Brand New Intex User and Need Help with Chemical Levels

[JenSully]

New to the pool world. We have a 15x42 (3284 gallon) Intex frame pool with cartridge filter up for just the summer. We set it up and filled it last Sunday/Monday. I went to our local pool store (yuck) on Tuesday. I've been reading on here and would like to do this myself without relying on them. I did the following based on their suggestions on Tuesday evening:

4 oz Polytech 60 algae control
1/4 bag of TKO (about 1/4 lb)
2 tabs of slo tab 8 in the floater

I've been running the filter pretty much 24/7 since then.

Today I went out and bought the 6-way test kit from Walmart.
CL/BR looks to be about 1-2
pH looks to be less than the 6.8.
TA - took 3 drops to turn pink so thinking 30ppm (how red does it have to be?)
Hardness - 120ppm
CYA - black dot never disappeared to the top.

I can tell my levels are off! Advice Please!

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

What is in TKO? What is in slo-tab? The algaecide was not needed.

Could be that the stuff you added is why the pH is so low. You need to raise that with borax or soda ash.
You also should add about 20-30ppm of stabilizer (CYA) to the pool to protect the FC.
And continue to maintain the FC level using liquid chlorine / bleach.

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[JenSully]

TKO lists active ingredients as 73% calcium hypochlorite, 27% other ingredients.
Slo-Tab lists active ingredients as 99% tricholoro-a-traizinetrione

Welcome to TFP!!!

What is in TKO? What is in slo-tab? The algaecide was not needed.

Could be that the stuff you added is why the pH is so low. You need to raise that with borax or soda ash.
You also should add about 20-30ppm of stabilizer (CYA) to the pool to protect the FC.
And continue to maintain the FC level using liquid chlorine / bleach.

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[DanielP]

It appears you have these products:
73% Calcium Hypochlorite: http://www.amazon.com/Ultima-Hypochlorite-Powdered-Chlorine-Swimming/dp/B00B9I8SNI
Trichlor tablets: www.seaboard-usa.com/customer/seaind/msds/Slo_Tab8.pdf

Based on PoolMath, if each tablet is 7 oz, each dissolved Trichlor tablet will add 8.9 CYA to your pool. Once you have dissolved 4 tablets in the pool, you should have around 36 CYA, at which point I would quit using tablets and only use unscented bleach for chlorine. I would not buy stabilizer for your pool since you already have tablets and it won't take much longer for 4 tablets to dissolve than it would for the stabilizer to dissolve.

You can also stop buying the TKO and use bleach in it's place, but it is fine to use it until the opened bag is gone.

Once you are familiar with the TFPC method, you will not be doing a weekly or bi-weekly "Shock", because you will not let your pool drop below the minimum recommended FC to CYA ratio which allows algae to grow.

 

[JenSully]

I did PoolMath and see what I need to do. So can I use unscented bleach now to get the chlorine level up? And the borax to get the pH up? What about baking soda for the alkalinity?

 

[jblizzle]

Yes to all 3 of your questions ... get at least 2ppm of FC in the water. Then (after as much time as it takes for you to put the bleach away and get the baking soda open) I would raise the TA to about 70ppm with baking soda and then after 30 minutes test the pH and adjust as needed.

 

[JenSully]

So in reading the Super Simple Pool Chemistry Recipe I should have dichlor, but I have the Slo-Tab trichlor pucks that have chlorine and CYA in it. I'm confused as to if I should continue using them or stop and get dichlor. Also, how long should I expect the first two pucks to take to dissolve if I put them in the floater on Tuesday?

 

[jblizzle]

What is the "Super Simple Pool Chemistry Recipe"?

 

[JenSully]

What is the "Super Simple Pool Chemistry Recipe"?

Oops. Sorry, Newbie mistake. That's something that's in the pool forum. Now I know why I'm confused.

 

[jblizzle]

I would suggest picking one forum and sticking with it.

 

[CeeElGee]

Pssst! Hey, Jen, don't tell anybody but I also stumbled upon the "Super Simple Pool Chemistry Recipe" and it helped get me started, so don't feel bad. But once I was up and running this forum has been my lone source of information ;-) Good luck.

 

[jblizzle]

From the bit you said, I am guessing it is very similar to what our temporary/seasonal pool guide in Pool School used to say. Then we simplified it to avoid common issues that kept popping up with inexperienced pool owners.

 

[JenSully]

From the bit you said, I am guessing it is very similar to what our temporary/seasonal pool guide in Pool School used to say. Then we simplified it to avoid common issues that kept popping up with inexperienced pool owners.

Yes, I had both open in separate windows and was comparing the two. I'll stick with the seasonal pool guide in Pool School. So much simpler for the next 2.5 months!!!