I have a new above ground pool that I put together today and now I am in the process of filling it with water. My question is should I start out with a slam or just test the water and add what it needs.
New Above Ground Pool
- Thread starter ddmckmle
- Start date
If you are filling with fresh, clean water you won't need to SLAM. Just test and add what's needed with priority on the chlorine. Get some CYA dissolving via the sock method and some chlorine in there as soon as you can to prevent anything from growing.
By the way, Go Cougars
By the way, Go Cougars
Excellent time to know the chemistry of your "fill" water BEFORE you make any additions too.
I tested my water last night with the results
FC - 0
PH - 7.8
TA - 100
CH - 100
CYA - 0
I added 41oz of 10% liquid chlorine
this morning I checked my FC level and it showed no FC, is it because my CYA is 0, because I have to wait until the middle of next week, I then realized the my R-870 and R-871 exp 6-19. I do have my pool cover on.
What to do?
FC - 0
PH - 7.8
TA - 100
CH - 100
CYA - 0
I added 41oz of 10% liquid chlorine
this morning I checked my FC level and it showed no FC, is it because my CYA is 0, because I have to wait until the middle of next week, I then realized the my R-870 and R-871 exp 6-19. I do have my pool cover on.
What to do?
You don't have any CYA in the water so it will burn off VERY quickly. Get some CYA from the hardware store (Lowe's, Ace, Home Depot) or Wal-Mart and put it a sock and place it in front of a return with the pump running until it dissolves out of the sock. You want enough to get you to a CYA of about 40 or 50 in Texas because the summer sun is gonna eat the chlorine up quick. Do the math using Pool Math here: PoolMath or install the Pool Math app on your phone.
You can alternatively use dichlor (sold in bags at Lowe's and Wal-Mart as Clorox Vinyl Pool Shock) and gradually add CYA but be careful not to use too much. Use 1/2 lb of dichlor shock (1/2 bag) per day for about 10 days. This will give you chlorine AND raise your CYA very quickly (make sure to stop after 10 days and switch to liquid chlorine).
You will need to watch your pH and make sure it doesn't crash because you will be adding acid technically. With a total alkalinity of 100 you should be safe but make sure pH does not go below 7
It would also be a good idea to go ahead and order some additional reagents as yours are expiring this month.
You can alternatively use dichlor (sold in bags at Lowe's and Wal-Mart as Clorox Vinyl Pool Shock) and gradually add CYA but be careful not to use too much. Use 1/2 lb of dichlor shock (1/2 bag) per day for about 10 days. This will give you chlorine AND raise your CYA very quickly (make sure to stop after 10 days and switch to liquid chlorine).
You will need to watch your pH and make sure it doesn't crash because you will be adding acid technically. With a total alkalinity of 100 you should be safe but make sure pH does not go below 7
It would also be a good idea to go ahead and order some additional reagents as yours are expiring this month.
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I have a question, I bought some Clorox Pool&SPA Chlorine Stabilizer it says: Apply directly to water, broadcast into the deep end, brush undissolved product do not allow product to sit on the bottom of the pool. swimming my resume 15 minutes after application. Should I do it the way the product manufacture says to do.
Granular CYA takes a while to fully dissolve in the water, which is why we use the "sock" method. Load CYA into an old sock, hang in front of return jet, that way it will not lay on the bottom of your pool. If you want to speed the process up squeeze the sock frequently.
The fastest way to dissolve granular is to put it in a sock, jump in the pool and walk around squeezing the sock.
The fastest way to dissolve granular is to put it in a sock, jump in the pool and walk around squeezing the sock.
do you have to wait until the Granular CYA all dissolves before we can resume swimming?
If you use the sock method, you can resume swimming immediately.
Finally got my CYA up to 50 and added 42oz of 10% liquid chlorine will raise FC 5 and it should stay there with the sun out and hot today/.
If your CYA is now 50, your target chlorine level is 6-8.
Check daily and increase to 8....
A chlorine level of 5 is too low... with 5 you will drop during the day down to 1 or 0... and allow algae to grow...
Check daily and increase to 8....
A chlorine level of 5 is too low... with 5 you will drop during the day down to 1 or 0... and allow algae to grow...
Tell me why I should us 10% liquid chlorine and not the 3" chlorine Tabs. With the liquid chlorine I use more than I would if I used 3' chlorine tabs
Because the 3" tablets have cyanuric acid. Eventually, the cyanuric acid from the tablets will accumulate in your pool which will require you to drain it.
If you are on water restrictions, city charges a lot for water (or you are on a tight budget), or use a well for water... this can become a problem.
If you have cheap water and don't mind dumping and refilling the pool every so often... then you can use the tabs.
If you actually do the math, with the markup on the chlorine tabs along with the fact that you are going to spend money redoing all your chemicals (because when you drain for high CYA you lose everything else in the water and have to start from fresh...).... liquid chlorine is WAY cheaper.
Liquid chlorine only adds salt to your pool (so do tablets). But it does NOT add cyanuric acid unlike the tablets.
If you are on water restrictions, city charges a lot for water (or you are on a tight budget), or use a well for water... this can become a problem.
If you have cheap water and don't mind dumping and refilling the pool every so often... then you can use the tabs.
If you actually do the math, with the markup on the chlorine tabs along with the fact that you are going to spend money redoing all your chemicals (because when you drain for high CYA you lose everything else in the water and have to start from fresh...).... liquid chlorine is WAY cheaper.
Liquid chlorine only adds salt to your pool (so do tablets). But it does NOT add cyanuric acid unlike the tablets.
Don't get me wrong, cyanuric acid (conditioner, stabilizer... same thing) is not to be avoided at all costs. You need 30-50ppm to keep the sun from burning off your chlorine. But once you get to 50... you don't want to keep adding because it will get to the point where your pool turns green and you are forced to drain because of high cyanuric acid. That's why we keep things simple and add a known amount of cyanuric acid to the pool, and then just use liquid chlorine from there to keep it from rising. You will notice that your cyanuric acid will drop a few parts per million per month, so you may want to throw a tab in a floater every other month to add back what's lost, but you definitely do not want to overload your pool with cyanuric acid from the tablets.
Thanks for the info, I am going to keep using Liquid chlorine. I will keep an eye on the cyanuric acid to keep it at 4 ppm, right now it's at 5 ppm. I am going to buy my liquid chlorine once a month so I will need buy 4 boxes and hope that will not expire before I use it during the month.
Can you clarify... you said you are keeping your cyanuric acid level at what? You said 4 or 5? Do you mean 40 or 50?
You can buy liquid chlorine a month in advance. I buy a few months worth in advance. The only concern is storage. Make sure to store it somewhere cool and away from the sun's rays and heat, as these factors will cause your liquid chlorine to degrade significantly. However, if stored properly it should be fine and won't "expire" or "weaken" much over a month or two.
You will need about 1/4 of a gallon per day for your pool. If you want to buy 1 month in advance, that would be about 8 gallons per month more or less.
You can buy liquid chlorine a month in advance. I buy a few months worth in advance. The only concern is storage. Make sure to store it somewhere cool and away from the sun's rays and heat, as these factors will cause your liquid chlorine to degrade significantly. However, if stored properly it should be fine and won't "expire" or "weaken" much over a month or two.
You will need about 1/4 of a gallon per day for your pool. If you want to buy 1 month in advance, that would be about 8 gallons per month more or less.
Just remember that your free chlorine level should approximate the values shown in this table (based on current cyanuric acid level): FC/CYA Levels
For 40ppm, target a free chlorine of 7. For 50ppm, target a free chlorien of 8. Try to never let your chlorine fall below the minimum (3 or 4) and you won't have any issues with your water.
For 40ppm, target a free chlorine of 7. For 50ppm, target a free chlorien of 8. Try to never let your chlorine fall below the minimum (3 or 4) and you won't have any issues with your water.
So you saying 50 ppm is ok just keep FC at 8 but don't let it drop below 3 or 4?
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