Calcium question

[poolnoob]

Hi guys,

Im opening the pool for the first time did the water test and was told i need to raise hardness, so ive added calcium, next step is to start my shoking process by adding degreaser

Now my question is, how long do i need to wait after adding the calcium, to be able to add degreaser

Thanks

 

[snewo]

Step 1: don't add anything other than liquid chlorine and ph adjustments right now....
Step 2: go read pool school
Step 3: don't trust pool stores; get accurate numbers to post in here...pool school lists recommended test kits
Step 4: do what the experts here recommend
Step 5: enjoy your clean and clear pool all summer

 

[poolnoob]

Hey, thanks for the response, unfortunatley ive already put 200 gr of a product (forget the name) To increase the p.h. I waited 4 hours then put about 1 kg of calcium to increase hardness, then i was gonna start the shock process which is 4 products, then i was going to add the salt.

Does this seem right?

Here are my reading b4 i put anything in the pool
Alkalinity: 90
P.h. 7.0
Hardness: 130
Salt: 700 ppm
Chlorine: 0

Mind you, this was tested before i even ran the pump

Right now my pool is pretty darkcan barely see the bottom, i have alot tree in my backyard

Thanks for your help

 

[JasonLion]

snewo is essentially right, though you can add salt any time.

Adding calcium should normally be put off until everything else is balanced and you aren't doing anything special to the pool that day. Adding calcium on the same day as raising the PH can result in calcium clouding. Your starting CH level is fairly low, so you will probably be alright, but you won't know for a while.

Don't trust test results that were taken without having had the pump running.

Focus on shocking the pool and leave other things until later.

 

[crookm11]

...... then i was gonna start the shock process which is 4 products, then i was going to add the salt.

What 4 products are you going to use to shock your pool?
Liquid chlorine should be the only product you need to use. Running your pump 24/7, cleaning the filter often, and brushing the pool will get you through the shock process quickly.

 

[poolnoob]

Basically, first a degreaser, then a product called clear(not sure whats in it) then 900 grams of xtreme shock i think this is some sort of conce trated chlorine, algicyce 40 and finally a product to remove metals
Ive done all this and now my water looks cloudy green, i need to add salt now, can i add salt and start the clorinator, or do i need to wait a while before starting the chloronator, is it a bad idea to start the chlorinator at this point in my pool opening process

 

[JasonLion]

Don't run the SWG for 24 hours after adding salt.

 

[poolnoob]

Would this help in clearing the greenish cloud , or should i be using liquid chlorine at this point?

Thanks

 

[RobbieH]

Liquid chlorine

 

[poolnoob]

What type of liquid chlorine an how much should i use?

 

[RobbieH]

Going to need your pool's volume, and a good set of pool readings with from a reliable test kit. Going to need your FC, TC (or CC), and CYA at a minimum to plug into poolcalculator.com to tell you your needed shock level.

Check this thread for more information:
what-we-need-to-know-to-answer-your-questions-t10341.html

 

[poolnoob]

Ive done the drop test or the FC and it is close to zero (even though i did add 900g of a product called xtreme shock)

My alkalinity is 90
Hardness is about 200
P.h. Is at 7.2
My pool is 18 feet above ground so about 30000 litres
I haven tested the cya, but i would estimate about 50

In terms of liquid chlorine, can i use bleach (3 or 6%) found at the super maket.

Your help is much appreciated

 

[JasonLion]

Keep adding chlorine. Standard household bleach, just the plain unscented stuff with not special features, is a good thing to use to add chlorine. 6% bleach is usually less expensive for the amount of chlorine it adds, ie 3% would need to cost less than half as much to be cost effective. 6% also means less carrying than 3%.

 

[poolnoob]

Do you have an idea of the amount i should start out with or a pool of 30000 litres

 

[JasonLion]

You need about two gallons of 6% bleach to raise FC from zero to 18.

 

[poolnoob]

Normally FC should be between 3 and 5 right?

Is 18 the amount to shock the pool

 

[JasonLion]

Right and right. If you don't need to shock then 2.5 quarts of 6% bleach.

 

[snewo]

Just a reminder that you are chlorinating or shocking blind without knowing your CYA value. A test kit would be best to get that value, an average value of about 3 pool stores CYA reading might at least give you a ball park to use. They test CYA poorly in general but it's arguably better than where you are now.

 

[poolnoob]

Thanks for you help so far, after adding the bleach, the pool looked alot better this morning, water is no longer green but it is still cloudy , I can now just barely see the bottom drain.

I'm at work now so don't have time to go to the pool store to test the CYA, I can however test the P.H. and the clorine level.

what do you suggest I do at this point? should I add more bleach, or start my chlorinator tonight

on a side note, normally the chlorine level should be between 3 and 5, however on my test kit (drop test) the range is between 0 and 1.5, could this be another measurement?

 

[JasonLion]

The next step is to get a full set of water test results now that the pump has been running for a while and you have made preliminary adjustments.