New pool, (possibly) dumb questions about chlorine

[BellaBuggy]

This will be our first 'real' pool and I've been reading like crazy. I believe I've read every word of Pool School but I still feel a bit lost/overwhelmed. There is so much to absorb!

I've seen a lot of info about opening a pool, but not how to start from scratch. I assume it's similar. Our installer told us that filling with a hose will take several days. I know we can't turn the pump on until the water gets halfway through skimmer level. Do we wait until then for chemicals as well?

We initially planned to purchase a SWG, then considered a liquidator, but now I believe we should just start out completely DIY and decide that later, after we get a better feel for the process. I intend to order the T100 test kit in a few minutes. I'm guessing that once the pool is filled, I will test the water and use pool math to find out what to add? Or is there something I should be adding from the start, before the pool is completely filled?

Our install date keeps getting pushed back due to rain. It is supposed to be next week but looking at the 10 day forecast I believe that will be rescheduled as well. I'm disappointed because we are excited and anxious, but I'm also a bit nervous about the proper chlorine balance, so maybe the extra wait time is a good thing. I really don't want to screw this up!

And my apologies if this is the wrong location for this post.

 

[Richard320]

If you're filling from a municipal water supply, it's really easy. If you're on a well, you could have other problems.

If it takes two days to fill, no big deal. If it takes three, you might want to dump enough bleach in the water stream when the pool is halfway full to take the pool up to 2 FC.

Normally, you just get the pump going, and when you're sure it's circulating and not leaking somewhere, run your tests. If pH and TA are absurdly low, you raise TA a bit first. 99% of people don't have low TA, so they just adjust pH first. While that's mixing, weigh out enough CYA to get to about 40 - poolmath can tell you how much - and fumble around suspending that in socks. Given the size of your pool, I doubt it will all fit in the skimmer basket. By the time that is done, the pH should be adjusted. Doublecheck it, and then add enough bleach to get you to 3, since you have no CYA yet. Then jump in.

Squeezing the CYA sock should speed up its dissolving. Give it a week before you test it. Assume it's in the water as it dissolves. So if half is gone, figure you're at 20 CYA and adjust your FC level accordingly. The reason you target 40 is just in case your pool isn't quite as big as they claim. It's easy to add more to raise it to 50, not so easy to drain water if you targeted 50 and it turned out to be 60.

It's really easy with a proper test kit. Watch the videos, run the tests, post your results and what poolmath says, and someone should be along to doublecheck you. Follow our methods from the get-go and you may never ever see algae in your pool.

 

[f3justusc]

Don't be nervous. We all started where you are...a dream and lots of nerves. You cannot start the pump until the water is half way up in the skimmer, which may be the minimum height. The skimmer is where the pump gets its supply and if there is not water there, you can ruin the pump. I go a little higher than half because my skimmer seems to work better but I started at half too and got a feel for what worked. If you only go to half, keep an eye on it because it may suck it down quick as the lines fill with water.

I would not add anything until you test the water. How will you fill? Well or municipal supply? Well water has properties that may require pretreatment of some sort but I will defer to someone who knows wells better than I.

While you are waiting for the pool and test kit, read Pool School many times. There are also lots of threads about starting up a new pool.

Yes to pool math, texting, and adding chemicals after the pool is full.

 

[jrs_diesel]

Using two garden hoses, I have filled about 14,000 gallons in 13 hours. Learned this when we did a partial drain/fill after we moved in last year due to high CYA/CH. What you can do is time how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket, and then using that figure, you can calculate your gallons per minute (GPM) output. If you know the total capacity of your pool, that you can use both sets of numbers and estimate your fill time. For reference, I am on a municipal water system with good pressure, and with two hoses set at full flow, I get about 9 GPM out of each hose.

If you are on municipal water, before you fill, call the water department and tell them you are filling a pool. Some towns will change your water rate, so you pay less on that bill. They will usually come out and take a before/after meter reading. My city does not have that provision written into the city ordinances, so I had to pay for 14,000 gallons extra for both water and sewer.

Good luck on the new pool.

 

[BellaBuggy]

Ah yes, sorry, it's our city water supply. Didn't think to mention that. Thank you for the guidance!