Help! Husband bought pool and now i ended up with maintenance duty and have no idea.

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pjc2cast

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Jun 19, 2014
39
houston, texas
Hi everybody, now im stuck with maintenance of a intex AG 18' x 48" ultra frame swimming pool (6432 gallons) with crystal clear model 635T cartridge filter. I would like to know if anyone can give me tips, advice,mentoring, ideas on how to maintain this pool clean as easy as possible for my boys ( a moody 12 yr. old, a temperamental 5 yr. old, a very active 18 month old and last but not least a 1 1/2 year old labrador, yes all males). As y'all can see i have my hands full already but here i am with my chore. I live in the beautiful hot and humid houston, texas the pool has direct sunlight all day. The pool is almost full, i added 2 cups of bleach when it was about 6 inches. I bought the borax, 10 bottles of bleach and the hth 6-way test kit (walmart). What else do i need? Can we get in immediately ( husband is desperate) or do i have to treat it and.wait some time to get in?
Thank y'all soooo much
Bianey

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Welcome!

I feel for you! :lol: All those boys! The biggest one is probably the worst as he's gotten you into this! Don't fear... we can help you! :mrgreen:

You need Stabilizer. Go back to WalMart tomorrow and pick some up in the pool aisle. It's called Stabilizer/Conditioner. Add it according to PoolMath.

Also, You're going to need a good test kit! We recommend the TF100 over the K2006. You can check both of them out here :lookhere: Test Kit Comparison

You will be on your way if you take some time tonight and give Dad all those boys and tell him you have Pool School! Read these to start with:

ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry


Recommended Pool Chemicals


How to Chlorinate Your Pool


Chlorine CYA Chart

You will find more helpful links in Pool School. :goodjob:
 
Welcome! :wave:

Whatever bleach you added is long gone by now, with no stabilizer in the water to protect it from the sun. I'd dump another 3 cups of plain 8.25% chlorox in and let them use it. You will need to add some stabilizer, and soon, but what else you might need depends on test results.
 
Hi there and welcome.... All pools come with maintenance, and your pool is no exception... I use cleaning and maintaining my pool as therapy... I find it relaxing... Now that test will do for now, but you want to get one of the test kits that will test for everything.... Here is a link.....http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html

Start reading Pool School.... There is a learning curve to owning a pool, just keep reading and re-reading it will eventually click......

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/165-getting-started
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/113-pool-chemistry
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/116-handy-reference-material

:testresults:

Can you please test your water, and get us a full set of results and we can use the Pool Math to work out what your water needs.... You will need CYA also known as Stablizer... It's like a sunscreen for your chlorine.... That is essential.....
 
Thank u all for the quick respond. I will order thw other test kit that was recommended Tonight. Quick question i have read from the pool school but with the children all having scenes, tantrums and screaming i think i only retain about 1% of it all. What about the cyanuric acid do i need that as well?

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That is the Stabilizer/Conditioner I told you to grab at WallyWorld. It's all the same!!! :)
 
You poor thing! All of those boys! What a busy life you have. BUT they will be quiet while they sleep after playing hard in the pool you are going to keep nice and clean for them.

Good move on ordering the good test kit. I am not sure what the results mean from your 6 way kit. I am thinking CL means chlorine. That means you have 1 ppm (parts per million). That is not much with all of those boys LOL

Chlorine=bleach

CYA=stabilizer/balancer It is the sunscreen for your bleach.

Good luck!

Kim
 
You won't have any CYA unless you add it. It's not naturally occurring.

Until you get some CYA, target 2 or 3 on the CL (Ignore the BR, you're not using Bromine)

The important things right now are pH and CL. Your test kit can handle those for now.

If the pool was filled from the faucet, it's the same stuff they bathe in, so let 'em in. One day won't kill 'em or completely destroy the pool chemistry.
 

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All correct and good advice. I think if we put it steps it will be easy to follow. There is a pool calculator here that will help you determine the correct amounts of chemicals to add.

Step 1- Starting now maintain your chlorine level with bleach daily. Your CYA level is 0 until you add it. Use the chart here to determine the correct chlorine level to maintain.

Step 2- Add CYA aka conditioner / stabilizer. You can find recommended levels here. 30-40 ppm is probably what you'll want. They have it at Wal-Mart in granular form which is cheaper, you can get it in liquid form from a pool store. The liquid is more expensive but faster.

Step 3- Start maintaining your PH level. Your kit can do that. You'll need to take the ph or red reading. Also you'll need to know the TA or total alkalinity, your kit has the stuff to measure this also. In the calculator you'll enter both of these figures to find out how much and what to add if necessary. My TA runs high because of my fill water and is always rising because of my salt water generator, so I add muratic acid about once a week to maintain my ph and slowly lower my TA. You'll just need to find out where you're at and adjust accordingly.

Step 4- Consider upgrading your test kit. You will run out of the CYA test from your current kit pretty quick. Also the better kit can measure some things that may come in handy later.

Step 5- I would highly recommend you consider upgrading to the Intex 2650 gph sand filter. It has a 16" tank and hold 100lbs of sand. You can buy online for under $200 delivered. It is so much better than their cartridge filter, I promise. I spent 1-1/2 summers convinced and trying to prove the cartridge filter was adequate. I wish I would have upgraded sooner, but perhaps then I wouldn't appreciate the difference so much.

Have fun with your new pool!
 
Thank y'all for all the advices and tips. Quick question on the pool calculator are the set target correct or do i have to change them? I just tested after they go out and cl 1ppm and ph 7.5 ppm i didnt check total alkalinity what do i do? Do i add more bleach?

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With regards to your goals, you need to scroll about halfway down the page until you see "suggested goal levels". Use the options "troublefreepool.com", "bleach", and "vinyl".
CL 1ppm -> add more bleach. Add 20oz to get it to 3ppm. Also, please use plain bleach (not splashless, not outdoor, no fragrances).
Ignore TA for the mean time, it's the last thing to worry about.
 
You can re check with in 15 minutes or to a half hour after additions. Keep your pump circulating when adding any chemicals to the water. :goodjob:
 
Abigail K said:
With regards to your goals, you need to scroll about halfway down the page until you see "suggested goal levels". Use the options "troublefreepool.com", "bleach", and "vinyl".
CL 1ppm -> add more bleach. Add 20oz to get it to 3ppm. Also, please use plain bleach (not splashless, not outdoor, no fragrances).
Ignore TA for the mean time, it's the last thing to worry about.
Click to expand...

Ignoring TA is not good advice. However it's not step 1 or 2. You'll need your TA value to adjust your PH correctly. The green capped bottles that came with your 6 way kit and the beaker are what you'll need for the test, instructions are with the kit. Your ph may be 7.5 today but if your TA is high and your kids splash around in the pool for a day or two it won't be 7.5 for long. It all seems complicated now, but it won't for long.
 

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