Filling our Intex Above Ground Pool and tested our water and need advice

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J

JennyH

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Jul 4, 2014
8
Columbia
I've had an above ground pool before but not in a long time...I do recall just tossing chemicals in it trying to get it right and sigh often not...anyway that was years ago and I'm glad I found this forum and am planning to take your pool school because boy do I need it. Anyway, my question is this we will be filling the pool tonight or tomorrow and I tested our water out of the tap (using AquaCheck pool and spa test strips) and this is what I got:

PH end pad 7.2
ppm Free Chlorine 0
PPM total alkalinity 40
PP stablizer 0

My question is what do I need to put in the water first thing after the pool is filled before we use it?

I will be using the 3 inch chlorine tablets and 3 inch Arm and Hammer Tablets in floating applicators.

We have the 16 feet, 48 inch high Intex metal frame pool with the pump that came with it.

Thanks!

Jenny in SC
 
My first suggestion is to get yourself one of our recommended Test Kits. The strips your using are not up to the job of accurately testing your water.
My next suggestion is to take a look at a couple of articles from pool school. These will help get you up to speed on your water chemistry.
ABC'S Of Pool Water Chemistry
How To Chlorinate Your Pool
You can start out with the pucks, but you need to understand what each puck is bringing to the party. Meaning your water. Their acidic, lower PH and add CYA. Pool Math at the bottom of the page Effects Of Adding Chemicals, will tell you how much each puck will raise CYA and lower PH.
After you look at the articles I gave you, ask any questions you may have. ?
 
Welcome to TFP.

First, you will need the ability to test your water more accurately. One of the reccome died test kits is linked in my signature.

Keep reading pool school and learn the ABC's of pool water chemistry. The pucks you say you will be using also add CYA to your water which is fine upon startup but up to a certain point they will drive up your CYA too high.

If it were me, upon startup I'd add stabilizer per pool math to get to 30-40 (I'm using an SWG so I keep mine higher) and add chlorine (bleach) to bring it up to my target for the CYA level I'm targeting.
 
Yes. That is the TF-100 and is recommended by users here. It is the same price there as it is at tftestkits.net. Link in my signature.

Yes. Plain unscented bleach. Other chlorine sources will add other things to your pool like either calcium or cya. That isn't always a bad thing but can turn bad if used without understanding the results. Both cya and calcium can get too high from long term use of those products because they are not consumed in your pool like chlorine is. They just continue to build up.

Familiarize yourself with ABC's of pool water chemistry in pool school and keep asking questions. :p
 
JennyH said:
I was going to ask about upgrade pump...I was surprised how small the one that comes with it is. I'll check that out.
Click to expand...

If you are going to upgrade your pump, I would highly recommend getting away from the Intex cartridge style and going to their sand filter. You can do a little research here and I believe you will find that to be the consensus.

The Intex 2650gph 16" sand filter is generally considered their best option overall, considering filtering capacity and flow. It can be found for $180 delivered.
 

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