Help for beginners opening new to us pool

[mjnorman]

Hi all. We opened our pool this weekend, just finished topping off. I ordered a K2006 kit, but from the basic kit I know Chlorine is 0 and ph is a little below normal. I also am starting to see some floating algae in the pool. I added some algaecide the previous owners left us, should that resolve it or do I need to take a more aggressive approach? Also I am going to Walmart to pick up some liquid chlorine, how much should I start with to get up to semi-normal until my test kit arrives?

Also some equipment questions, hoping someone can help tell me what this is?


Also I noticed the pressure guage is rusted out, so I looked it up online and ordered the replacement parts, should I worry about this or is this common?


Lastly other than what I've learned here by reading the last couple days, I know nothing about pool maintenance. The owners left us this, do I need any of this?

 

[aboykin2269]

Welcome mj. For starters we would need to know the exact volume of your pool. You have 24" above ground in your signature. Assuming that's 24' round, your volume should be about 13500 gallons if it is 4' deep. Also, we need to know your source of Chlorine. You should really read up in pool school and pool Chemistry. Links in my signature.
Good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

Also,
If your free chlorine is at zero, you need to add at least a gallon of bleach depending on the bleach weight (6%, 8%, etc.). The pool math link in my signature can help you.

 

[mjnorman]

Thanks on the math for capacity. I had figured that out but forgot to update signature. I did read the ABC but will read up on it again. I will read up on the pool math also to figure out how much to add, thanks!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

WOW almost every chemical potion they bought is so totally opposite of what we promote.
FIrst- We discourage the routine use of algaecides and ones with copper all the more so!
Then you have the "Oxidizer" which isn't needed and will actually make accurate FC/CC testing harder to do.
Those 3" pucks will add unwanted ingredients (either CYA or Calcium). We prefer to add those individually and ONLY when needed, not as a by product.
Alkalinity Plus is just a very expensive way to buy Baking Soda. I swear, same stuff!

So.... until you get a handle on all this don't add ANYTHING else but liquid chlorine (aka household bleach). Order one of the test kits we recommend and come back with results and we'll help you figure it all out.

Addendum: ooops, just saw you have one of the test kits. Good start!

 

[triptyx]

The blue round shaped thing is a leaf "vacuum". Attach it to the end of your pole, hook up a running garden hose to it, and the water being put out through the little holes will create a venturi effect that will pull leaves up into the netting (sitting next to it in the photo). Attach the netting to the top of it and you can pull up leaves and debris off of your pool floor.

 

[mjnorman]

Thanks Yippee! I added the algaecide since I didn't have any bleach yet (OOPS), but will be picking up some jugs of bleach tonight. Can I go ahead and add bleach since I don't have my test kit yet or should I just wait to add anything until I actually have my kit? I have looked over the pool calculator. Do I need to input all of those stats or can I just say ok I know chlorine is 0 due to the basic kit I have so I know I have to add X bleach and cover the rest when I can actually test?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You can add bleach but nothing else! Especially nothing that contains COPPER!!!

Just FYI: Algaecide does not do squat to kill algae present, its more a preventative. And since we advocate proper chlorine sanitation you shouldn't need it anyway

 

[mjnorman]

Thanks! Now have to go to walmart and stock up on the bleach. I know I will have to SLAM since my chlorine is 0, but can I go ahead and add bleach to shock level even though I won't get my full test kit until Friday to know when to stop? I can test the FC but not the CC with the strips I have on hand.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You can, although without a proper CYA test how will you know how much a proper "SLAM level" is??

It may just be a waste of bleach if it isn't high enough.

If you don't keep the water at SLAM level the algae just laugh at you as they reproduce like bunnies quicker than they'd die from lower chlorine.

 

[mjnorman]

Luckily my test trips do have CYA which is somewhere between 20 and 40 depending on how you read the color--

fcl 0
alk 200
ph 7.2
cya 40

 

[mjnorman]

Actually I took the measurement again to be sure, and CYA is actually 0. Which I guess makes sense due to the fact that it was nearly empty when we filled it from the hose, maybe had 6" of water. So now my question is since I need to SLAM due to fcl being 0, do I first need to raise CYA with stabilizer in order to get to 30-40 to SLAM? I thought I read that algae eats CYA so this didn't make sense to me to do before the SLAM but them how do I get my shock level if my CYA is 0?