Beginner's above ground pool quandary

[aselvan07]

We moved into this house last May. It has an above ground pool, I'm guesstimating about 8000 - 10000 gallons.

I was eager and adventurous, so I tried to open it last year and tried to do everything on my own. Our second kid arrived last June, so due to not being able to spend enough time and effort, whatever I did try was mostly futile. I was battling algae throughout the season and mostly failed. I was able to close for winter only sometime in November. When I did close, there was quite a bit of algae and also some leaves (surrounded by neighbors with trees) that I couldn't get out.

I'm thinking of opening this weekend. I have quite a few questions. Will I be in for a shock with a lot of algae? Am I better off paying someone to do the opening? Will I need to empty and refill the water?

I learnt some last season about pH levels, chlorine etc. I also have test strips for FC, pH. I'm looking for pointers, threads that are good for beginners, other values that I need to be checking.

Thank you,
Arun

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Many people open their own pool each spring, but if you aren't comfortable yet, you might have someone do it for you. But be advised many companies are backlogged so there could be a delay. If you wish to open yourself, I'll put the link below. For algae, there's no doubt you will need to follow the SLAM Process. In your case, with a pool that had algae at closing, your best bet may be to do a healthy water exchange first to help you get ahead of it. But never drain a pool completely. Keep about 18 - 24 inches in there for stabilization. Look over that info and let us know if you have more questions.

Opening your pool- An easy to follow guide

Opening your pool can be stressful. This Pool Start Up guide teaches everything from start-up chemicals, covers, and more for your start up.

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[phonedave]

1) Stop guessing. Get the measurements of your pool and calculate the number of gallons it holds. Pool care is a science, not a guessing game. You are not going to know how much of anything to add if you don't know how much water you have.

2) Get a good test kit - A TFT-100 or equivalent. Strips are not going to do the trick. You may as well be guessing with strips.

3) Rough idea of what to do. Remove the cover and see how bad things are. If it is a total swamp with a lot of heavy debris, a partial water change may help. If it is just a lovely green with not a lot of particulate, that is actually not too bad. At the outset you will be adding lots and lots of liquid chlorine. Either plain bleach (no long lasting whites, no scented, no easy pour, just plain bleach) or liquid chlorine (aka liquid shock) and running and cleaning your filter (you need to let us know what sort of filter you have sand, DE, or cartridge). Once the pool starts to clear (it really might not take that long) then you begin testing things like pH, Total Alkalinity, CYA, etc) you get those balanced and then it is pretty smooth sailing from then on out. Just some simple daily tasks that take 10 minutes a day or so.

 

[aselvan07]

I'm a newbie. This is my second year. My first year was not great and I didn't want to repeat it. So, after my initial post on TFP I decided it was wise to get the TFTest Kit. I opened the pool this past weekend. I didn't really do a good job when I closed last season, so I had to clean up some leaves and debris. I took the readings after filling up the pool. Readings showed very little chlorine. I added 3 gallons of liquid sodium hypochlorite 10%. There isn't any algae but it is pretty cloudy. There is a little bit of leaves on the floor. I took the readings again today. Below are the readings:
Pool size - 15 X 20 with avg depth of about 4 ft

CH - 375
TA - 140
FC - 1 PPM
CC - 0.5 PPM
CYA - between 50 - 60
pH - 7.2

I have added 2 more gallons of liquid chlorine today. I read that high TA or CH can cause cloudiness. Do I need to do anything towards that or should I just add more chlorine? I have a side question about the colors during testing. For eg. when measuring CH I was not able to say if the color turned red. I stopped at a dark pink shade. Is there a color reference chart?

It just started raining. Is 6 PPM ideal level of chlorine to start using the pool? PoolMath suggests I add 48 oz of 10% bleach, but doesn't seem like it will help me get to 6 PPM. So, any idea how much I should add, considering the rain?

Thanks,
Arun

 

[mknauss]

Great job on getting a quality test kit.
You need to follow the SLAM Process.
The TA and CH are of no concern. They are not making your pool water cloudy.
The CH test goes from red/purple to blue. TA goes from green to red.
Follow the process in the article above. Your SLAM level FC is 24 ppm. Raise the FC to that level and maintain it.