Newbie trying to do it right

[yoshirocks702]

Hey everyone my name is Joe and I'm new to the forum, I've read pool school and after draining, power washing and refilling our pool twice in two years I want to learn how to properly maintain it to avoid this problem again. I've got the Taylor K-2006 kit and did a few tests, the water is sparkling blue fresh off the tap and id like to keep it that way. I've added about 12L of 4.25% GV bleach from walmart after the test to get the FC up (I also picked up some baking soda and borax at walmart). Im also going to go to the pool store tomorrow to pick up some stabilizer to get the CYA up as well. Looks like i will also need some acid to get pH down. Hopefully I did the tests the right way. pool is at 18 C (64.4 F) which is too cold for me lol, I can't get the gas heater to fire but a friend of mine will help me get it going next Saturday hopefully. I hope im off to a good start, any adivce or guidance will be greatly appreciated.

FC:0
pH:8.0
CYA:0
TA:110 ppm
CH:175 ppm

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, yoshirocks702

Yep get that ph down using Muriatic Acid and get some cya in there. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/recommended_levels

At some point you will want to raise CH, but it is not something you need to do right now.

 

[scott.MI]

Wow 4.25% bleach. That could turn into a lot of carrying a lot of jugs. First thing I want to share with you is how to compare different size and concentrations of bleach/chlorine with each other.

Size of bottle(in ounces) X strength (percentage) Then the cost per bottle in cents divided by previous figure

(example) I can buy a case of 2 from walmart for $6.47 (3.24 each) they are 128 ounces and 10%

128(oz) X .10 (10%) = 12.8

324(cents) / 12.8 = 25.31 per oz ...the lower per oz the better deal.

My best deal so far is gallons 12.5% liquid chlorine from a pool store @ 21.13 per oz. Have not found any great deals on bleach yet.

 

[scott.MI]

after draining, power washing and refilling our pool twice in two years

What problems were you having requiring the draining?

 

[GreatCanadian]

I also notice you are using (or intend to use) borax. Great idea, but I wouldn't worry about it until you have your other chemicals in balance. Be sure to have lots of muriatic acid to bring the PH back down after you add the borax.

 

[yoshirocks702]

thanks for all the replies! this is how the pool looked last Sunday



I guess it could've been cleaned out with chemicals and stuff but since im not that good with the chemicals yet i thought it would be easier to drain, power wash the walls and floor and refill with fresh water. I bought the borax and baking soda so i got the BBB chemicals to use when i need them, so now i have to focus on getting the water balanced I took a FC reading this morning from the bleach i put in last night and got

FC: 12ppm

and thanks to scott with that formula. I got walmart GV stuff is
198 cents / (3.6 liters x 0.0425) = 1294.11 cents per liter

crappy tire has purox ($5.69) and hth (4.99) at 10.5% so
569 cents / (5 liters x 0.1025) = 1110.24 cents per liter (purox)
499 cents / (5 liters x 0.1025) = 973.65 cents per liter (hth)

found another pool store that seems to have an unbeatable deal 100 liters of 12% for 48.99$

4899 cents / (100 liters x 0.12) = 408.3 cents per liter

hopefully i got the cost calculations right in metric lol

edit: I forgot i have a tub of hth chlorine granuals, should i use these to keep FC levels up and also bring CYA up instead of buying stabilizer?

 

[scott.MI]

found another pool store that seems to have an unbeatable deal 100 liters of 12% for 48.99$

4899 cents / (100 liters x 0.12) = 408.3 cents per liter

hopefully i got the cost calculations right in metric lol

Yeah I'm not sure about that last one that seems crazy low. 12% has a shorter shelf life before it starts loosing strength from age, so might be too much for you, if its not already too old. I really don't know what to say about this last one.

 

[yoshirocks702]

I stopped by there today at lunch the deal was legit, it's a bulk type of sale so you bring in your container and they fill it in any multiple of 10 liters up to 100 liters, at least this way you don't have to worry about shelf life just get 10 liters at a time, although I wonder how often they freshen up their stock. I think I'll stick to this as its the cheapest way to get liquid chlorine and the place is only about 15 min from my house. If i did this right 100 liters is 3381.4 oz so it's

4899 cents / (3381 oz) x 0.12 = 12.07 cents / oz

Thanks for all the replies, this site is the best! btw I also picked up some acid and stabilizer so hopefully ill try and get the pool balanced tonight.