First time with newly opened pool

[Deb04]

We had our pool installed last summer, so this is the first time we are dealing with a newly opened pool. I think it is going reasonably well, water is clear and is moving in the right direction on the chemicals. But I'm not sure that I've done everything right.

I need new re-agents, which I have ordered from TFTest, so I'm relying on pool store test results right now for everything but salt level. This is what I have:

Total Chlorine 0.8
Free Chlorine 0.7
pH 7.6
Hardness 90
Alkalinity 21
CYA 30
Salt 2080

I added 120 lbs of salt (which, thanks to this site, I bought at Home Depot for $5 for 40 lbs instead of at the pool store for $25) and now the salt is 3130. I still have a little more to do because the SWG manual says it should be 3400.

I added 16 lbs of baking soda (again, thanks to this site, I bought at grocery store for 50 cents/lb instead of at the pool store for $2/lb.) I'm thinking I may need to add more, but I'm going to wait until the reagents arrive so that I can test first.

I've bought some tri-chlor tablets to try to get the CYA up. I just put one in the skimmer an hour ago and turned off the SWG since I figure I don't need the SWG generating chlorine when the I've got the tablet in there. I dropped it in the basket and then realized that maybe it's supposed to be UNDER the basket since the basket needs to be emptied every day right now with trees dropping their seeds.

I also bought some "shock and swim" for the CH. Should I wait for the tablet to dissolve before I put that in our should I put that in now?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give on my questions and whether or not I'm on the right track.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Take the tablet out. You should never put tablets in the skimmer, they are acidic and will lower the PH in the skimmer, causing the parts to become brittle and break easy. Also if they sit there with the pump off, the acidic water can travel into the pump and wreak havoc on the pump/filter parts, heaters too.

The tablets won't build the CYA up fast enough to benefit you. You are better off buying a jug from Walmart - they sell a 3-4 lb cannister of CYA for about $13. Then you can use the SWG, it's much better than using tabs anyway.

Lastly, your CH is fine, you have a vinyl liner. No need to increase the CH.

Keep the FC up using liquid chlorine a.k.a. bleach, and target your level according to the CYA chart. Once you have the CYA in range and turn on the SWG - you will use the SWG section of the chart for your recommended level of FC.

Other than that, assuming those numbers are accurate, you are on the right track.

 

[Deb04]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm a little confused because the instructions say to put the tablet in the skimmer. The pump is not off, just the SWG is off. If I were to use the tablets, would I need one of those floater things?

What do I do with the tablet? My understanding is that wet chlorine is a difficult thing to deal with.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Yes, a floater or an inline chlorinator is better for using tabs. Unfortunately there are still alot of bad "standard" advice out there, putting pucks in the skimmer being one of them.

Does your pump ever shut off or does it run 24/7? When the pump is off is when the tab in the skimmer is a problem, as many pumps run on timers and left in the skimmer the water locally becomes very acidic.

You can toss the tablet in the garbage, or set it on a piece of plastic or something so it can dry out.

 

[Casey]

Liquid chlorine isn't that much harder in my humble opinion. Other's may have a different view <I doubt it > but I feel like you get maximum bang out of it instead of waiting a week for *a* puck to dissolve and by then, it's too late. Those pucks are so slooooow plus they drive the pH down over time which leads to other problems.

What you do is dribble the bleach in <pencil thick> over the return and you're done til the next addition, which would be the next day or every other day depending on the chlorine demand. It's simple and to the point. No waiting. 5 minutes a day. 8)

 

[JasonLion]

Casey, remember that Deb04 has a SWG.

I agree with frustratedpoolmom, trichlor is too slow. Get some CYA/stabilizer/conditioner and get the CYA level up to between 70 and 80 so the SWG can work well.

 

[Deb04]

Right now the pump is running 24 hours/day because the pool was just opened.

I bought these because I couldn't find any form of CYA other than these at WalMart or BJ's Warehouse. Where would I buy CYA/stabilizer/conditioner? Pool store?

Thanks.

 

[JasonLion]

There are various big box stores that might have CYA in their pool departments, Home Depot and Lowes are two that you didn't mention. Any pool store will have it.

 

[SMWill42]

Wal-Mart sells cya as stabilizer. It is a 3lb jug. It is by aquachem.

Susan

 

[Casey]

Casey, remember that Deb04 has a SWG.

DOH!