Guess it's finally time to ask for help or at least a little reassurance...

[ariel68]

We have had our pool up and "running" for a full week now, with our pump, sand filter and heater running 24 hours per day. We have seen our pool temps rise from 53 degrees to 90 degrees, all without the benefit of a solar blanket (Our solar blanket has finally arrived, and the reel should be here next week, so we can finally trap in that heat (and turn down the electric heater) vs having it all escape (I shudder to think what our first Hydro bill will be).

In an attempt to keep the pool clear until we were completely set up (had to sit with our pool only half full until the equipment installer came back to fix his major screw up installing the skimmer), we used up what we had left from last year's supply of liquid chlorine, then resorted to household bleach. It managed to keep everything completely clear until we could get our water tested and begin the arduous task of getting our water balanced. We sent a sample of our pool water into the pool store for testing and got the following results.

PH 7.6
CYA 0
FC 0
TA 110
CH 50 (we have a vinyl pool so this isn't too much of a concern...should it be?)

Our fist step today was to add PH reducer (113g or 1/3 cup as per store's recommendation), waited 30 minutes then added approx. 450g of granular stabilizer to a 'sock' in the skimmer (actually used the little leaf catcher bag that attaches to the cheap little manufacturer supplied vacuum head). Next step is to super shock (one half of 454g pkg granular GLB brand Super Shock based on 65g per 10,000 litres).

So NOW to my QUESTION(s):

How long should I wait until adding the shock treatment? Do I need to allow for circulation for a full 24hrs?
Can we use the pool in the interim or do we need to wait until stabilizer has completely dissolved and until we chlorinate?
Do we still need to increase our calcium hardness in our pool even with a soft sided pool?

TIA for all of your help

 

[jblizzle]

First, why are you trusting pool store testing and following their recommendations? If that is the route you want take, then us providing help is just going to cause confusion when it differs from what they tell you.

You can swim while adding CYA if you have some chlorine in the water, but we would not recommend whatever that "shock" method they are suggesting.

Ignore CH, low does not matter for vinyl pools.

 

[ariel68]

First, why are you trusting pool store testing and following their recommendations? If that is the route you want take, then us providing help is just going to cause confusion when it differs from what they tell you.

You can swim while adding CYA if you have some chlorine in the water, but we would not recommend whatever that "shock" method they are suggesting.

Ignore CH, low does not matter for vinyl pools.

Thanks for your reply jblizzle. I have 'confirmed' their test with the 3 way test kit (and 6 way test strips) I have available to me until I am able to get a recommended (6 way) test kit. Unfortunately having it tested by the pool store seemed like the most obvious way to get things going until I was able to test on my own. I am trying to make use of whatever chemicals I have on hand from the previous year as well as make use of the "free" chemical start up kit provided to me by the pool store with our purchase of the equipment. I am looking for advice and reassurance that we are on the right track, and as to what direction we need to take going forward. Since you indicated that their shock recommendations are not in line with what you would suggest, are you willing to offer other alternatives? Or any answers to the other of my questions such as how long I need to wait after stabilizer before adding Chlorine?

 

[jblizzle]

The false information and following discussion was split to HERE.