When we rented this house, it came with a pool (not something we were looking for), but the house was cheap and the pool was crystal clear when we moved in. Not joking, the very next day it was cloudy and we've been fighting the beast ever since (last august). We were only left with 3 test kits and a lot of broken pool equipment. I gave up all hope in December since the pool heater which was supposed to be in working order was actually completely disconnected. Now we have a swamp complete with frogs and salamanders. I would love to be able to use this pool this summer, but I am POOR. I cannot waste time and money on this thing.
I talked to a pool tech today who was amazingly helpful, but he is having surgery and won't be available for a while-so he pointed me here.
First - here's my current levels = I started some chemical therapy before talking to him, so I may have wasted my time, but here goes:
FC - 2.5
TC - 5
pH - 8
TA - 90
I was told calcium didn't matter with vinyl pools
All three test kits were missing the CYA reagents
My questions are these -
1. I need a good vacuum to get huge chunks from the bottom of the pool (I plan on vacuuming to waste) -any suggestions?
2. Do test reagents go bad, and if not, can I just get some new CYA ones, or do I need to buy another whole kit?
3. My pool tech says to use Alum to make the algae sink to the bottom and then vacuum - do I need to kill it first or just brush? Any thoughts on Alum?
4. Once I vacuum all the big chunks, I was told to start the shock process - is there a link to describe exactly what that is-I keep reading snippets of it, but need the whole thing explained.
4. I have my doubts about this filter - landlord says the sand was changed last year, but vacuuming to filter just blows it right back into the return. He's lied before (like about the heater) and I need to know if the sand has turned to concrete and/or how to change it myself. Judging by the rusty bolts, it hasn't been taken apart in years.
All help is appreciated. Hope I am not being redundant.
elf
I talked to a pool tech today who was amazingly helpful, but he is having surgery and won't be available for a while-so he pointed me here.
First - here's my current levels = I started some chemical therapy before talking to him, so I may have wasted my time, but here goes:
FC - 2.5
TC - 5
pH - 8
TA - 90
I was told calcium didn't matter with vinyl pools
All three test kits were missing the CYA reagents
My questions are these -
1. I need a good vacuum to get huge chunks from the bottom of the pool (I plan on vacuuming to waste) -any suggestions?
2. Do test reagents go bad, and if not, can I just get some new CYA ones, or do I need to buy another whole kit?
3. My pool tech says to use Alum to make the algae sink to the bottom and then vacuum - do I need to kill it first or just brush? Any thoughts on Alum?
4. Once I vacuum all the big chunks, I was told to start the shock process - is there a link to describe exactly what that is-I keep reading snippets of it, but need the whole thing explained.
4. I have my doubts about this filter - landlord says the sand was changed last year, but vacuuming to filter just blows it right back into the return. He's lied before (like about the heater) and I need to know if the sand has turned to concrete and/or how to change it myself. Judging by the rusty bolts, it hasn't been taken apart in years.
All help is appreciated. Hope I am not being redundant.
elf