Help Getting my water right.

[ImNewIDontKnowWhatToDo]

I recently bought a 21 foot round above ground pool. The pool store sold me 2 bags of super zappit shock, and a 5lbs bucket of chlorine tabs with a floater.

The pool guy at the store told me once i got my pool filled to turn on my pump and throw in a bag of super zappit in let it circulate 24 hrs then throw another bag in. So two days ago i did this and it cleared the pool right up, but in less than 24 hrs My test strips read 0 chlorine. So last night i threw the 2nd bag of super zappit in and this is what my test strips are reading this morning. Im just curious where do i go from here? I am completely new to this and have no idea what im doing. I have read the pool school on here.

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to TFP!

Please do not take me for being short or rude, but we won't make suggestions based on strips. They simply can't be trusted well enough. The first things we suggest to get control of your pool is a proper test kit, and Knowledge. We suggest a TF100 or Taylor K2006 test kit, but no others. You have to order these, as pool stores rarely have the 2006, and never have the 100. You can't properly treat and run a pool on strip based testing.

 

[ImNewIDontKnowWhatToDo]

Thanks for the tip. I will for sure look into getting a better test kit, but at the moment this is what i have to work with.

 

[Defgufman]

Patrick is right you need a real test kit and it needs to be Taylor. As far as chlorine goes, the shock is driving it up, but It's new water so the daily loss is probably high in the sun. We need good results to help get you in balance.

 

[ImNewIDontKnowWhatToDo]

The sun will drop it to 0 within a days time?

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

I looked it up. Zappit is 65% Calcium Hypochlorite. Assuming your pool is 4 ft deep, that means each 1 lb bag added 7.4 FC. That seems high, but you have zero stabilizer aka CYA aka Cyanuric acid. Without it, every bit of chlorine will disappear to the sun within hours. You see this yourself.

That bucket of pucks will add 30 CYA by the time it's completely gone. You can't wait for that.

There are three major problems
1) You are using test strips. You need a proper test kit.
2) You're trusting pool store advice. They're in business to sell you chemicals. Keep listening to them and they'll get you on a merry-go-round where every week they sell you something new, then something next week to counteract the bad side-effects, and on and on and on until ultimately they'll suggest a drain because of high total dissolved solids caused by all the potions they sold you.
3) You lack knowledge.

All are easy to fix. Invest in a proper test kit. I suggest a TF100. It'll take you through this summer and halfway through next, most likely. It's a chunk o'change, but I guarantee it's cheaper than the unneeded extras the pool store will sell you over the course of the summer. http://tftestkits.net/TF-100-Test-Kit-p4.html

Avoiding the pool store is easy. The chemicals you need are available at the grocery store, the hardware store, Target, Walmart, Sam's, BJ's, all over the place. Recommended Pool Chemicals will tell you what does what and how to add it.

You should also read some of the other articles in Pool School, like The ABCs. Maybe read some threads in the Algae forum, to see what you're avoiding.

For the short term... measure your water depth so you can get an accurate pool volume. Post up that information in your signature line. How to. Buy some plain bleach - no scents, no easy pour, plain stuff. Add a quart a day. It won't last long without stabilizer. Buy some stabilizer and set the pucks aside for later in the season. Add the stabilizer using the method in that Recommended Pool Chemicals link. I can't tell you how much without knowing the pool size.

We can get you through this if you're willing to take control of the pool and do your own testing. It's really not hard. There's a steep learning curve initially, but by Fourth of July your daily pool maintenance will be as routine and time consuming as brushing your teeth.

 

[Patrick_B]

Nice Post Richard...

 

[ImNewIDontKnowWhatToDo]

Thanks for the information. My pool is 21 round 52 inches tall. In pool math it says 11100 gallons. But i imagine its a hair less than that.

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for the information. My pool is 21 round 52 inches tall. In pool math it says 11100 gallons. But i imagine its a hair less than that.

I doubt it's full to the rim. That's why you need to measure the water depth. The poolmath calculator needs an accurate volume to calculate accurate doses. You don't want to overdose something and then have to add something else to fix it. The constant see-saw is costly and inefficient and you'll end up no better off than listening to the pool store recommendations.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

Use pool math to calculate what to add, add it, wait 30 minutes, test it and see if you get what you expected. After a few cycles of doing this you will dial in what your pool volume is.