Good Morning TFP! Today is the day.

Jul 6, 2017
38
South Florida
I filled my Intex 14x42 last night with city water. This morning the pool was filled to the water line. I turn on the sand filter and is working properly in the green range for the pressure. What step you I take next?

1. Test water with my tf-100
2. I got three bags of Morton salt (Blue bag)
3. I bought a bottle of Chlorine stabilizer (CYA?)
4. I got three Wally Clorox bottle ( Non scented)

Will this be a good order to start?
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Do a baseline test of your water of everything but CYA
Add 2 cups bleach now.
Put enough CYA to get to 40 ppm in a sock and hang in front of the return. Do not let it rest on the side of the vinyl liner.
Maintain the pool with bleach for a few days before adding your salt.

Be sure to leave your SWCG off for at least a day after adding your salt.

Good luck!
 
Let it circulate a while to mix well. While that's happening, you can mess around with the CYA granules and the sock and get that going. You know there won't be any CYA in the tap water, so you can safely enter zero in the now column of poolmath. Target 70, since you'll be switching to the SWG soon enough.

Then you can add -- no need to wait -- enough bleach to get to 3 FC. Whatever FC was in the tap water will be gone in an hour with no CYA, so you can assume zero there too.

Then test pH, TA, CH. If CH is high, there isn't much you can do about it. Draining and refilling won't help since it'll just be more of the same. But knowing what it is will help you target pH and TA ranges in the future. Low CH is no problem with a vinyl pool.

If you're uncertain what to do about the pH and TA, post the results and someone will be along to advise.

Once the pH is in range, it's safe to get in.

Maintain the FC daily for the CYA level. If it looks like half the sock is undissolved, figure you have half the target, and use that value and the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]chart. Remember, it's a bleach pool at the moment, so use that value. As an aside, it won't be unexpected to find all the FC gone in a day. It doesn't mean anything's wrong, just that the CYA hasn't gotten to work yet. Don't panic.

Any time in there once the pool is swimmable and you're sure there's no leaks and the pump and filter are working, you can add the salt. It's fun to pour it in and let the kids play with it.

When the salt and the CYA are both dissolved for a full 24 hours, you can turn on the SWG to maintain the FC.
 
Finally testing with TF-100. From my initial reading i think I am at

FC: 5-10
PH: between 7.8- 8.2 ( More leaning to the 8.2)IMG_7505.jpg

I am about to add 40ppm of the stabilizer. I hope I know what I am doing. I can't fail!!!

My sons want to swim!!!!
 
Use the FAS-DPD test for FC.

You need to add muriatic acid to lower your pH. Use 8.2 as now and 7.5 as target. Add what pool math says, mix it in for 30 minutes, test pH again, and repeat until you get to 7.5

Best not to swim until you get the pH lowered. Will irritate their eyes and skin.

Also - how much bleach did you add?
 

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Once the water is good from a FC and pH standpoint, send the kids in the pool to squeeze that sock!
 
You can run the filter when you are swimming. Only need to run it 30 minutes when you add chemicals and then enough to clean the pool.

In my Post #2 I said to wait a couple days until you add the salt. But if you think you have everything under control add it tomorrow. Needs to circulate a day before you turn on the SWCG.

Maintain your FC based on the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] chart.
 
Thank you all for your advise. I just did another test after adding 2 more cups of Chlorine.

FC: 3x0.5= 1.5
CC: 1x0.5= 0.5

The pump has been running on since 8 am this morning. Should I leave it running all day for 24 hrs for the initial water filled.
 
I just added two more cups of bleach. Any idea when to drop in the salt. Also, based on my results is it safe to swim in?

People say not to run the filter while you are in the water? Should it be turn off?
As I posted earlier...

Any time in there once the pool is swimmable and you're sure there's no leaks and the pump and filter are working, you can add the salt. It's fun to pour it in and let the kids play with it.

When the salt and the CYA are both dissolved for a full 24 hours, you can turn on the SWG to maintain the FC.​
Swimmable means FC above minimum -- it is -- pH between 7.2 and 7.8 -- it is -- and you can see to the bottom --- better be able to on a fresh fill.

What;s the hold up? Throw some kids and salt in. Just don;t let them get too rough with the CYA sock. You don;t want it to bust open and spill all over.
 
I see you are in South Florida and are using a SWG. If the temps are similar to S. Texas (95+ deg.), don't be afraid to keep the chlorine levels @ 8 or more (in my opinion). I have to run my SWG for 8 hours a day in this mid-summer heat to keep up with this brutal sun.

Also ensure that the CYA is between 70 and 80 as any less or more you will have problems with Algae. I still get a little dusting of algae sometimes on one wall of my pool (current dead zone between the return and intakes) if no one goes in the pool for a week and I get lazy with the brush.

Nice setup BTW :)
 

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