Hi there! I have been reading everything I can on this site and it has been extremely helpful! I am a single mom and have taken over the maintenance of our pool which my exhubby used to do. For the first couple of summers I continued to use the Baquacil program that we had been using since we bought the house w the pool in 2002 because that's what the previous owners had used. The pool is probably at least 20yrs old. We have replaced pumps and sand filters a couple of different times since then. I currently have a Starbright filter and pump...no model # and not sure how old it is...maybe 5-7yrs. Over this past winter, our 20+yr old liner ripped to shreds. I just had the liner replaced and filled the pool and replaced the sand in the filter. My dad cleaned the filter laterals and added the new sand and backwashed and rinsed before starting to filter the pool. I have decided to switch to BBB after reading info on this site and haven't added baquacil prodects to pool. I got a test kit at Leslie's...18-576 which is same as the 18330 (no FAS/PPD test...no 18329 in stock) The only difference was the 18-576 had no wheel or manual and it was $30 less. I tested water which of course had zero chlorine and CYA in it. (Although the FC test did show very slightly pink...maybe around .5) I used pool calculator to determine how much chlorine (unscented bleach 8.25%) to put in. I based it on full pool (11500) and goal of 4 FC and added 72oz of chlorine yesterday. I ran filter for a few hours and tested again and FC read 0. Completely clear. I haven't added CYA yet....I didn't have any when I put the bleach in but I got some yesterday. I also noticed my ph read about 8.2 before adding the bleach and now seems to be aprox 7.8. I bought some PH down (sodium bisulfate) because I couldn't find Muriatic Acid yesterday.
My question is...am I supposed to SLAM a newly filled pool with new liner and new sand....or just bring chlorine up with normal amounts? Do I add CYA right along with bleach to keep it from being eaten up? I thought the bleach might have even been too high because I added more than required for 10,800 gals (48oz) but it seemed to have less FC AFTER I added it than when it was just fresh water from the hose.
Sorry for the long post but it's my first one so trying to get all the info in there. Water looks very clear by the way....I just want to take care of it before it starts going down hill! I'm about to add the rest of the jug of bleach...another 48 oz...I figure it can't hurt.
One last thing....We always loved the Baquacil because there was no smell and didn't bother my kids eyes, etc...they always complained about those things in public pools, hotels, swimming lessons, etc. But it was getting harder to maintain and it's expensive...and complicated. This site gave great info about running pool with simple bleach and at the right levels shouldn't be smelly or irritating. Then my daughter went to a pool party where the pool is apparently managed correctly and she had no issues at all. This encouraged me to try the BBB method...especially now that I'm starting with fresh sand, water and new liner. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!
My question is...am I supposed to SLAM a newly filled pool with new liner and new sand....or just bring chlorine up with normal amounts? Do I add CYA right along with bleach to keep it from being eaten up? I thought the bleach might have even been too high because I added more than required for 10,800 gals (48oz) but it seemed to have less FC AFTER I added it than when it was just fresh water from the hose.
Sorry for the long post but it's my first one so trying to get all the info in there. Water looks very clear by the way....I just want to take care of it before it starts going down hill! I'm about to add the rest of the jug of bleach...another 48 oz...I figure it can't hurt.
One last thing....We always loved the Baquacil because there was no smell and didn't bother my kids eyes, etc...they always complained about those things in public pools, hotels, swimming lessons, etc. But it was getting harder to maintain and it's expensive...and complicated. This site gave great info about running pool with simple bleach and at the right levels shouldn't be smelly or irritating. Then my daughter went to a pool party where the pool is apparently managed correctly and she had no issues at all. This encouraged me to try the BBB method...especially now that I'm starting with fresh sand, water and new liner. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!