Hello World!

[CANNON BALL!]

Hi,

My name is Jon. I found this site a few months ago and I hope that this place is going to make my life easier.

I bought my home in 2010. The swimming pool and spa and beautiful patio and large oak trees were love at first sight for me. Ive never owned a pool, but I love the water! My hobbies favorite hobbies include boating, fishing and camping. I grew up spending as much time as possible at the neighborhood pool, and I was on my high school swim team for four years (class of '91).

The first few years, I had very little trouble keeping my pool sparkly and clean. The last two years, well family dynamics changed drastically, and I have had less time and desire to care for my pool as much as it needs. This year I completely lost control. Ive had a green monster since around September. I did my best to keep the leaves out though throughout fall. All of the leaves have fallen, so I am trying to get my pool back in order.

I leave my pool open year round. My patio setup with the spa waterfall, and pillars along one side of the pool make it very difficult to cover, and after trying that once I decided that it is just easier (and more attractive) to just run it all winter. I also want to keep the spa open all winter, so that in itself, sort of makes my decision to keep it open.

The pool is so bad right now, and I've already wasted so much money in chemicals to no avail, that I have begun draining in attempt to just start fresh. I spent the past weekend power washing the deck (sandstone) and after the last couple of feet of water are removed I am going to power wash the pool. Hopefully I will be able to start refilling tonight or tomorrow.

I understand that adding new water comes with its own trials, and that is why I am here. I want to get it right from the beginning, so I will probably start a thread of my own once I have read up on other peoples experiences and learn this boards structure and ettiquette.

Anyhoo, please be patient with me! This appears to be the right place for an eager learner!



Jon

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome Jon!

Do start a thread, and we will do our best to help you out.

Enjoy the forum!

 

[JVTrain]

It's hard to tell if you needed a full drain and refill but it certainly will allow you to have a fresh start, especially if you're power washing things down to get it clean. Go easy on the washer pressure on the pool bottom surface, depending on the condition of the pool.

Spend as much time as you can in Pool School, every article helps!

The most important question I have is: Do you have a recommended test kit? The TF-100 is the best investment you can make in your pool.

Welcome to TFP!

 

[CANNON BALL!]

It's hard to tell if you needed a full drain and refill but it certainly will allow you to have a fresh start, especially if you're power washing things down to get it clean. Go easy on the washer pressure on the pool bottom surface, depending on the condition of the pool.

Spend as much time as you can in Pool School, every article helps!

The most important question I have is: Do you have a recommended test kit? The TF-100 is the best investment you can make in your pool.

Welcome to TFP!

I will be ordering the TF-100 ASAP.

I have about 20 lbs of the granulated chlorine and maybe 10 lbs of tablets from Home Depot. I know that you guys recommend liquid bleach, but I need to use what I have right now...Christmas has me pretty tapped out. The amount of chlorine I typically use is astronomical, I cannot imagine how many gallons of Clorox I am going to need to supplant the 96% granules!!! The trunk of my car is not that large!

So, as I get started, should I fill the pool completely before adding chlorine, or start adding as I go? I should not have too much of a threat of algae for a few months since it is winter.

What steps can I take as I am filling in order to prevent cloudiness?

Thanks,

Jon

 

[JVTrain]

Like I said, you must start with educating yourself in Pool School. It's easy once you get into the process of managing your own pool, but it's up to you to learn what it takes. Start with Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry. Also, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals. Also familiarize yourself with Pool Math: Pool School - PoolMath

On the chemicals you have: The granulated chlorine is likely dichlor, but it may be cal-hypo. You must know exactly what it is before you know what to do with it. Each of those chemicals has a down side (if used without knowing how it will affect your pool). Dichlor will add FC and CYA, which for a fresh fill is a good thing, but continued use will lead to CYA levels that are too high. Cal-hypo will add FC and CH. This is fine if your CH is low for your pool but not so good if your CH is already high enough. How do you know if your CH is right? The easy answer is check the Pool School - Recommended Levels. The complicated and in-depth answer is it depends on your CSI which can be determined using Pool Math.

The tablets you have are likely Trichlor. These are very similar in chemical makeup and consequences to dichlor, although they won't raise your CYA quite so fast. For every 10 ppm FC you add using dichlor, you will add 9 ppm CYA. For every 10 FC you add using trichlor, you'll at 6 ppm CYA. Both trichlor and dichlor are also acidic, meaning they will lower your pH. When getting started with TFP methods, we often recommend not using these products because they change so many of your levels at once and if you're not certain on their consequences, it can lead to confusion. One of the most important relationships in managing your pool is the CYA/FC relationship necessary to maintain pool sanitation.

If you're concerned about volumes of bleach needed to chlorinate, it does get to be a lot of containers. For instance, in the summer I have a very similar sized pool to yours. I go through about 2-3 gallons of 12.5% liquid pool shock (aka bleach with a higher concentration of hypochlorite) per week. If you can get 12.5% for a good price, it saves on containers. You may also have a pool store that does refillable containers for a good price as well.

First you need to get an estimate of your pool volume, use the Estimating Pool Volume table at the bottom of the Pool Math page. (Notice the very helpful Effects of Adding Chemicals table just below that, which is great once you've input your pool's volume at the top of the Pool Math table). Then you can start balancing the water once you are able to run the pump (water level above the skimmer mouth openings by a couple inches).

It's a lot to take in, so check out the articles and ask questions!

 

[JVTrain]

Also, this article is helpful describing methods of chlorination and the advantages/disadvantages of each: Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[kimkats]

HI! I LOVE your name! Fits right in around here!

Too save money you are going to have to spend some on the test kit. PLEASE order it today. I DO understand being tapped out from Christmas (oh boy do I!) BUT this is the best way to save you money and time.

I would be adding a little bleach/chlorine as you fill the pool to keep it clear.

Let us know when your test kit gets there.

Kim

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum.

Is the pool drained?

Have you read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School?

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi Jon,
welcome to TFP. This right here is a lot of your problem.

I have about 20 lbs of the granulated chlorine and maybe 10 lbs of tablets from Home Depot.

Get the test kit and you will be on your way to a troublefree pool. This kit will be the best investment in your swimming pool that you can possibly make.
We'll follow up on specifics in your other thread.

 

[CANNON BALL!]

Welcome to the forum.

Is the pool drained?

Have you read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School?

No, it is not. It is taking much longer than expected. I used the pool pump to drain as much as possible and I bought a small, 3000 GPM to remove the last "little bit". That little bit has been going on 24 hours, and it will probably be another 24 before the water is all gone.

I did get inside and power wash all of the shallow end. And i filled the spa up and got the pump running again. I was scared that an unexpected freeze would come.

Yes I have read my ABCs! Not sure that I understand it all, but I've already learned a few things.

 

[duraleigh]

Draining gives you a new start but not a fresh start. The pool will quickly go back to how it has been unless you change your maintenance habits.

Keeping your pool clear begins and ends with chlorine. Testing for it and then keeping the right amouint in there is primary. There are other parameters for you to study by reading "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" more than once and then asking questions like, "What does it mean by this?"

Lot's of folks here eager to help you get your pool back to crystal clear.

 

[CANNON BALL!]

The drain is complete and the refill begins! Good grief that took longer than I expected. Thank goodness I have had good weather!!!

Man, that last bit of water was GROSS! I pressure washed while draining, so near the end I wound up with a small, ultra concentrated Swamp of neon green algae, sand/mud, acorns and other nasty stuff.

Any suggestions on chemical care as I fill? My main goal for this was to be able to use the spa on New Years Eve. The spa is full and circulating. I have one hose in the pool and a second hose in the spa overflowing into the pool.

I still have only my small HTH testing kit. What should I check for at this early stage of refilling?

 

[JVTrain]

At this stage, you can test your fill water to see what you're going to start out with for pH, TA and CH (there will be 0 or very near 0 FC/CC and 0 CYA). Post results for those, but you're going to have to wait for the TF-100 to arrive.

Update your forum signature with your pool details like a volume estimate, filtration type, pump size, etc. (it seems to have disappeared, maybe because of your posting method).

At this stage keeping just a little FC in the water while it's filling would help since the process is going to take a long time with two hoses running. How much to add is going to vary as the pool starts to fill. I would focus on learning what you can in pool school and making sure you have the proper chemicals on hand such as enough CYA/stabilizer for your pool volume to reach at least 30 ppm, muriatic acid for managing pH and a good supply of fresh bleach, probably a dozen gallons to start. It's difficult to give you any advice on chemical management without test results. As you're filling, it would likely be safe to SLOWLY add half a gallon of 8.25% bleach once the pool is half full and the rest once it's full. Keep in mind our recommendations for how to add bleach: Always in front of a return jet (in your case, in the path of the running water hose), very slowly and brush the pool completely after adding. Outside of that, you're flying blind without a recommended test kit. I would wait on adding CYA until you have pump circulation. The wrinkle here is the lag time on getting if full with a slow water source...

 

[Casey]

You'll need to upgrade your test kit in conjunction with Pool School if you want to take control of the pool.

Welcome to TFP.