New Pool - Confused and Need Help

[MissyP]

I setup our new pool, filled it with water and successfully set up and started the filter - that was the easy part. I went to the pool store yesterday and asked for help because I don't know the first thing about adding chemicals to the pool. The lady at the store gave me a test kit, a container of Blue Shield Jumbo Slo-poke Chlorine Tabs and Safe T Shock Chlorine Free Oxidizing Agent and told me this is what I need and that it should last me the whole summer. Sent me home with a checklist that is very vague. I ran the water tests and received the following results:

FC - 0
TA - 80 ppm
pH - 7.2
Cya - 0

Now this is where I get a bit confused. Based on the results, I believe I need to get a Conditioner/Stabilizer, can anyone confirm this? And if so, recommendations - my handy checklist says Blue Shield Conditioner/Stabilizer.

Also - I understand I need to add Chlorine and I believe the shock but I have no idea how much. The tabs I bought indicate that one tab is sufficient for up to 10,000 gallons, if I put this in my small 2822 gallon pool - this seems like major overkill. Should I break the tab into a smaller piece based on the size of my pool i.e. 2822/10000 = .28 of a tab in a floating feeder? Or does the one large tab in a floating feeder regulate itself?

Lastly - the shock I purchased says to use 1 pound per 8,000 gallons so I'm assuming for the size of our pool I'd use approximately 4 oz? My checklist also says to add shock weekly, what exactly is the shock for - just out of curiosity?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Casey]

You need Stabilizer. If you have it in powder form, out some in a sock and start to dissolve it in the water over your return. You can use PoolMath to determine how much.
It would be so much easier for you to use unscented bleach.

 

[MissyP]

I will pick up some stabilizer today, thanks. Are you saying not to use the chlorine or shock I purchased and just use unscented bleach? If so, will bleach work for the whole summer season? Just wondering if I should return what I purchased.

 

[Gilrock]

I'm brand new to this also but I'm trying to learn fast. You should look at the Pool School section on this website using button at the top right of the page. You should learn exactly what each thing you put in your pool is going to do. The problem with using the stabilized tabs as most of us find out the hard way is the stabilizer (CYA) level will continue to rise until it makes the chloring ineffective. If you use the unscented bleach you will only be adding a small amount of salt along with your chlorine instead of the Chlorine + CYA you will get with the stabilized tabs and shock. Actually I'm not exactly sure what's in the tabs and shock you bought so you need to look at the labels. But if you use bleach then you can be in better control of where you keep your CYA levels. I still have a bunch of stablized tabs I'm not using any longer but I figure if my CYA levels ever drop below where I want them I can use the tabs to bring it back up. Good luck.