kits/k-2006.html


My wife asks for a complete water change (she thinks it will be clearer :)))), but I guess I first take a look at the water and do first tests as you are suggesting.

Thanks for your help
 
Welcome to the forum. I would test the water before deciding to drain and refill. I kind of the felt the same way when we bought our hose with a pool a few years back. I compared it to sleeping on someone else's sheets. But water is water and you can trust the chlorine to kill off anything bad. If CYA or CH were high I would do it then, but test it first. If you have iron or high CH or TA in your fill water, you may end up with water that is in worse shape than what is in there now. Good luck and keep us posted.
Mark
 
Dima said:
So Taylor test kit is the way to go, however I found two, can u recommend one of them, and what is the difference between them ?

K-2005
http://discountpoolsupply.com/chemicals/water-testing/taylor-2005-professional-test-kit

and

K-2006
http://piscines-apollo.com/cubecart/test-kits/k-2006.html
Click to expand...

Hi Dima:

The K-2006 is a good test kit and it will allow you take control of your own pool.

The K-2005 is similar, but it does not include both types of chlorine tests (free "good" chlorine and combined "bad" chlorine, to oversimplify. It is useful to know both).

You are better off with the K-2006.

Good luck!
Randy
 
rterickson said:
Hi Dima:

The K-2006 is a good test kit and it will allow you take control of your own pool.

The K-2005 is similar, but it does not include both types of chlorine tests (free "good" chlorine and combined "bad" chlorine, to oversimplify. It is useful to know both).

You are better off with the K-2006.

Good luck!
Randy
Click to expand...

Thank you Randy, so I will order K-2006 now, and when it arrives post here some pics and test results. Thank you guys for your help. I feel more confident with you.
 
Guys, small question. I am still waiting for the test kit to arrive, I am pumping out the water from the cover now, pool has not been opened for 3 years. However neighbors are saying about lots of mosquitoes because of my pool, the question is, after I opened it, can I add some apx amount of chlorine or bleach maybe, to stop pool from growing an algae, and when test kit arrives I actually test it and add the amount that is missing. or this is totally wrong ?

thanks in advance
 
Thank you Richard. I just updated the signature. Basically the pool is about 20k gallons. I attached a picture. I just removed the cover. So I am not sure what to do now, can u please help. Tomorrow I supposed to receive WATER TEST.

my problems:

1. I have to start it asap as my neighbors are angry :)
2. I can see that there is a problem with the liner. Lots of wrinkles, so I am not sure, can this be fixed if I first fill up the pool and run it. Can I or specialist fix it with the full pool or they have to remove the water?
3. I was thinking to remove the water first completely, but later read that it might damage my pool structure. As my pool is actually above ground model, but installed in ground. I am sure u know what I mean :)

Can u suggest please where should I start ?

Thank you, appreciate your help.


WP_20140604_008.jpg
 

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I have never assembled a vinyl-lined pool, so I can't comment on straightening the wrinkled liner.

Essentially, you start by scooping out what debris you can, filling the pool to the middle of the skimmers, and running the pump. Once you're sure the water is moving, let it all mix for an hour and then run tests. At that point, I'd suggest you post the results here and set aside the weekend to nurse your pool back to health.

And that picture is great! You're going to be amazed at how much better it will look like in about a week!
 
There should be a corrugated vacuum hose somewhere that just pushes on the fitting on the vacuum head. The other end goes to either the suction port inside the skimmer or to a skimmer plate. Check out the Visual Encyclopedia to see what these things look like.

You hook the hose to the head, set the head into the pool so it's sitting on the bottom, and then I push the hose down under water a little at a time keeping it vertical so all the air gets pushed out. When you're done, the hose will be all full of water. Then you connect it to the suction port with the pump on and start vacuuming. It helps to move slow, so the debris gets pulled into the vacuum head ahead of it.
 
Thank you Richard, you so helpful. So here is what I am going to do :

with pool calculator I calculated that to raise to FC from 0 to 12 I need alsmost 15 liters of bleach

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/clorox-regular-bleach-357l/6000091056759

fc.jpg

So all these 15l in jars I just add to the pool water and let it run testing from time to time and cleaning until CC below 0.5 and FC normal level. What is the normal level ?

also it says that first I have to raise pH to 7.2-7.5, how can I do that ?

Thank you Richard you are the best!
 
Your pH is close enough. Don't worry about it.

Add the bleach and don't forget to brush to break the slimy protective scab off the walls. And check and replenish the chlorine to keep it at 12 as the SLAM article states, "not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day. Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning." http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl
 
I see so basically to start I add 15 liters of bleach to reach FC 12, and test it frequently making sure it is always 12 adding more and more bleach until I see that it drops about 1ppm a day. It means its done. After that would I keep level 12 all the time ? Also I assume my pump is always ON correct ?
 
Yep. Pump stays on. Filter gets cleaned when pressure climbs 25%. Keep brushing and vacuuming. Keep FC at 12. A lot of that greenish tint will turn grey and settle out. You'll be amazed at how much stuff was suspended in the water. Expect the water to cloud up a bit and turn weird ugly shades on its way to greyish white.

You don't need to check anything but FC & CC for now. After the water is clear and you pass the other two tests, balancing the rest is easy. It can be done in an afternoon.
 
What a fascinating pool shape!

I like to fill my vac hose by using the return water (water that shoots into the pool) so that way, I know I don't have air bubbles. The bubbles stop coming out from the sweeper head and then I lay the plate attachment in the skimmer box and start sweeping.
 

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