New Pool Owner Intro and Initial Questions

[MikeKolb]

Hi everyone! I'm a first time pool owner (really it's my significant other who owns the property and the pool but I'm trying to get as much info as possible for her and will likely be the one managing and maintaining the pool). Anyways, the pool is located in Bronson, MI which is South Central Michigan. As far as I know the pool is Fiberglass and I believe between 20K and 25K gallons (it's also inground). I am attaching a few pictures of the main equipment for your information.

Some brief history: Within the first couple of months of owning the pool we found out there was an underground leak which was a major pain in the butt as it was underneath the concrete patio that surrounds the pool. We found out it was because the local pool company failed to properly ensure all the lines were clear of water and so the line going to our waterslide pretty much exploded because it had frozen. That has now been fixed. We were told that I believe we have a sand filter and an automatic chlorine feeder. I also just ordered a 5-way pool water testing kit.

My questions are, does it look like we have a sand filter and an automatic chlorine feeder (if you can't tell, how can I tell?). Once I know the type of equipment I'm hopeful I can find some information on this site or in the forums as to how to maintain those items.

Thanks!

EDIT: Tried to upload the photos here but I apparently exceeded a quota. Photos can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/xgjKQ

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

Yes, that is a sand filter and a trichlor puck feeder.

More about sand filter maintenance here, Pool School - Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters

We aren't big fans of using trichlor pucks as primary chlorine source because they continuously add CYA. More here, Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool

The preferred way to add pics is to host them on a site like Photobucket, copy the IMG code and paste it in your thread. That way the pics are embedded in your thread and people can see them on the site without clicking to another site. Many users will not click out of the site to view pics, myself included.

Start reading some Pool School
Here, ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
And here, Pool School - Getting Started

And you can add your pool info to your sig as shown here, Pool School - Read This Before You Post