Need some help with brand new 18' AG round pool

[KathleenVirginia]

Im brand new to this pool thing and need some help. I got this pool from a friend andam rather clueless!! The pool is AG 18' X 48" and came with a cheap pump (1500 GPH) which doesnt seem to be working properly. The water has been in since Saturday (three days ago) and is still very clear and clean. The only thing I have done to date is add 1/2 bag of shock Sunday night and run the filter about 12 hours each day. I've decided to go with a salt water chlorinator and have ordered one online as well as a new pump 4000 GPH. My concern is that these items wont be in for about a week. Should I be doing anything else with this pool? I have test strips and It appears my total Chlorine is a 1, Free Chlorine is .5 - 1.0, Total Alkalinity 80, pH 7.8, and total hardness is 250.

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Welcome to TFP!

Another investment you need to make is a good test kit. We recommend the TF100 linked in my sig, or the Taylor K-2006, available online. The TF100 is a better value, and has really fast shipping!

Test strips are woefully inaccurate!

Please read Pool school, especially BBB for Beginners. You will need to be adding some liquid chlorine or bleach each day until your SWG comes in. Also take a little time to familiarize yourself with Jason's calculator.

It is a lot of information to digest, but it really will get easier, I promise!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Im brand new to this pool thing and need some help. I got this pool from a friend andam rather clueless!! The pool is AG 18' X 48" and came with a cheap pump (1500 GPH) which doesnt seem to be working properly. The water has been in since Saturday (three days ago) and is still very clear and clean. The only thing I have done to date is add 1/2 bag of shock Sunday night and run the filter about 12 hours each day. I've decided to go with a salt water chlorinator and have ordered one online as well as a new pump 4000 GPH. My concern is that these items wont be in for about a week. Should I be doing anything else with this pool? I have test strips and It appears my total Chlorine is a 1, Free Chlorine is .5 - 1.0, Total Alkalinity 80, pH 7.8, and total hardness is 250.

Thanks for the help!!!

I gather from reading your post you have an intex metal frame pool. According to their website, your pool size in gallons is about 6,500 gallons.

You don't want the regular water test strips they are very unreliable-inaccurate.

I agree, order the TF100, and order the salt test strips too, to save on shipping. If you are going with the SWG you'll need the salt test strips to maintain your salt levels. Unlike regular strips, the Aquachek salt test strips are very accurate.

What was in the bag of shock? Calcium-hypochlorite or something else?

You need to get a few jugs of bleach and something called CYA or "stabilizer". Wal-mart sells the HTH brand in a 4 lb cannister for around $15. This CYA will protect your FC from destruction by the sun. You can use the bleach until the SWG arrives and you add your salt.

In the meantime, learn how to use the Pool Calculator, and add 2 lbs of CYA to a sock, hang it in front of your return flow while the pump is running so it can dissolve.

The Pool Calculator will help you determine how much bleach to add each night. You don't want your FC to drop below 2, so get some bleach in there, pronto!

 

[KathleenVirginia]

Thanks very much for the advice. Im ordering the test kits recommended. the shock I put in was sodium dichloro triazinetrone....which from reading the abbr. is not what i want since I have a filter pump at the present time. How much bleach should I add? Im still familiarizing myself with the calulator and since I really dont have an accurate reading of "present"...its hard for me to know how much to add. :?

Kathleen

 

[MikeInTN]

Go ahead and use FC=1 as your present, FC=3 as your goal, and CYA=0 as your present, and that should give you the amount you need. Make sure you also put in the pool volume at the top in gallons.

-or-

as Dave aka duraleigh often suggests, just add a small jug of clorox every evening until you get your CYA in and dissolving, and then use the pool calculator to start adding the right amount of bleach for your target CYA value.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Thanks very much for the advice. Im ordering the test kits recommended. the shock I put in was sodium dichloro triazinetrone....which from reading the abbr. is not what i want since I have a filter pump at the present time. How much bleach should I add? Im still familiarizing myself with the calulator and since I really dont have an accurate reading of "present"...its hard for me to know how much to add. :?

Kathleen

That's Dichlor, and the one time use didn't hurt anything, you just added a little chlorine and a small amount of CYA. Not enough to even register on a test.