First Intex Pool, need help with CYA

[New Lou]

First of all, I've been lurking for about a month, and there is a ton of helpful information here.

We just put up an Intex Ultra-Frame 18' x 48" with a SWG and a layer of foam underneath (thanks, TFP). The pool filled up Saturday night. I added 160 lbs. of salt on Sunday. This morning I added 2 lbs. of CYA in the form of HTH Stabilizer & Conditioner granules (96% CYA). Before seeing the sock idea on a few topics here, I just dumped it in the pool. Did I mess up?

Will it dissolve on its own? If so, how long should it take? If not, will we ever get to be inside the pool? Help!

Thanks in advance.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

You are going to possibly damage the pool if you just leave it sitting on the bottom. You should vacuum it up and let it dissolve in the filter at this point.

As long as the FC > minimum for your targeted CYA level and < shock level ... it is safe to swim. Although I would try to get all the CYA off the floor before getting in.

 

[duraleigh]

+1 what jblizzle said.

 

[New Lou]

I apologize in advance for my complete lack of pool knowledge. What kind of vacuum should I use to make sure I get it all? It would probably need to be something I could find easily locally. I put it in about 6 hours ago and don't get off work for about 3 more hours (total of 9 hours on the pool liner). Will the pool be OK that long?

 

[jblizzle]

Will the pool be OK that long?

It will have to be. Did the instructions on the CYA say to just pour it in? Even though we do not agree with the the instructions usually, that would really surprise me.

You either need to get a vacuum that will hook up to your pool suction line and thus suck the CYA into the filter ... I am not sure what is required to interface with the Intex suction line.
OR
get a little battery powered vacuum that will suck the CYA into a container and then you can put it in a sock.

 

[duraleigh]

No apology necessary. Each of us started exactly where you started. If you need some time to find a vac, please brush the pool tonight and move the stuff around as much as possible. You can get in if you like. It's harmless and you will help dissolve and distribute it.....just don't let it lie on your pool floor.

 

[Casey]

I think it should be fine. No reason to worry yourself sick over it. You won't be the first nor the last person to do it! Believe me!

 

[New Lou]

Will the pool be OK that long?

It will have to be. Did the instructions on the CYA say to just pour it in? Even though we do not agree with the the instructions usually, that would really surprise me.

You either need to get a vacuum that will hook up to your pool suction line and thus suck the CYA into the filter ... I am not sure what is required to interface with the Intex suction line.
OR
get a little battery powered vacuum that will suck the CYA into a container and then you can put it in a sock.

It said to put it in the skimmer. I assumed that meant the skimmer you would find on the side of an inground pool. I searched here since my pool doesn't have that kind of skimmer. The threads I initially searched on here talked about just putting it in the pool. After second guessing myself, I searched more topics here and found the sock idea.

Thanks for the help. :-D

 

[New Lou]

No apology necessary. Each of us started exactly where you started. If you need some time to find a vac, please brush the pool tonight and move the stuff around as much as possible. You can get in if you like. It's harmless and you will help dissolve and distribute it.....just don't let it lie on your pool floor.

I did run by the house about 3 hours ago and brushed it around some. Of course, that will make it harder to vacuum up now.

 

[Livinright]

The CYA granules dissolve pretty easy. I have many times dumped a 1# bag into a 5 gallon bucket of water. Just a few moments of stirring and it was all dissolved. Stir your own big bucket (pool) and it should be OK.

 

[gtnos]

i did the sock method. my boys 8 and 9 thought they would play with it and squeezed it all out, leaving a pile of it on the pool bottom.

so, as punishment for messing with my sock (told them to leave it alone) i made them kick the granules around for 20 minutes until they were all gone. waited a few days, tested CYA, its all good.

not having CYA is not a huge deal, except that every morning my FC would be like .5ppm, to where now its 3.5-4 ppm. you can swim with no CYA, you will just be adding a lot of chlorine

 

[New Lou]

After reading the last couple comments, I decided to go home and do some stirring and brushing around the floor and left the filter running overnight. This morning everything was dissolved.

I'm hoping to test the water tonight and maybe finally get in the pool.