Hi from SOAZ!

Feb 26, 2017
4
Sierra Vista, AZ
Hello all!
Just bought a house with a pool an hour south of Tucson, AZ. I grew up with a pool as a kid in central Florida, and I remember having to take care of it back then, but I guess I'm viewing the memory through rose tinted glasses.

"Pool Chores" that I remember as a teen ~1990-2000:
Test Chlorine - Add a puck to the feeder if low
Test Ph - Add soda ash or muratic acid as needed
Empty the skimmer
Hose the filter monthly
Turn on the pump a few hours a day and throw the barracuda in the pool

Having been in my new house as an adult for 8 months, I now realize there was probably WAY more to it that my parents were handling in the background. SO glad I found this forum! I sort of messed up with this pool. When all the leaves fell from the massive tree over the pool this winter, I was pretty lazy getting them out. I mean MASSIVE amounts of leaves. So I let them sit, thinking I'll worry about it when it warms up. So basically, leaves + water + time... I made a giant vat of tea! Water was brown, couldn't even see the first step. Every time I put the net in, I pulled out insane amounts of leaves, never slowed down. I made the decision last week to get serious, drained the pool, pulled out 4 wheelbarrows full of leaves, scrubbed the pool with liquid chlorine and a push broom, and filled back up. Just finished refilling it last night. Also, my auto-filler valve apparently broke at some point during this, so I had to figure out a way at 2 in the morning to stop the flow before the pool overflowed, since there appears to be no shutoff. (Answer - Turned off the house water main, removed the valve, filled it with JBWeld WaterWeld, and put it back on as a "cap" until I could get to the pool store this morning for a new float valve) so I'm excited to get started with the TFP method! Ordered a Taylor K-2006 test kit, and we'll see what happens!

Next step - take a good look at my equipment, update my signature here, and wait for the test kit! So far, I know its ~15,000 gal IG, pebble finish with a spa, heated, sta-rite variable speed pump, sta-rite cartridge filter, pop-up cleaners and a Zodiac G3.

Thanks in advance for everyone here and what you all do!
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EDIT: Added photo of what it looked like before I messed up!
 
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