Would somebody be Abe to simplify this as easy as possible.
An example of what im looking for is what the BBB product does compared to the differently named pool product.
My understanding is you need less chemical doing BBB and it's easier to balance than what pool stores would have you believe.
Since I'm going to the store to get bleach should I just pick up the other things I may need? And what would those be
the abc's feels over my head. Or would I be better off doing it the pool store way as a beginner?
Divin Dave has provided the information that you are asking for (I copied it below):
Hi Jfeldman,
Welcome to TFP!
You dont need to order anything from amazon. For sure you will need to have some bleach and 31% muriatic acid. Both available at Supermarket, Big Box store or local hardware store.
- Bleach contains chlorine, which is what you need to prevent algae and kill pathogens. Get a few gallons
- Muriatic Acid lowers the Ph of the water. There is a range where the Ph needs to be, too high or low out of this range is not good, so you must be able to test for it. Get 1 gallon Ph has a natural tendency to rise.
Depending on water test results you might need Sodium Bicarbonate and some CYA.
- Sodium bicarbonate which helps raise the Total Alakalinity of the water. Baking Soda is sodium bicarbonate
- Stabilizer, a.k.a. conditioner, a.k.a. Cyanuric Acid (CYA). its available at Walmart or amazon.
No. 1. Rule - you cannot know what to add to the pool, unless you have reliable test result. You need your own test kit if you are going to maintain your pool. The two preferred ones are available at this link. The TF100 is the best bang for the buck.
www.tftestkits.net
Note- Pool Store testing is usually just plain wrong. So is their adivce to add all sorts of expensive stuff to the pool thats not needed to keep your pool sparkly and clean.
If your pool equipment has ID tags on them or manufacturer lables, write those down and take pics and post them here and we can help you with it.