First pool and lots of questions....

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M

mamaof3

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Jun 23, 2012
6
This is my first pool ever....I've been doing alot of reading on the internet and still have a few questions.
My pool is a Intex 10 x 30 easy set with pump. 1018 gal.
Not knowing anything about chemicals, I went to Walmart and bought the hth start up kit for pop up pools. Have had the pool up for a week now and swimming almost everyday. I have been using the test strips and about 1/.2-1.5 oz of chlorinating granules while running pump for a few hours every evening. I took my water to get tested at a pool store today. Definitely realized the test strips are not accurate at all! My results from the pool store were
FC-0.9
TA-83
ph-7.1
cya-12

I have all the other numbers that were tested as well, but figure these are the most important.
My plan is to switch to the BBB method while still using up the chemicals I have already purchased. The pool store recommended first to add .25 lb of ph plus and 3 oz of chlorine every 2 days and not to worry about the cya. I'm not sure this is what I should do or not. I went and bought a 3 way test kit, borax, and bleach from the grocery store today but still not sure on how much I should add and how?
Also I feel as though I should use the stabilizer and conditioner to get my cya up but have no way to test for it. Not sure if I should add it or not? I definitely want everything balanced correctly as I have 2 little ones and another on the way that will be in the pool! Any help is appreciated!
 
Okay I'm guessing my first step is to raise my ph with borax then my FC with bleach?! Can I do them at the same time? Or should I shock first? Also I'm wondering why I need to raise my FC to 6ppm if I'm wanting to keep it at a 2ppm or 3ppm? My questions and concerns with doing the CYA is that I don't have a test kit to test it....so even if I wanted to get it to a 20 (which would be on the low end), I'm wondering if I would need to wait for it to dissolve and retest it before swimming? Which is why I wonder if it's even worth it to mess with in such a small pool.
 
For most chemical additions we suggest waiting 1/2 hour between.

Yes, first raise your ph to 7.5-7.8 with Borax.

Then raise up FC as the pool school article suggested using dichlor if you have it. If you don't have dichlor, let us know.

mamaof3 said:
My questions and concerns with doing the CYA is that I don't have a test kit to test it....so even if I wanted to get it to a 20 (which would be on the low end), I'm wondering if I would need to wait for it to dissolve and retest it before swimming?
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If you know how much dichlor or stabalizer (cya) you have added, we can tell you where your cya level is. The article gives an easy way with dichlor initially to know how much cya you are putting in, and stopping at the right point.

The issue with not using cya is that you will have to dose multiple times when sun is on the pool to help prevent algae from growing. It is true, that the size of you pool makes this trickier (smaller quantities) but not too bad.
 
I do not have dichlor just hth stabilizer and conditioner. I haven't added any ever but my test from the pool store showed a level of 12. I was thinking it would be safer to add on the low side since I cannot test, maybe raise it to a 20?!
 
Yeah, pool stores get cya testing wrong all the time. If you haven't added it, it isn't in there.

Add enough stabilizer to raise your cya to 30 ppm (per poolcalculator.com). Put it in a old sock and hang it in front of the water tube returning water to the pool from the filter.

Use poolcalculator.com to calculate how much bleach to use to raise your FC to 3 ppm (pool calculator gives me 6.2 ones to go from 0 to 3 ppm). Keep it about at 3 ppm. In a day or two, when your cya is gone from the sock, then you want to keep your FC between 6-2 ppm.
 
Sorry for all the questions....just trying to get this right. I do appreciate all the help! So I should just raise the FC to a 3 not a 6 after my borax, correct? Do you know if it's safe to swim while the cya is in the pool? Was planning on doing it all tonight and hoping to swim tomorrow. And just to check again, I should definitely add the cya even if I can't test the level after adding it?
 
No problem on the questions, that is what this forum is for...so ask away.

mamaof3 said:
So I should just raise the FC to a 3 not a 6 after my borax, correct?
Click to expand...
Yes, until your cya is disolved in the pool water. Then your range will be 2-6 ppm.

mamaof3 said:
Was planning on doing it all tonight and hoping to swim tomorrow.
Click to expand...
You should be able to swim 1 hour after adding chemicals. The cya in the sock in front of the return is a very weak acid, so you can swim while it's in there if you want.

mamaof3 said:
And just to check again, I should definitely add the cya even if I can't test the level after adding it?
Click to expand...
Yes, just keep track of how much you put in, and that will be your cya level. If you want to know what it is, or want to more closely monitor your pool chemicals, then you will need an appropriate test kit. If interested see the link in my sig on test kits.
 
Okay so yesterday evening I tested...ph was lower then the test from that morning, more like 6.8 and the fc was 0. I added the 4.3 of borax according to the pool calculator to go from 7.1 to 7.5. Waited then added 6.3 oz of bleach to try and get my fc to 3. I left the filter running overnight and reteseted this morning. My results were ph was 8.2 or higher and fc was 1.

I'm guessing I need to lower the ph with muriatic acid but confused why it went so high and why my fc didn't go up very much at all?? I did not add any cya yet...as I was waiting to get my ph and fc levels correct first.
 
Another question....last night I shocked my pool using bleach. Got it up to 5-10 (3 way test kit), ran the pump overnight and retested this morning. Levels were still 5-10. I then retested the FC at 3 pm and it was 0. I get sunlight starting around 10 am till 5 or 6ish pm.....my question is should I keep adding bleach throughout the day to keep it above 2 or not worry about it till the evening (when we're done swimming) even if it's at 0??? Also would a cover help?
 

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