Brand new

Jump to latest Follow Reply
K

kittenwahoo

0
Jul 23, 2015
8
CityNEWARK
Ok, wanted to say hello. Long time listener, first time caller :rolleyes: :handwave: Ive never had a pool before and wanted to get one last year and that's how I found your forum.. Reading over the forum I decided against a pool at that time because we had a lot of other projects going.. WELL here its is end of july and i decided to buy my kids a small one to swim in for a month and see if we like it... It tokk me and the hubs 5 days to level the ground and I think we got it and Im getting ready to add water. I got a cheepo 5 way test kit at wallyworld for now and next year will get the caddy if we stay in the pool game.. They had the tester on clearance for really chap and it was right there in my hands so I couldn't pass it up. ANY WAY. Where do I start??? Not sure how to make a signature But i have A

Intex 12x30 a little under 1500 gal easy set pool and basic filter it comes with.. Thanks and glad I found you
 
honestly for your size pool and the fact its only going to be setup for a month...I would go with a floating dispenser and get some chlorine tabs and enjoy the pool. test for chlorine and try to keep it around 1-2ppm at first, once you go thru a few tabs and have CYA (stabilizer) in the pool, aim for 2-3. if you enjoy your pool this next month, re-post this winter and get setup with one of the recommended test kits and get geared up for next summer
 
Welcome,

You're starting the way we did, though we didn't find this site until after we had the pool. Once we did find this site we've never had another problem we couldn't handle with help from here. And never a problem with the water. Finding how easy it is to care for a pool convinced us to upgrade.
 
Thanks... I have not put anything in the pool yet except let my kids jump in and test it out LOL and no I haven't bought any chems yet.. and had to take the test kit back because it was missing parts (guess thats why it was so cheap) now waiting for hubs to get home so I can go and get some strips for this year. Ill look over the beginers guide and see what else I should get. Im in OHIO so it will be winter before I know it lol
 
Don't use strips they're worthless, the 5-way or 6-way can work and I manged mine the first year with it. Enough to convince me to get the best kit the next year with the upgraded pool. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/155-guide-for-seasonal-temporary-pools shows how to work with the smaller size pool you have. The test kit they're talking about uses a drop based system for Chlorine and PH. It is what I use on my large pool on a daily basis, then the larger part of the TF-100 once a week/month depending of the test I'm doing.
 
Ok I still have not gotten anything for the pool and don't want it growing green stuff. My bro is in town from the Navy and I havent seen him for a year so this weekend will be busy.. Can I toss some bleach into it to keep it clean till i get some chlorine tabs
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Just now getting started on this... How much CYA do I add if I want to just use bleach and no other chems... The pool store in my area is closed and the big box store only had giant jugs of tabs.. Is it posible to do this pool with just bleach and cya??? I purchased granular cya and on the chart it says about 7 oz of that and if I convert that its 14 tsp is my math correct I think there is about 1300 gallons in the pool atm and want to be on the low side of the estimate instead of too much chemicals... Thansk you giys and Had a great time with my brother btw
 
Wow....you've gone two weeks with no chlorine? Is your pool still clear? I assume you are just going to drain and refill or are you trying to use the 2 week old water?

If it's clear and has no algae growth, add about 5.5 oz of granular CYA and 8 oz of 8.25% bleach. After you add the bleach, wait an hour and re-test. If you still have 0 FC, add 8 oz again. Test again in an hour. If you still have 0, then you have algae likely.
 
Since you're just now starting things, I would suggest the following:
- Poolmath calculator shows 8 ounces of granular stabilizer to go from a CYA of zero to 40 (use the sock method to soak and disperse)
- About 8.9 ounces of bleach should get you to an FC level of 4 ppm
- 30 minutes after the bleach has mixed real well, test PH and adjust up/down to the mid-7s. Again, use the Poolmath calculator

As always, for a pool your size, it is important to refer to the Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools for some additional great info on daily maintenance and what to do if your water gets cloudy.

Hope this helps! Enjoy!
 
If it's cloudy, a good chance you have an algae bloom. Without testing each day, anytime that your FC dropped below 2ppm (with no CYA), there was an opportunity for algae to grow. With the sun burning off FC rapidly with no CYA there's a good chance that happened.

And for clarification, Texas's numbers and mine are different due to I was suggesting 30 CYA and 5 ppm of FC, instead of 40 CYA and 4 ppm. I tend to shoot for higher FC initially since your CYA will still be dissolving.
 
Ok well I put some cya in a sock and havent yet stuck it in the FC is 0 and it does look like there may be some algae. It was on the bottom under the sides of the bladder. I used a cloth and wiped down the pool and added bleach I also cleaned the filter.. Im going to see if it looks better in a few hours. It looked gross when I was wiping it down. Thanks for all the help
 
A quick thought .... "IF" you end-up draining, or think you might, you might want to remove that sock with stabilizer so you don't waste it. Just a thought. Depends on what you chose to do. I believe the seasonal pool guide recommends draining since it's not too much water, but you may chose to let it go. I just didn't want you to waste product or money. :)
 
I put the sock in and squeezed it a bit and then hung it next to the return.. As for ch lvl is now at 4. Was the gunk on the sides just gunk and not algae. Id like to drain it and start over BUT I also want to figure this out for future use. Kind of a learning bump. I may drain it I may not.. Right now I just have the 3 way tester and think I need a better one for more learning.
 
That's the thing about smaller pools. Sometimes it's easier to just drain, clean, and start over. You can watch it for a bit and see what happens, but if the cloudiness gets worse, or you start to feel slime on the walls/floor, that's algae.
For your pool, just the basics:
1 - CYA at about 40 to protect your free chlorine (bleach)
2 - FC (regular bleach) maintained at 4 ppm for sanitizing
3 - PH between 7.2-7.8 for skin/eye comfort

If things get way out of whack, refer to the Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools page or simply start over. Keep it easy for you. :)
 
What do I add if my ph is really low, which it is its yellow and not registering as a number on my test.. Ive been reading Pool school for beginners and getting to know the BBB method, Borax is used or should i just go and get ph plus from the store... The water is looking better but i think I need a vacuum lol Lots of floaties on the bottom, but its not green :)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply