New to pool ownership. Questions about BBB and CYA.

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Natchraly

0
May 19, 2008
4
First of all you can't laugh :) I just finished putting up my Intex pool! I know not the best thing around and nothing like what you all have here but I think we are going to love it! I would like any information you can supply me as I am very new to all of this and would like to have the smoothest swimming season for my kiddos.

Now for the chemical questions. I have the pump running and added about 1lb of CYA into the skimmer. How long before I take a reading on the CYA??

Here are my numbers: (I have the biggest test kit walmart sold)

Cl 2
PH 7.8 *no idea how to lower this or if it is necessary? This is straight tap water.
CYA 0
TA 190 * Is this bad? If so how do I adjust it?

Ok so far I have a pool full of fresh tap water and the CYA running through the skimmer. What's next?

As a side note I am also wondering how soon can the kiddos can get into the pool after adding chemicals? Is there a general rule or is each chemical a different story?

Thanks for any and all advice!
 
Natchraly, Welcome to the forum, Some of the REAL experts will be along shortly to give you the expert advice, I just wanted to say,AGP, INTEX, IGP, who cares, a pool is a pool,anyone that would "laugh" :evil: at you for INTEX is someone that is not worth listening to. :-D It is your pool, ENJOY IT!!!!! As far as your CYA question, It can take a few days for the CYA to dissolve (I am guessing granule?) So it really will do no good to check your CYA for a few days. Ok enough from the idiot :? the experts will come along shortly.
 
Welcome to FTP!

Don't worry about getting Intex, anything that gets you swimming is a good pool! :-D

It is best to wait a full week before re-testing CYA. It might dissolve more quickly, but in a week it is sure to have all dissolved.

Your TA is high but that isn't likely to be a significant problem. High TA will tend to push your PH up slowly. As long as the PH remains manageable, don't worry about TA. The TA level will probably come down over time.

PH should ideally be between 7.4 and 7.6 but anything from 7.2 to 7.8 is acceptable. You can lower PH with muriatic acid or with dry acid/PH Down/PH Reducer. Muriatic acid is available from hardware stores and is noticeably cheaper, but is much less nice to work with.

As a general rule, wait one hour with the pump running after adding chemicals before swimming. Some of them don't have this limitation, for example you can swim right after adding CYA or baking soda, but most do.
 
Natchraly said:
First of all you can't laugh :) I just finished putting up my Intex pool! I know not the best thing around and nothing like what you all have here but I think we are going to love it! I would like any information you can supply me as I am very new to all of this and would like to have the smoothest swimming season for my kiddos.
Click to expand...

You will have fun with it. The only downside is that these pools can be harder to maintain than a big one.
Natchraly said:
Now for the chemical questions. I have the pump running and added about 1lb of CYA into the skimmer. How long before I take a reading on the CYA??
Click to expand...

Wait a week to be sure it's all dissolved.
Natchraly said:
Here are my numbers: (I have the biggest test kit walmart sold)

Cl 2
PH 7.8 *no idea how to lower this or if it is necessary? This is straight tap water.
CYA 0
TA 190 * Is this bad? If so how do I adjust it?
Click to expand...

Lower your pH with muriatic acid. It's available at hardware and paint stores. It is somewhat dangerous if you aren't careful. Avoid the fumes because they are nasty smelling. You'll feel like you just inhaled a rabid porcupine. Mix a cup or so in a bucket of pool water and give it a minute to mix before adding it around the pool. Your TA is high, and it will keep pulling your pH up, but you'll be able to live with it. Make sure your pump is running whenever you add chemicals. You can't run the pump too much on these pools!


Natchraly said:
Ok so far I have a pool full of fresh tap water and the CYA running through the skimmer. What's next?

As a side note I am also wondering how soon can the kiddos can get into the pool after adding chemicals? Is there a general rule or is each chemical a different story?

Thanks for any and all advice!
Click to expand...

Keep your chlorine at 3ppm or so. Add your chemicals a little at a time to avoid bouncing around. When we had an Intex, I always told the kids they had to wait while I tested the water so I could get a few minutes of peace :-D If you aren't adding much, you can really get right in, but 10 minutes is probably better with kids. Chlorine mixes pretty quickly. Muriatic is the most potentially dangerous, but if you add it as I described, you minimize any risk. You can use your bucket to really churn the water and get it mixed in quickly.
 
Thank you ! Thank you ! THank you !!

ok now on to the bleach question. How much and how often to add it?? Also is it ok to run my filter only 6-8 hours a day? Can someone give me an idea how much a filter like this will add to my electric bill? Just a guestimate?
 
Natchraly said:
Thank you ! Thank you ! THank you !!

ok now on to the bleach question. How much and how often to add it?? Also is it ok to run my filter only 6-8 hours a day? Can someone give me an idea how much a filter like this will add to my electric bill? Just a guestimate?
Click to expand...

Price would vary depending on what your cost per KW is, but a ball park figure for 8 hours a day....around $25 a month and this IS just a guesstiment 8)
 
Natchraly said:
Thank you ! Thank you ! THank you !!

ok now on to the bleach question. How much and how often to add it?? Also is it ok to run my filter only 6-8 hours a day? Can someone give me an idea how much a filter like this will add to my electric bill? Just a guestimate?
Click to expand...

Your filter will struggle to keep up running 24/7. I wouldn't even consider trying 6-8 hours. Those pumps are pretty small, so they don't use much power.
 

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