New Pool Help!!

[cosmic charlie]

Our new pool will be installed tomorrow and filled with city water. Went to the pool store and were quoted $243 for start up chemicals.
Stain/Scale
10 lb baking soda
35 lb Calcium
super shock
conditioner
algaecide
chlorine tabs

I have been reading as much as I can on this forum, and think we would like to try this method.
I purchased and received the TF-100 kit today, and was hoping to get some advice. I plan on getting some tap water
and letting it sit until tomorrow then doing the initial tests. Priced the 100% CYA stabalizer and Bleach at Walmart bookmarked the pool math and we are ready to get started. We are hoping we will be able to comprehend all the necessary steps.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as the pool place allready has enough of our money.
Thanks.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

You can not let the tap water sit that long before you test as at least the FC, CC, and pH will change.

You just will need come bleach and to get the CYA dissolving (could do that while filling if you put it in a sock and tie it to a noodle or something).
And then maybe adjust pH depending on your test results. Forget all that other garbage from the pool store.

 

[cosmic charlie]

thanks for the reply, does that mean I can test the water right out of the tap then?

 

[Richard320]

$243!!! I'm in the wrong business.

You will need CYA. There is none in tap water. You've found that already at Walmart.
You will need bleach. They sell that at Walmart, too. One-stop shopping, unless the shelves have been picked clean in the Omigod-Memorial-Day-is-this-weekend stampede
You may need baking soda, or borax, also Walmart. 1/4 pool store price for same chemical, plainer packaging. You may need some pool acid. Big Box hardware store, pool or paint section.

Unless your tap water is full of iron, and you'd know that by the stains in the sinks and toilets, you don't need scale stuff. If you keep up the FC, you will never need algaecide. You have a vinyl pool, so you will never need to raise Calcium. And you're wisely chooisng to use bleach, so you don't need tablets or shock.

You've just recouped the cost of that test kit, and some beer money leftover to boot!

 

[cosmic charlie]

Thanks for the reply. One thing I'm confused about is the target CYA# is 30 to 50, but it says if you have high levels of direct sunlight, CYA is typically kept between 70 and 80.
We get about 8/2 hours of sun, so should I shoot for the low or high range?

 

[jmbradwell]

Shoot for the 30 to 50 range. The 70 to 80 is typically for SWG pools.

 

[jblizzle]

Start at 40-50ppm and see how your FC consumption is. Easier to add more later than to try to remove it.

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for the reply. One thing I'm confused about is the target CYA# is 30 to 50, but it says if you have high levels of direct sunlight, CYA is typically kept between 70 and 80.
We get about 8/2 hours of sun, so should I shoot for the low or high range?

Target 40. But if it works out nice that the whole package will bring it to 44, close enough.

If you run 70 or 80, your minimum FC every day will be beyond the OTO colormatching test. That means the FAS-DPD test every single time.

If you decide after a few weeks that you're losing too much bleach to the sun, it's easy enough to raise CYA. Just add more. But getting rid of too much means draining the pool, and refilling it, and rebalancing it, and who wants the grief?