New to the forum and pool ownership!

[adamjn]

Hello All!

So happy to have found this forum. I just recently purchased a new house and it came with a pool - first time pool owner now and eager to maintain it to the best of my ability.

I recently purchased the taylor 2006k test kit as recommended from the forum - previously started out with the test strips, but they aggravated me with the difficulty of reading them.

It looks like I have adopted some staining in the pool on the steps/walls, so i'll be working on taking care of that!

When I first got the pool, leslies said there was 0 chlorine, and the pH was incredibly high - since then I've gotten the pH down to about 7.2-7.4 and my TA is reading around 180+ (hard to tell with those test strips, so can't wait for the new test kit to come in the mail on Wednesday.

I'm very interested in the BBB method, so I went to the store this weekend to purchase some 6% bleach and some borax - still need to get the baking soda.

The strips tell me my CYA is at 0 - but again, I don't like the strips, so I want to get a better reading with the new kit.

So far, I think my chemical balance is ok - though I still want to reduce the TA down to 80-100, and I plan on using the methods on the forum to meet my goal (love the pool calculator btw.)

My fiance thinks I'm obssesed with the pool, and she's right!

Water looks clear and clean, but when the pool lights on I can see small particles/bubbles floating around. I notice that my sand filter has a bit of a leak, so I need to see about fixing that - maybe that is what is causing the small bubbles/paricles i see?

Before I found the forum I had dropped some 3" chlorine tablets in the pool floater - once I use some of that up I'm switching to the bleach - I like that idea better. And if my CYA is really as low as the test stips say, I'm going to do the conditioner in the sock method to bring it up some.

I do live in AZ, so once the summer hits in full I'll have a lot of direct sunlight - I read somewhere I should get CYA around 50-70ppm.

All in all, I'm happy to have found the forum and hope to learn a lot.

One tough thing I'm having is figuring out the gallons in the pool. It's a free form pool and I have no idea who made it.

I was able to measure / average out many dimensions (L/W/Depth) and have come to the conclusion that there is app. 13,777 to 14,000 gallons in the pool. It seems to match up with my chemical adjustments!

Eventually I'm going to replace the old pump with a new variable speed pump at the same time I have my filter leak fixed. I was trying to work on the filter myself, but I'm fairly clueless with the plumbing and I felt like I was going to break something off in the process. Might be safer for me to have a repair man take a look (to the dismay of my wallet.)

I'm just glad I aquired this pool while it was still cool outside so I have plenty of time to get it ready for the spring and summer!

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Add your pool info as directed here: pool-school/read_before_you_post

Also note that you do NOT need baking soda ... also may not need borax. BBB is just a name it does not mean you have to use all 3 of those chemicals. Read through Pool School (button at upper right) to start to understand the chemistry.

CYA is not naturally occurring, so the only way you have some in the water is if it was added ... like with the tablets you have used already. The test is hard to read below 20ppm. Without a SWG, you will want to shoot for a final CYA up toward 50ppm ... no need to go higher than that, and add it in steps so you do not overshoot.

The volume of the pool is not critical and using the poolcalculator.com to calculate the dosages and then checking them, will allow you to dial in the approximate volume.

Ask questions as they come up ... for example about the filter. And someone will be able to help.

 

[adamjn]

Thanks jblizzle - I'll get more details on my filter/pump and add then into the sig. I have been reading through the pool school and found it very informative. Good to know I won't really need to use the Borax/Baking Soda, but since it's so inexpensive, I figure it wouldn't be too bad to have some on hand.

 

[jblizzle]

As you should eventually learn from reading:
baking soda raises TA ... yours is already high
borax raises pH ... this is rarely needed unless you are using the pucks which are acidic. There are advanced uses of borax that are optional later on if you like.

Best to not "stock-up" and only buy what you need when you need it so that nothing goes bad ... although the powder goods will be fine as long as they are kept dry.

The key to BBB is understanding the chemistry with a good test kit and then only adding what you need to maintain the pool and not any potions someone else thinks you need ... thus saving yourself money.

 

[BoDarville]

adamjn

Welcome to TFP

The key to BBB is understanding the chemistry with a good test kit and then only adding what you need to maintain the pool and not any potions someone else thinks you need ... thus saving yourself money.

The above quote succinctly sums up what TFP / BBB is all about. The products we primarily recommend (plain bleach/liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, baking soda, soda ash, borax) are products that are targeted for a single purpose with little or no side-effects. You use what you need in the amount needed. OTOH, many of the "potions" marketed to pool owners contain a myriad of ingredients that are unnecessary resulting in undesirable side-effects that can wreak havoc with your pool while simultaneously draining your wallet.

 

[msgtdan]

As Jbizzle said the CYA can be hard to read under 20. Even above 20 sometimes hard to be accurate, one tip that helps is to pour the solution back into the mixing bottle and refilling the measuring container. No need to waste chemicals you can reuse the CYA mix several times until your sure you have it right. You can also have someone else do the reading with the same mix to see if you agree.