chemicals not dissolving

[lilbilly]

Hi all,

So I'm learning quite a bit already - first thing is that I need a good test kit, not the strips, and then that there is a better way to spread it around the pool rather than just dumping the chemicals in.

We made the mistake of doing it the bad way first though. Our pool was just installed, so it's all basically tap water. All 13,500 gallons of it. It's an above ground, vinyl liner pool.

We used a test strip and found low hardness, stabilizer, and high PH. So I bought the necessary stuff from the big box and in a hurry to get stuff ready, my wife dumped the recommended amounts in to correct the issues.

Problem is now, a lot of it is sitting on the bottom floor of the pool, not dissolving. She has been trying to push it around with the pool brush. Pump is running and it's set to filter.

What can I do to help get this to dissolve quicker (now that it's already been done the wrong way)? Should I hook up the skimmer vac and suck it all up through there little by little?

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

Brushing with the pump on is best. More here about adding pool chems, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You can't do anything else but brush it around now and hope for the best. Which chemicals did you add??

For the record- you have a vinyl pool. Vinyl pools don't *need* calcium.

Stabilizer should be put in a sock and either hung in front of a water return, or placed in the skimmer and allowed to dissolve with the pump running until it does. You can squeeze the sock now and then to speed it up.

What did you use for the pH? It is usually a liquid so that should now be fine....right?

No where do you mention your sanitizer... how did you add chlorine?

By the way.. WELCOME to TFP! Glad to have you hear with us

Maddie

 

[lilbilly]

You can't do anything else but brush it around now and hope for the best. Which chemicals did you add??

For the record- you have a vinyl pool. Vinyl pools don't *need* calcium.

Stabilizer should be put in a sock and either hung in front of a water return, or placed in the skimmer and allowed to dissolve with the pump running until it does. You can squeeze the sock now and then to speed it up.

What did you use for the pH? It is usually a liquid so that should now be fine....right?

No where do you mention your sanitizer... how did you add chlorine?

By the way.. WELCOME to TFP! Glad to have you hear with us

Maddie

Hi,

Thanks for the help. The test strip I used said I was low on hardness so I thought I needed that increased. I can ignore that?

The products I used were all chlorox pool products and granular form.

I did put a little liquid chlorine in, to raise the level slightly. But this will be a salt pool, so I'm waiting on the chemicals/salt to all be added before running the Swg.

 

[pooldv]

Here are the recommended levels, Pool School - Recommended Levels

Here is more detail about salt water, Pool School - Water Balance for SWGs

 

[lilbilly]

Here are the recommended levels, Pool School - Recommended Levels

Here is more detail about salt water, Pool School - Water Balance for SWGs

Thanks, been reading up already. Can't wait to swim.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hi,

Thanks for the help. The test strip I used said I was low on hardness so I thought I needed that increased. I can ignore that?

The products I used were all chlorox pool products and granular form.

I did put a little liquid chlorine in, to raise the level slightly. But this will be a salt pool, so I'm waiting on the chemicals/salt to all be added before running the Swg.

Don't wait to add enough liquid chlorine (bleach) on a daily basis to protect your pool until the SWG takes over and maintains the FC level.

Yeah, if you don't have a heater you don't need to worry about calcium. And there is some discussion that heaters may not need calcium either. So skip the CA+ and save your money! (yay!)

Please do NOT use any Clorox product that says XtraBlue. Those Clorox products contain copper which you do NOT want to add to your pool. Lots of staining problems and green hair if the copper gets high enough. Otherwise the regular plain Clorox products are fine.

Maddie

 

[lilbilly]

Don't wait to add enough liquid chlorine (bleach) on a daily basis to protect your pool until the SWG takes over and maintains the FC level.

Yeah, if you don't have a heater you don't need to worry about calcium. And there is some discussion that heaters may not need calcium either. So skip the CA+ and save your money! (yay!)

Please do NOT use any Clorox product that says XtraBlue. Those Clorox products contain copper which you do NOT want to add to your pool. Lots of staining problems and green hair if the copper gets high enough. Otherwise the regular plain Clorox products are fine.

Maddie

Cool, after all the money I've spent, I'm happy to save some. Yeah, I hadn't used any "extra blue" yet.

I'll add some more chlorine today. Initial reading was only slightly low, so I figured I only need enough to raise it by 1 or 2 ppm.

 

[lilbilly]

One thing we haven't put in yet was the alkalinity increaser. Any tricks on how to put this in so it dissolves and distributes best?

 

[pooldv]

More here about pool chems and how to add them to your pool, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

 

[wnorton1013]

Hi,

Thanks for the help. The test strip I used said I was low on hardness so I thought I needed that increased. I can ignore that?

The products I used were all chlorox pool products and granular form.

I did put a little liquid chlorine in, to raise the level slightly. But this will be a salt pool, so I'm waiting on the chemicals/salt to all be added before running the Swg.

my pool place told me to get the hardness up also