Very nervous about setting up the new pool!!

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M

Makibree'sMommy

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May 17, 2013
15
Mid-Western Ontario, Canada
Hello All,

I am newly registered to this forum and have very little to no previous pool experience. I have had a pool up for the past 2 summer seasons prior to this year but failed miserably to the point we had black water & a dead bird floating in the pool at the end of last season. :( I am hoping to figure our water chemistry out and what I need to do before I even set up this pool and way before running into the same problems!

I unfortunately am not able to purchase one of the more expensive testing kits at this time. I am hoping to in the future. As for right now I do have the HTH 3 way test kit with results taken from my tap water. With that said, I would like to at least purchase the HTH 6 way test kit from Walmart but my local store does not carry it. I am travelling to the city next weekend to try an track it down. My current store does carry these two options: HTH 3 way test kit (drops, I have this), HTH 3 way test (strips, I have this), HTH 6 way test (strips, do not have this). Would it be worth my while to get the 6 way test strips if I do not find the 6 way test kit (drops)? Or are the strips really a waste of time?

I really struggled with figuring out what in the world I was suppose to be adding/balancing my pool with last year. I tried to talk with HTH directly through chat and they had me purchase and use 5 large containers of Alkalinity down and a bunch of others such as Sock it, Algaecide, Granular Chlorine, Stabilizer & I can't even remember the rest. At the time I was only testing with the 3 way test strips and the levels were literally never where they needed to be. I was getting more pregnant and uncomfortable as the summer went on and eventually gave up which led to the black water & dead bird :( I spent loads of money and never had the dream pool for my family I so desire.

I am hoping to get a little insight, even if I can be pointed in the right direction for where I should be reading about initial set-up and testing. Does anyone have a good idea where to start?

Thank you soooo much for any help in advance. My family will so appreciate a beautiful safe pool for cooling off in during the summer.

TEST RESULTS: (adding a photo of my 3 way test kit, drops)
FC - Free Chlorine - Way darker than the highest colour 3.0 on test tube.. is this the FC, CC or TC showing on this test?
CC or TC - Combined Chlorine or Total Chlorine - answer above maybe?
pH - maybe around an 8.0? test goes up to 8.2 and I am having a hard time decifering if it is lower or higher than that (attached picture for your diagnosis) I find my test water more of the pink/orange, less darker red & therefore assuming it is lower but i really don't know what to make of it.
TA - Total Alkalinity - Unknown
CH - Calcium Hardness - Unkown
CYA - Cyanuric Acid (stabilizer/conditioner) - Unknown
 

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Check out Pool School for the info you need. Your tester colors look reasonable. Your pH is probably 7.6 or so, and your chlorine is around 3ppm. Without knowing CYA, I can't tell you if that's enough chlorine or not.

The most important thing is to ensure you have enough chlorine in the pool 24/7. Everything else can be adjust at a more leisurely pace. Having a reasonable CYA level will help you maintain your chlorine during the heat of the day.
 
Since you say you can't get the good test kit, the Wal-mart one will suffice for now. Don't even bother with the strips, as they are wildly inaccurate. When you do get the HTH kit, you will only be missing the FAS-DPD chlorine test, which can be bought separately. To complete the kit, this is what you will eventually need: http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html I should mention, that if the pool is cloudy (is it?) you will need to go through the shock process, which can only be done with the FAS-DPD test.
 
Thanks so much for the replies JohnT & JohnN!! Thank you for the accurate reads JohnT I have no idea what I am trying to see with the colour testing. I will also check out Pool School :) Thank you JohnN for the link to the additional FAS-DPD test. I will try my best to track down the 6 way hth next weekend. I actually do not have the pool set-up/filled yet. I am wondering if there is somewhere I can be pointed in the right direction in order to figure out how to set it up properly? Something that can tell me what chemicals I need to add and what increments etc upon setting up.

Thank you for your help guys!
 
You can order the Taylor kit from Paul Giroux at Piscines Apollo Pools, (piscines-apollo.com). They are located in Quebec, are very responsive and ship very quickly. It's more expensive than south of the border, but should last the year, and after that you just have to order any reagents you're short of. When you factor in the savings from treating your pool from accurate test results, you'll still end up way ahead.
 
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