Hello!
We bought this house last November, and it came with a 16x32 vinyl liner IG pool. I'm about ready to start opening it for the first time, and I'm kinda lost.
On the filter/pump: It's a "Sta-Rite Cristal Flo" sand filter. Found a manual for that. To open the winterized pool, is it necessary to backwash/rinse? My major dilemma is the plumbing. There are two pipes coming out of the ground that meet at a valve, then go to the pump. There's one setting marked on the valve - "OFF". What does this valve control? I'm guessing it's to set either bottom drain or skimmer input, but I'm hoping someone can enlighten me. And, if that's the case, do you usually have this set to bottom drain position, unless skimming/vacuuming?
Next, chemicals: I used to own/maintain an AG pool years ago, so I'm not 100% unfamiliar with this, but... Lots more water, and it's in-ground (doubt that matters, but it's a lot more expensive to fix IG's than AG's, so I don't want to mess up). I'm guesstimating it's about 23,000 gallons (16x32, 4ft sloped to 9ft). Here are my test results:
FC = 0
Total Bromine = 0
TC = 0
CC = 0
pH = 6.5
Total Alkalinity = 10ppm
Where do I start? I want to use the BBB method, but I'm unsure if they need to be raised in any certain order... I want to "shock" the pool tomorrow to get the chlorine levels up to start killing some of the greenies, but do I also try to raise the pH/alkalinity/bromine at the same time? Is Borax B in BBB that raises bromine levels? How much "stuff" am I going to need to get these levels where they need to be?
Thanks in advance for your replies. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now.
-John
We bought this house last November, and it came with a 16x32 vinyl liner IG pool. I'm about ready to start opening it for the first time, and I'm kinda lost.
On the filter/pump: It's a "Sta-Rite Cristal Flo" sand filter. Found a manual for that. To open the winterized pool, is it necessary to backwash/rinse? My major dilemma is the plumbing. There are two pipes coming out of the ground that meet at a valve, then go to the pump. There's one setting marked on the valve - "OFF". What does this valve control? I'm guessing it's to set either bottom drain or skimmer input, but I'm hoping someone can enlighten me. And, if that's the case, do you usually have this set to bottom drain position, unless skimming/vacuuming?
Next, chemicals: I used to own/maintain an AG pool years ago, so I'm not 100% unfamiliar with this, but... Lots more water, and it's in-ground (doubt that matters, but it's a lot more expensive to fix IG's than AG's, so I don't want to mess up). I'm guesstimating it's about 23,000 gallons (16x32, 4ft sloped to 9ft). Here are my test results:
FC = 0
Total Bromine = 0
TC = 0
CC = 0
pH = 6.5
Total Alkalinity = 10ppm
Where do I start? I want to use the BBB method, but I'm unsure if they need to be raised in any certain order... I want to "shock" the pool tomorrow to get the chlorine levels up to start killing some of the greenies, but do I also try to raise the pH/alkalinity/bromine at the same time? Is Borax B in BBB that raises bromine levels? How much "stuff" am I going to need to get these levels where they need to be?
Thanks in advance for your replies. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now.
-John