just ordered a small pool and i need help!

[chinolofus]

well i ordered a little 10'x30" intex metal frame pool today to see if i will really use a pool as much as i think i will. i figure if i do then i will upgrade in a yr or 2. anyways until i came to this site i thought all i needed to do was use one of those chlorine floater things and shock it every once in awhile.

now im reading all this chemistry and abbreviations i dont understand and my head is spinning. im sure i will be able to figure out everything but in the meantime what should i buy to get started?

i dont think i should dive in head first (no pun intended) and start using diy methods of bleach and baking soda ect. until i understand what im actually looking for on the tests.

so what should i buy? keep in mind i am on a budget so i will be looking into the diy or BBB method as i guess its called. but i dont want to be too overwhelmed at first. i just need to get started and in the pool.

whats a good low price test kit on amazon (under$20) i hope.

how many chlorine tablets am i going to be going through with my pool?

i would rather start with shocking the pool at first if i need to and then get into the experimenting...unless the experimenting isnt as complicated as it sounds. how much of that shock stuff do you normally need for a pool my size?

i plan on keeping it covered with a solar cover and regular cover when not in use, which raises a question about the solar cover. it may be a stupid question but i will ask anyways....will the solar cover warm the pool if the pool cover is on over it? or does the solar cover need to be the only cover on during the day to help soak up the sun?

are there any other chemicals im going to need that i havent mentioned?

also i live in chicago so it will only be up from this fri until sept. at the latest.

sorry if my post is a bit scatterbrained but im kinda freakin out and thinking i may have bitten off more than i can handle.

 

[Isaac-1]

Ok, I will try to keep this simple, first read pool school, then read pool school again (link in the upper right)

There is another ongoing message thread about managing a small temporary pool with a basic test kit, the key to doing this successfully is by careful measurement and adding of start up chemicals, in this case you would want to adjust your ph, then add a measured amount of CYA stabilizer for an initial dose of 40 ppm for your water volume, then maintain your pool chlorine with bleach / liquid chlorine only at a level of 4.5 ppm. It is important to have the right ratio of Chlorine to CYA, dry chlorine products add either CYA or CH in addition to FC (chlorine), none of the cheaper test kits will let you keep track of how much is being adding through the summer, so it is best to avoid anything that will add them, hence the use of bleach / liquid chlorine only. The basic chlorine tests will also only read up to 5 ppm FC, so again it is important not to let your CYA level get over 40 ppm, or else your test kit will not measure up to the level needed to maintain the correct FC to CYA ratio (note CYA stabilizer is important to have as it acts as sunscreen for the chlorine, without it all the chlorine gets burned up in only a couple of hours of sun exposure).

Ike

If I was going bare bones save every penny I could on a test kit for a seasonal pool I would get the $10 Taylor K-1000, but if I could spend an extra $2 or $3 it would probably be the K-1001 (the next step up that I would consider being worth it would be to jump into a K-2006 at about $50) over time you will find out if your pH tends to drift up or down, and how fast, as long as you don't do anything to add CH, it will likely stay in the manageable range over a summer even if you have high CH fill water, etc. This means if you don't just start dumping stuff in all you really need to test far once you get a known starting point based on measured start up additions, is FC, CC and pH, the K1001 tests for all these, the more basic K-1000 only tests TC( which is FC+CC), but can be used to somewhat guess the ratio

 

[Safetybob]

Please get at least a Taylor 2006. You pool experience will be best if and only if you know exactly what your pool is doing. Last year I had that same pool and as I recall all I added was maybe a 1/2 cup of bleach at a time to keep the chlorine level correct once I did my initial dump of chemicals. The pool calculator WILL help you....find it and figure it out (yes, it will take a few minutes of playing with it to get how it works).

I would recommend you leave the Intex cover off during the day so your solar cover can soak up the sun. I would put the "real" cover on if you know storms are coming or other foul weather just to help keep the Crud out of your pool. No, your solar cover will not do much with the regular cover on since it blocks the sun.

The key to saving money in my opinion with these small pools (big ones too) is proper testing.....that way you waste no money and your pool only get's what it needs.....no more, no less. And it could be a week before your "true" CYA level shows up while testing (assuming your using the dry, powdered stabilizer), so don't go adding more until a week goes by and you can be certain.

Good luck with your pool!!

Bob E.

 

[chinolofus]

thanks for the replies. so am i understanding correctly when i say that you use bleach instead of chlorine? or is that in addiction to chlorine? if i need chlorine can i use the granules (i assume i dissolve them first in water then dump it in?) or do i have to use the tablets?

 

[Casey]

liquid chlorine is the same exact thing as bleach. The only difference is the % of the chlorine which can range from 3% to 12.5%.

If you are doing a small pool to get started, you should really stay away from powdered chlorine as Ike mentioned in the first response to you.

 

[sarahspins]

Bleach *is* chlorine. Some kinds of bleach have other gunk in them, but plain unscented bleach usually does not.

Bottom line is that for any pool to maintain clear and clean water you have to keep a certain amount of chlorine in the water.. it's really that simple for a seasonal pool. However, without stabilizer (CYA) in the water the chlorine will disappear pretty quickly in the sun... this is where the cover may help, but it's not a good long term solution because you will lose chlorine fast any time it's off for swimming.

You really do need a reasonably good test kit and the ability to monitor your pool daily (and add bleach as needed to keep your free chlorine up). Yes it seems silly to spend half as much on your test kit as you did on your pool but smaller pools can go "bad" pretty fast if you don't stay on top of them... it's worth it to spend a little extra on a test kit that will show you exactly what your water is doing rather than trying to guess at it with a cheaper kit. The FAS-DPD test included in the $50 Taylor K-2006 is easier to perform correctly and thus the results are more reliable than using OTO (yellow) drops. Plus OTO can only tell you total chlorine.. you may be able to see that you have chlorine in your pool, but you really won't be able to tell if it's usable chlorine or not. FAS-DPD can not only give you precise measurements above 5ppm but it also differentiates between free chlorine (FC, which is the chlorine ready to work on icky stuff that gets in your pool) and combined chloramines (CC).

 

[chinolofus]

thanks everyone you all are great. youre posts have been very helpful. my head isnt spinning as much now lol.

does anyone have an answer about my solar cover question that i asked in my first post?

 

[Casey]

I would recommend you leave the Intex cover off during the day so your solar cover can soak up the sun. I would put the "real" cover on if you know storms are coming or other foul weather just to help keep the **** out of your pool. No, your solar cover will not do much with the regular cover on since it blocks the sun.

Bob E.

I believe SafetyBob answered your question.

 

[chinolofus]

lol thanks, not sure how i missed that. multitasking between here and cleaning the garage i guess.

 

[Casey]

That'll do it!

 

[chinolofus]

well i guess my nervousness from reading this site went away. i canceled my 10' 30" pool order and ordered a 15' 48" instead lol.