chemicals from store??

[CentPA_New_AG]

is there anything "wrong" with the way I'm treating this pool?

10oz of SHOCK weekly plus a chlorine tablet in the skimmer?

I'm sort of confused, this stuff came with my pool package and it "seems" relatively easy to follow?

will I be shellshocked when I "pay" for the next round of stuff?

the water is clear - the pump runs for 13hrs - 6:30am to 7:30pm ... I did hook up the vacuum stuff - its only 4 days old so there wasn't much dirt?

 

[duraleigh]

The "wrong" that I see is you are not testing your water.

Appearance is, of course, the best judge and, that your water looks good is the single most important thing.

That said, there are many things that can be out of whack that you can't judge simply by outward appearance. I would guess that you have inadequate chlorine levels in your pool. 1 tablet is not enough for a weekly chlorine demand.

Shock is a verb. It is something you do to your pool.....not a product you buy (altho pool stores will make you believe otherwise) You may or may not have to shock your pool but it's only a guess without test results.

So, in summary, you may be doing things just right or you may have some underlying problems. Get your pool water tested and post those results and you'll get better feedback.

 

[CentPA_New_AG]

testing using a test strip with 4 areas to view - color match system

used so far
conditioner - a 16-20oz granular bottle
20 oz poolife rapid shock (2x the required weekly amount for the 1st shock)
1 chlorine tablet in the skimmer

pool install was Friday - chemicals were added on Saturday - the strip tested shown all the colors in the "good" range?
[attachment=0:37xayioq]Pool 015 (Small).JPG[/attachment:37xayioq]

 

[duraleigh]

I would recommend you read the articles up in "pool school". It'll give you a good head start on how to maintain your pool water properly. Pay particular attention for the need to add Chlorine daily and the need to get some stabilizer in your pool.
.

 

[JasonLion]

The tablets contain trichlor. Trichlor adds chlorine, adds stabilizer/CYA, and lowers the PH. As long as you keep raising the PH as needed things will be fine for a long time. But eventually the CYA level will get too high and then you will need to replace a lot of water. This is very unlikely to happen before the end of this season, so you are probably fine for this year.

Meanwhile, you would do well to do some reading at Pool School and start learning how everything works. Knowing how everything works makes a crucial difference when something goes wrong.

 

[CentPA_New_AG]

considering we have about 6-7 more weeks left of the season ... I'm hoping that the pool will be fine as is doing what the pool company told us to do???

the store gave us a bottle for monthly testing ... I'll take it in and have them do the mid August reading!

up front - 6K is a lot to spend, plus the electrical work, plus the permits, plus the fence safety features, plus the floatie thingies, plus the ... you get the picture, and another 80 bucks is tough pill to swallow for a test kit when the store does it for free?

its NOT being cheap, but its definitely over budget!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

You should test your pool, full set of results, weekly until things are running smoothly. Your FC and PH should be tested daily.

Please keep in mind that not all pool store tests are reliable..... FYI.

I know the extra moolah is a tough pill to swallow but believe me, having it will help you should any problems arise, deal with it faster. JMHO.

Enjoy your pool! Now off to pool School, don't rely on "what they told you to do'....

 

[CentPA_New_AG]

I've read the pool school - I haven't seen anything other than its cheaper to use bleach ...

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I've read the pool school - I haven't seen anything other than its cheaper to use bleach ...

Okay then ....continue with your plan of action. Have a great season!

 

[Swimgirl]

High levels of CYA (stabilizer) is what will eventually get you if you use chlorine tablets, especially if your shock is dichlor or trichlor, which also contains stabilizer. The only way to lower it is by draining water out of the pool. Like Jason said, that probably won't happen in six weeks though. But get a good test kit before next season!

 

[TripleB4me]

If all CentPA_New_AG learned in pool school is that it's cheaper to use bleach then he/she gets an F in pool school.

 

[duraleigh]

You can lead a horse to water........

 

[TripleB4me]

.....but you can't make them test it.

 

[Swimgirl]

.....but you can't make them test it.

Now, that's funny! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[CentPA_New_AG]

I asked a question ... I got told, read the pool school stuff - great, I read it -

it doesn't answer my question - I just want to use the stuff that I "paid for" with my initial pool purchase!

I just don't want my shed filled with useless stuff

obviously, once the material is used up - I'll need to A: purchase more of the same or B: purchase the BBB method

for the next month or so - will I be OK using what I have or will it all go to haites come spring cuz I used the store method?

and yes ... I've read the pool school!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Molson]

I think Jason said it above. You'll be fine using the chemicals that you have. Once you run out, its your choice to either purchase more chemicals, or switch to BBB.
But you'll kind of be doing it by the seat of your pants without a proper test kit, and I really would only rely on the pool store test as a jumpoff point.

 

[branchop]

Using your existing chemicals is fine. Actually, using pool store chemicals is fine. What pool school and really the entire site is about is taking control of your pool. I think the main focus of our site, is not BBB, but understanding the chemistry of the pool.

Above all else, the thing you should walk away with is to test your pool regularly. Like everyday regularly. The chemists on this board are not so fond of test strips (and thus some pool stores because that is what they use) but favor regeant testing. If you cannot swallow the $80 kit right now, and I understand, try to at least go to walmart and buy a $20 kit. It should test all the things you need, the only caveat is you can only test chlorine to 5 - and you really need to test higher. We have ways around that.

If you know where the levels need to be for your pool in the areas of CL, PH and CYA, then by testing daily, you can tell if you need to correct these amount. By correcting a level before it becomes a problem is a lot less heart ache, time and money, than if you let it slip. the other levels, CH and TA are also important, but don't need to be tested as often.

The chemicals you use to correct these levels is up to you. Just be sure of what you are adding. The BBB method simply corrects the problems of our pool with the purist forms of the chemicals needed. More often than not, this is less expensive. All the time, we do not worry about what else we may be subjecting our pool to. However, if you decide that traditional pool chemicals are the way you want to go, there are a number of knowledgable people on this board that will help you get the right chemicals to keep your pool beautiful. Often times buying a pool store chemical to resolve a problem adds problems to your pool that you didn't have before. Thus we ask that you proceed with caution.

We all are very proud of our method of pool care and excited about how great our pools look. Therefore if we appear to be overzealous, it's because we are! Every one of us have virtually nonproblematic beautiful pools. And all we want is for your pool to be the very same way

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Branchop, well said!

 

[Butterfly]

Branchop, well said!

Ditto