I have had both aquariums and pools and trust me, pools are easier. But just cast your mind back to when your got your first aquarium and the learning curve you went through. In my case I still feel guilty about some neon tetras but thats another story.....
Chemical basic's are easy for a pool:
I test FC/CC daily, CYA monthly and everything else once a week
Ph between 7.2 and 7.8 at all times, best for equipment and people health. High TA over 80ish or aeration will drive ph up, acid lowers ph and TA
CYA is sunscreen for your pool's chlorine. A little is good and stops loss of FC. Too much and you have to use insane amounts of chlorine.
Chlorine kills all baddies (bacteria, pathogens, virus's, algae) in your water. We use a set ratio of chlorine to CYA (approx 7-10% of CYA) and have a handy dandy chart for this. Chlorine gets used up daily so add your chlorine for your target, aiming never to drop below minimum. I test and dose in the evening and if I hit my minimum I add an extra 1ppm for the next day http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
Chlorine comes in three forms, liquid (chlorine, water and trace salt, bleach or liquid pool chlorine) solid cal hypo (chlorine and calcium) and other pucks/powders (chlorine and CYA) We tend to use liquid to avoid buildup of CYA or calcium over time, which can only be lowered with a drain refill
Used Chlorine is CC's, burnt off by UV exposure or FC
CH is not really relevant in a vinyl pool, but good to maintain to protect heater
Read some basics up in pool school (top of page) and you will have it all down in no time
Personally I think this is a great start http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/116-handy-reference-material
Oh and Hi and welcome to the site
Chemical basic's are easy for a pool:
I test FC/CC daily, CYA monthly and everything else once a week
Ph between 7.2 and 7.8 at all times, best for equipment and people health. High TA over 80ish or aeration will drive ph up, acid lowers ph and TA
CYA is sunscreen for your pool's chlorine. A little is good and stops loss of FC. Too much and you have to use insane amounts of chlorine.
Chlorine kills all baddies (bacteria, pathogens, virus's, algae) in your water. We use a set ratio of chlorine to CYA (approx 7-10% of CYA) and have a handy dandy chart for this. Chlorine gets used up daily so add your chlorine for your target, aiming never to drop below minimum. I test and dose in the evening and if I hit my minimum I add an extra 1ppm for the next day http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
Chlorine comes in three forms, liquid (chlorine, water and trace salt, bleach or liquid pool chlorine) solid cal hypo (chlorine and calcium) and other pucks/powders (chlorine and CYA) We tend to use liquid to avoid buildup of CYA or calcium over time, which can only be lowered with a drain refill
Used Chlorine is CC's, burnt off by UV exposure or FC
CH is not really relevant in a vinyl pool, but good to maintain to protect heater
Read some basics up in pool school (top of page) and you will have it all down in no time
Personally I think this is a great start http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/116-handy-reference-material
Oh and Hi and welcome to the site