Chemicals

[mvk111]

Can someone tell me where to find the chemicals for the pool. I know borax, bleach at walmart etc...where is the best places to get CYA or MA and the other stuff. Pool is opening next week and I want to be prepared.
Thanks a lot !!

 

[Optica]

most people get CYA at Walmart..The HTH brand. MA can be found at Lowes or Home Depot and there is always the pool store but they are usually not the cheapest.

 

[fsteve65]

I always find that Ace Hardware and Tractor supply company are the cheapest around here on Muriatic acid make sure it is 31.45% the Lowe's here only stocks 15% . The CYA at walmart is called HTH stabilizer and conditioner it seems to dissolve really fast and so does GLB brand that some pool stores carry.

 

[mvk111]

Thanks,
I have learned where some of these were found, was not sure the brand names and locations of some of the other daily stuff used.

 

[mvk111]

Where does one find washing soda? Also I read in a different posts that 20 mule borax also has a laundry detergent and not to get them confused....are there two types on the laundry aisle?

 

[Butterfly]

Since you have a brand new plaster pool, you will mostly need lotsa MA to keep the pH under control. Brushing your pool and testing pH and adding MA will be your new job for a while BTDT

It is recommended to use an auto chlorinator or floater with trichlor to start off. It keeps some chlorine in the pool and also helps keep the pH under control. Once the CYA reaches a desired level switch to liquid chlorine or; (after at least 30 days or so) you could add salt and start the SWG.

Have you seen the plaster start-up article in Pool School?

If you want to keep something to raise pH, get the borax and get baking soda to raise TA. You can treat each issue separately if needed, so skip the washing soda (which addresses both issues). This keeps things very simple.

Have you tested your fill water? Do you know the TA, pH & CH?
We could better advise chems if we know the fill water test results.
Now take that brand new TF100 and test some water for us!

btw, your pool is gorgeous!

 

[mvk111]

Butterfly, thanks a lot for great info. They are plastering tomorrow and I will fill and test fill water tomorrow night and post results. It is weird that I am a bit nervous as I never had a pool before but I have read and reread a dozen times pool school and posts, thanks again !

 

[LasVegasLawyer]

I always find that Ace Hardware and Tractor supply company are the cheapest around here on Muriatic acid make sure it is 31.45% the Lowe's here only stocks 15% . The CYA at walmart is called HTH stabilizer and conditioner it seems to dissolve really fast and so does GLB brand that some pool stores carry.

I've found MA at Lowe's in two places within the store. In the outdoor or pool section, they carry 15.7% MA, and its sold 2 gallons at a time under "Kem-Tek Pool Muriatic Acid." In the paint section, or wherever you'll find concrete cleaner, they sell 1 gallon bottles of 31.45%. They also sell "Green Safer MA" but I couldn't tell how strong that was, or even if it was the same stuff. MSDS indicated the Klean-strip Safer stuff has an HCl concentration under 25%, but nothing more specific.

 

[Butterfly]

Butterfly, thanks a lot for great info. They are plastering tomorrow and I will fill and test fill water tomorrow night and post results. It is weird that I am a bit nervous as I never had a pool before but I have read and reread a dozen times pool school and posts, thanks again !

You can go ahead and test your fill water from the tap tonight/tomorrow if you want.
It will give you an idea of what you can expect. Only test for TA, CH & pH.

Don't be nervous, your TFP buds have your back! Just be excited!