New Pool owner

[rascalspool]

Hi,

We just got us one of those ultra intex pool. Size 16' round 4' deep. I got some start up chems and winterizing chems from in the swim website. Anyway we was planning on leaving it up this winter so i am afraid to buy more stuff if the pool will not make it through the winter..so I was wondering if i could get by with just adding bleach every evening to the water. I don't think I have any cya the kit only has shock which is not Dichlor and trichlor (at least it does not say those things) All I got is some test strips.
What do you guys think...its mainly just me and my boyfriend using the pool. I figure its cleaner than the river..lol. Also what would be a good to put around the pool that wont hurt it..dont like looking at the tarp. Thought rubber mulch but too expensive. The water is not crystal clear but its looks good so far

 

[frogabog]

Trichlor has CYA in it, but when you have no CYA in the pool, it isn't enough and takes too long to build up.

On the other hand, it builds up with a quickness after you're at the level you want to be at (30-40'ish ppm) if you want to be able to rely on a steady CYA level for chlorinating purposes.

The best thing you could do is to go get some CYA at walmart (sold as stabilizer/conditioner) and put that in a sock hung in front of the return. The pool calculator will tell you how much to add to achieve a certain CYA level. Make sure to enter your pool volume at the top, and set the goals to TFP. Then use the first column for your now numbers, enter desired numbers in the target column... it will calculate everything for you. I suggest only putting 20ppm worth of CYA in for now, that way if you have 10ppm already you won't go over 30 and can add 10 more ppm next week after you verify the level w/test.

Then use no more dichlor or trichlor, just bleach/liquid chlorine.

Most of us add bleach every evening, it's part of preparing for the next day of sun and swimmers.

The strips really are junk... sorry to say but they are. Most of us have been right where you are at one point, many with green pools even. A FAS-DPD test kit is a must, and if your water looks good now it's a perfect time to get one on the way so it stays that way.

I left our Intex 15x48" up last winter but we don't get a lot of deep freezes. It's up to you and your climate. I do not suggest draining under the returns if you are in the rainy side of the PNW... the winter cover is best set up as a tent so it can drain. The only chemical you'll really waste if you do drain is CYA btw. It's not really that expensive to add back in next year. A bottle from walmart will last you several years on that size of a pool.

Get the CYA into the pool now, you'll loose ALL your chlorine every day without it. Do you have any idea how much trichlor has gone into the pool so far? Trichlor adds 6ppm CYA for every 10ppm of chlorine. Hard to know without tests... but how many tablets have dissolved so far?

 

[Jamison04]

Welcome! My first pool on my own was the 16' intex frame pool. Left it up continuously for 6 years with no issues. This would be it's 7th season if I didn't go up to an 18'. They are very durable. Most everyone seems to use bleach to treat their pools. It's cheap and doesnt add a bunch of stuff you dont need. First thing us get some chlorine via some 6% bleach in there once you get it filled. You will probably need some cya. You will get some from the shock that came in the kit but you will need to add more. The strips tend to not read accurately but can work in a pinch however a good test kit is a must have especially when leaving your pool up all year and going through opening and closings. As for the ugly tarp I ended up cutting the excess off following the contour of the pool just be careful not to cut the liner. Or you can put down some mulch, wood or rubber. Some use sand or pea gravel is also an option. More will chime in I'm sure with lots more info for you!

 

[rascalspool]

Thanks for the great info so far. i have only shocked the pool once. so i will do it again this evening. i have a couple of bags of that with clorine and some non.

The reason we are going to leave it up is because we have a well and don't want to burn up the pump trying to fill it up.. I worry because when we first set the pool up and filled it up it started leaking near a seam but after a day or so it completly stopped; is that normal?

My walmart stopped sell pool stuff now. So all i got is the shock bags, some phos-free, metal-free and the clarifier, and alge stuff. (sorry my spelling sucks ) I really dont want to buy a bunch of stuff if the pool breaks apart this winter and i dont have a pool because the warrenty will be up. 90 days is too short. We might not get another one for awhile if it did that then i will have all this stuff around.

we do plan on draining it down to the intake hole and try to tent the cover for winter.

Thanks again for the help. I love this site...learning so much

 

[RobbieH]

Shocking is a process, not a one-time hit of something that says "shock" on it. Just want to make sure you know the difference, so that if it ever becomes necessary to shock your pool, you'll know the difference. You can read up on it in Pool School, the button at the top right of this page.

You won't need the phos-free, metal-free (unless you filled the pool from a well), or the algae stuff. In fact, I'd suggets taking them back. You really don't need those shock bags either, you can use straight Clorox or a good 6% store brand bleach.

 

[frogabog]

FWIW... that leak sounds weird. It stopped, you're sure?

I would file a warranty claim now, regardless. That's odd and if the warranty is still in force, now would be the time to address it.

When you drain for the winter, you'll need a bunch of floaties stacked on top of each other to get the center high enough so the cover will drain (I would glue them together if I had to make this large of a tower). In all honesty, I suggest plugging the ports up real good and not draining. Then the floatie tower can be a ring w/beachball only. I also suggest cover weights or GOOD clips. We're actually planning to get a nice big tarp and tent stake it to the ground. We have mild rainy winters w/occasional strong winds. The short freeze (about 2w) did no damage and the pool was frozen solid at the top about 1" or so. It held the cat up apparently (kid report).

You can also buy something that will tent your cover, or build a cross frame out of PVC to make a dome. The only reason I drained last year was because all the winterizing info said to. It was a failure, I couldn't get the center high enough w/two floaties and a beach ball, the open ports drained onto my new sod and drowned it and the cover collected rain instead of letting it fall off. The cover has holes, so all the rain went into the pool (and thus, out the ports). The cover also was hard to keep on the sides even with clips once the rain overwhelmed the cover and the holes sunk under the waterline.

I think snow would be very heavy, we got very little. The cover was fallen in when it did snow that one day... It just fell in over and over again all winter.

If you bought all your pool chemicals at walmart, they will take them all back. Even if you opened them. Just say they mess up your pool if you did use some.

 

[rascalspool]

Ahh so much info...hehe.
I did file a claim with the company..but you have to drain the pool and cut out a bunch of pieces..and send them along with paperwork and "maybe" they will send us a new liner. I would hate to do that since we paid $150 dollars to fill it up.

We have looked over and over the around the pool and no water anywhere also we are not losing any water either.

As for the phos-free and metal-free...i will keep cuz we do use well water (which is a bit hard) when using the floor vacuum with attachs to a hose.

Still not sure what we will do the winterize it. How could you plug up the holes? I like that idea just wondering how do it.

You guys have been a great help.