New Member - claifications

[papaOmoop101]

I read the pool school and chemical pages, but I am really trying to get all this right the first time. The last 10X10 pool we had became an algae nightmare because my daughter was balancing the chemicals. I bought my granddaughter a larger, 10X18 pool, and bought the CYA, muriatic acid, bleach, baking soda (I will get the Borax tomorrow), and I have a cheap test kit while I wait for the one I ordered.

The cyanuric acid I bought was packaged as a Ph lowering agent. this confuses me because if it is a stabilizer, and I have raised the Ph to the proper levels, wouldn't the CYA lower the Ph? This is my main concern.

From what I read this is what I understand - stepwise

1. Get the Ph level to the proper level
2. 30 minutes later, add CYA (confusing, as I said above)
3. 2-3 hours later, add bleach.


IS this right? If so, now I have to figure out how much.


Also, I am struggling with how much chemical to use in a new pool. The pool match page has not been working for me. Does it not work well on a tablet?

 

[chem geek]

Welcome to TFP!

It is unlikely that you will need the baking soda. Why did you get that? It sounds like you are referring to the older term BBB for Bleach Borax and Baking Soda and bought those, but you should instead buy only what you need. The Pool School gives that information.

More important than the other items is that you have chlorine in the pool. If you don't have any CYA in the water, then add CYA and yes it somewhat lowers the pH though not as much as a strong acid. If you have fresh water (i.e. newly filled the pool) then put the CYA into a sock to hang over a return flow or put it in a sock or T-shirt in the skimmer assuming there is some other suction flow in the pool (other skimmers or floor drains or a suction pipe below the skimmer). You can add the bleach while the CYA is dissolving -- it takes a while to dissolve.

You can use PoolMath to calculate dosages.

 

[papaOmoop101]

IThe baking soda was left over from old pool. I goofed on the cya. I went to lowes, saw it on the shelf,
then picked up the wrong bottle! Tomorrow I will get the cya. Thanks for your help.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

As you read and do it will get clearer. It is not as complicated as it seems at first and will become second nature quickly.

Here is the initial order of things
It is important to maintain PH between 7.2 and 7.8
It is important to add 30-50ppm of CYA right away
It is most important to keep your pool properly sanitized. This is accomplished by maintaining the target level of chlorine at all times and never letting it drop below the minimum for your CYA level and the Chlorine CYA Chart

Get one of the Recommended Test Kits, I use the TF100 from tftestkits.net.

Here are some of my fave Pool School articles in case you missed any of them.
TFPC for Beginners
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

Here are the Recommended Levels for your pool.
Here are the Recommended Pool Chemicals and how to add them.
Use PoolMath to figure out how much to add.
Here are some instructions on how to use Poolmath: Pool School - PoolMath