Intex Newbie with a few Questions update with test questions

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armywife1996

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LifeTime Supporter
Apr 30, 2009
51
Oklahoma
Hi! Brand new and clueless about pools. I have been lurking here for a long time now because my dream is to one day have an in-ground pool once we know for sure where we will set down our roots. We just bought a 24' Intex Ultra Frame and got it set up. We are filling it now. I went ahead and bought 6 lbs of dichlor and will be heading in to town in the morning to buy the BBB stuff and get the fill water tested (I ordered the test kit here and it's due for delivery on Thursday).

I'm so nervous. I've read pool school and many posts here. I'm hoping someone can help me out with my next steps. Pool school said that for the first 4 days I'm supposed to add dichlor but I am unsure how much to add each time and also how to add it... do I dissolve it first or just throw it in with the pump running and let it dissolve in the pool? Is there a better time of day to do this? And once the test kit gets here, when should I be testing and adding the BBB stuff? Like in the morning to make sure the water is good and balanced for swimming during the day or in the evening after the chlorine levels have burned off some? And after I add it, do I test again or wait til the next testing time?

Is there something else I should add to the pool prior to my test kit arriving Thursday and getting those numbers or will the pool be ok with the dichlor and the pump running about 8hrs a day? It's supposed to be in the lower 90s for the next few days and the pool sits in full sun during the day.

I'm so sorry for all the questions! Thanks.
 
Re: Intex Newbie with a few Questions

Welcome!

A big clue on where to begin will be the water test results (knowing full well that if a pool store is doing them, they could still be off). Someone with much more expertise will be along, but as a new 'tester' I would say test a few times the first day or two to get used to how to do it, but also to verify your results. I would also suggest checking your chemicals (adding when necessary) both morning and night to get the hang of that as well for the first week. Using the pool calculator, your pool will tell you exactly what it needs every day, and you will learn its routine needs fairly quickly.

As for too many questions, for a new pool owner, there is no such thing. Enjoy your pool and enjoy your summer!
 
Re: Intex Newbie with a few Questions

We usually suggest the Dichlor route for the smaller Intex pools - like 5,000 gallons or so but since you have it... you can use it up. Unless you can take it back and exchange it for actual CYA? By the time all six bags are gone you should have a CYA of about 30, and it will take at least 2 weeks to use it up...

I would suggest between 1/2 cup and 2/3 a cup of dichlor each evening (6 oz by weight) - pre dissolve it in a bucket of pool water and pour it into the return flow and leave the pump running. This will bump your FC about 2ppm each day which is the average amount most pools lose during the day. You may need to do this more than once - so I agree morning and night testing for awhile is a good idea....with no CYA in there the FC will dissappear pretty quick, which could mean a shorter time for when the Dichlor will be all gone.

Now with Intex pools remember that you should not swim with the pump running for elec safety reasons so plan accordingly - you always want the pump running for awhile after you have added chems.

In general we recommend you test and add chems in the evening - but sometime you should check more often and especially check and make sure the levels are in range if you plan to swim and aren't sure.

If you plan to use tablets, using the Dichlor until your CYA hits 30 is fine - if you plan to use bleach you will want your CYA closer to 50.

Remember that Dichlor lowers PH so just keep an eye on that.... post your test results when you get them.

Hope this helps :)
 
Re: Intex Newbie with a few Questions

armywife1996 said:
Hi! Brand new and clueless about pools. I have been lurking here for a long time now because my dream is to one day have an in-ground pool once we know for sure where we will set down our roots. We just bought a 24' Intex Ultra Frame and got it set up. We are filling it now. I went ahead and bought 6 lbs of dichlor and will be heading in to town in the morning to buy the BBB stuff and get the fill water tested (I ordered the test kit here and it's due for delivery on Thursday).

I'm so nervous. I've read pool school and many posts here. I'm hoping someone can help me out with my next steps. Pool school said that for the first 4 days I'm supposed to add dichlor but I am unsure how much to add each time and also how to add it... do I dissolve it first or just throw it in with the pump running and let it dissolve in the pool? Is there a better time of day to do this? And once the test kit gets here, when should I be testing and adding the BBB stuff? Like in the morning to make sure the water is good and balanced for swimming during the day or in the evening after the chlorine levels have burned off some? And after I add it, do I test again or wait til the next testing time?

Is there something else I should add to the pool prior to my test kit arriving Thursday and getting those numbers or will the pool be ok with the dichlor and the pump running about 8hrs a day? It's supposed to be in the lower 90s for the next few days and the pool sits in full sun during the day.

I'm so sorry for all the questions! Thanks.
Click to expand...

Welcome to TFP. First and foremost, thanks to you and your husband for serving our country!

Here's an excerpt from the "Beginner's Guide for Seasonal /Temporary Pools" article in Pool School:
"Let the pump circulate any chemicals added to adjust pH (30 minutes or so) and then add one ounce of dichlor for every 500 gallons of water. To add the dichlor, add it first to a bucket of pool water and let it dissolve, and then dump that into your pool. Let the pump run overnight. This dichlor addition will raise the chlorine level to about 8 (assuming no chlorine was added prior . . . if it was, the chlorine level will be a little higher, which is fine), and the CYA level to 8. "

So, for your pool (12,000 gallons, approximately), you'll add 24 oz of dichlor each time, dissolved in a bucket of pool water, each evening for 4 days, and then switch to bleach for your chlorinating method.

If you and your family want to jump in the pool now, you can always add some bleach to get your chlorine level up a bit. (in fact, probably wouldn't hurt to add some now anyway, with the heat like it is. I'd add one small jug now). Go ahead and start adding the dichlor tonight. You won't need your test kit to test, as the one ounce per 500 gallons of water was calculated to provide a certain amount of chlorine and stabilizer once you add it. Your Ph and TA will wait until you get your test kit.

Lots of folks on here like to do their testing and chemical additions in the evening. Don't do any testing of pH or chlorine until at least 30 minutes after you add the chemicals. Trust me, once you get your test kit you'll be a testing maniac for a few days until you get your water balanced and "learn" your water, i.e. figure out if your pH creeps up or down on you, and how often do you need to test to see how much it's crept, how much chlorine your pool typically consumes in a day, etc. Once you get that figured out, then you can adjust your testing as needed. Until you get your water balanced, I'd test chlorine and pH after you add your chlorine in the evenings.

Congrats on your new pool, and have a great summer!
 
Re: Intex Newbie with a few Questions

If you want to swim during the first few days, use smaller amounts of dichlor as described in my post. If you want to just build up the CYA Level quicker and don't plan to swim- it's okay to use the 24 ounces Mike recommended. But I wouldn't swim in the water after adding that much Dichlor at first - the FC level would be too high.
 
Re: Intex Newbie with a few Questions

OK, Thanks bunches everyone!

Thanks Mike for posting that tidbit from the pool school. I think that part didn't sink in totally but just enough to get me to wonder about dissolving. Funny how brains work (or don't, as my case may be! lol). [And thanks for your thanks--it's appreciated!]

I am so nervous about getting everything right, I am going to have tons of kids from the neighborhood here along with my own kid and I'm scared to death about having the balance right so everyone stays healthy as well as happy!

Here is my plan this morning. Since the pool is still filling I will wait until it's done, take the fill water sample, dissolve the dichlor and add it, leave the pump running to keep the water moving and then head into town to get it tested and pick up the BBB. Hope that works!

I don't really have a problem keeping the kiddo out of the pool until I get my testing kit and have things balanced. She will just have to deal! :) Mean Mommy! lol
 
Re: Intex Newbie with a few Questions

You're going to be fine. :) We were all nervous when we first got started, that's normal. Once you get the hang of it (and you will), you'll be surprised how easy it is to maintain your pool, and you'll have the peace of mind knowing that that your pool water is clean and sanitary for your little kiddo and her little friends. :goodjob:
 
Ok. I got my test and just now did the testing.
I came up with this:
FC 3.5 (7 drops)
CC .5 (1 drop)
TC would be 4ppm, right?

The pH came up to be just a slightly lighter shade of pink than 7.5.

I am having problems with the TA and CYA.

The TA didn't change... after 22 drops it was still green so I gave up. When I would drop the final drops in, the drop would turn red but then when I swirled the container it just disappeared into green. Did I screw something up?

And CYA, I could see the dot at the bottom the whole time, I'm assuming that means I have no CYA which isn't surprising to me as of yet.

So far what I have done is add (slowly) 24 oz of dichlor that I dissolved into a bucket of pool water (did this last night around 6 pm or so) and then this morning, since it was a hot one today and didn't know what time I'd get the kit and be able to test, around 7 am I (very slowly) put 182 oz of bleach into the pool. The pump has been running nonstop since last night just prior to me adding the dichlor.

Can someone help me out with my next step please?
 
Your TA level is probably fairly high, but you might have some static electricity on the dropper bottle that is affecting the result. Do the TA test again, and this time wipe the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth/tissue before you start and after every five drops. Continue up to at least 40 drops as long as it stays green. Once it starts changing to red, continue adding drops until the color doesn't change any further. The final drop, which didn't change the color any further doesn't count.

The dichlor will be adding CYA, not enough yet to register on the test, but going up.
 

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Thanks Jason. I don't think I ever would have thought the TA would be so high! LOL I thought for sure I was screwing something up!
Ok. 2 hours after dropping the 24 oz of dichlor I grabbed another sample and retested.

FC 12.5
CC .5
TC 13
TA 300
CH 200
pH 7.5
CYA can still see the dot but it's looking kinda cloudy--does that mean the dichlor is working?

Any recommendations?
 
The Dichlor will work - don't worry about testing for CYA, cuz it's in there...:) I would just test it once a week till you have reached the right level and the Dichlor is all gone.

I'd go back to adding smaller doses of Dichlor each evening - your FC is rather high. Let some of it burn off before you add bigger doses or just use smaller doses for more days... (does that make sense?)
 
Thanks FPM. So, since the husband is nagging me worse than the kid to get in the pool, I will start using the lower dosage of dichlor. 6 oz each night then should do it?
I'm a little confused about the CYA/chlorine thing. Since I have no CYA the way I'm reading it is that my FC level should actually be kept low?
Since the FC is so high right now, is there a certain number than I should wait for the FC to burn down to before I set the natives loose on the pool?
Should I be worrying about adjusting the TA or CH at this time or wait for the CYA to be built up first?

Thanks again. You guys are sanity savers!
 
CH is fine. TA is high but the only thing you need to monitor with regard to that is the PH. Everytime the PH drifts up to 7.8 (which it will cuz that's what the high TA will do, cause the PH to rise...) is lower the PH down to 7.2. The muratic acid additions to lower the PH will also lower the TA. Eventually your TA should come down into range eventually. :)

Yes, 6 oz of Dichlor should do it. Don't add any until tonight...You should see your FC level drop significantly today, probably by half. It would probably be okay to let them swim if the FC is less than 4, which would be your "shock level" at this point since your CYA is around 7-14 after the Dichlor additions - it would likely only cause their suits to fade faster, etc. if there is skin concerns just have them shower after.

As your CYA rises, so does the "safe" level of chlorine. We consider anything up to shock level safe for swimming. If you look at the CYA chart - you'll see what I mean, the higher the CYA the higher the FC levels need to be. So while 4 maybe the max now, in a few weeks that's going to be your "ideal"...:)
 
I retested again for practice this morning (12 hours after adding the dichlor last night) and the FC was still at 12 and the pH was up to 7.8 .
We are heading in to town to pick up the MA to keep that in check. Using the calculator I came up with adding 86 oz of MA to bring the pH down to 7.2. That sounds like a lot. Did I calculate that right? Should I add it in smaller doses or just go ahead and throw it all in at once?
 
And remember that since your fill water has high TA, every time you add much water to the pool that TA will drift upwards. Lots of kids, lots of heat, no rain, means you will be adding water and using Muriatic Acid (MA) to keep it balanced.

Be safe when adding MA. Hold your breath and try to stay upwind -- the fumes are horrible and can make you choke. You ought to have eye protection, sunglasses or Rx glasses are OK. I have a large 4 cup plastic measure that I use for pool chemicals. Pour the MA carefully after fully removing the interior seal, lower the measuring cup into the water to minimize splash, then slowly pour it in near a pool return so that it gets disbursed around the pool rapidly. Pay attention to where you store it. Not near chlorine sources. Not near metal stuff, it can eat through metal over time. Not where kids or weed wacker line might hit it.
 
Thanks for information. Things have been going pretty well so far. I'm getting the hang of testing and understanding what I need to do to keep my levels all balanced. This forum is a lifesaver!

And boy oh boy is that MA foul! LOL Have to practice holding by breath longer!
 
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