Clueless - Stuck on Step 1 - Please help

[Puppytoes]

Hi everybody, I’ve recently moved into a house with an inground vinyl pool and I’m expected to take care of it - get it in swimming condition and keep it that way. I have zero knowledge or experience with pools so I’ve been reading and watching vids nonstop trying to learn everything I can.

My problem is that I’m not sure what shape the pool is so I can take the proper measurements and determine how many gallons of water it contains. I’ve spent hours going through pictures online and I’ve yet to find one matching ours.

I’m attaching pics and any help I could get would be so greatly appreciated. If it helps, I measured the length as ~32’ and the width as ~16’. The deepest end is 8’ & the shallowest end is 4’ deep. There are no stairs - just a side ladder.

I thought it could be a rectangle but I’m not sure. There are 2 parallel sides and then the coping (I believe it’s called) starts to angle just a bit for 3 sections until it meets the other side at a point.

*Edited to add: I’m having trouble saving the information requested in the signature - it keeps saying it won’t save because I and/or my info could be spam. Here’s the info if it’ll help at all.
- Volume in Gallons: Unsure
- Type: Inground Vinyl
- Filter Type: Sand Filter
- Pump: Pentair WhisperFlo #WFE-24/Part #011517 - 1.0 HP - 208-230/115 V - 3450 RPM - Max Amps 6 0-5 6/11.2
-Filter: Hayward ProSeries High Rate Sand Filter - Model #S-244T w/Hayward Vari-Flo XL Valve - Effective Filtration Area: 3.14 cubic feet - Filtration Rate: 20 GPM/ft^2 - Filtration & Backwash Design Flow Rate: 62 GPM -> VALVE: Rated Pressure: 50 psi - Rated Flow: 75 GPM

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! To be in control of your pool means having accurate test results. It's the foundation of all TFP guidance. So be sure to have a TF-100 (link in my signature) or Taylor K-2006C test kit as soon as possible. With those proper test results we can help you through anything.

Be sure to bookmark our Pool Care Basics page and update your signature. Thanks for posting.

 

[Puppytoes]

Welcome to TFP! To be in control of your pool means having accurate test results. It's the foundation of all TFP guidance. So be sure to have a TF-100 (link in my signature) or Taylor K-2006C test kit as soon as possible. With those proper test results we can help you through anything.

Be sure to bookmark our Pool Care Basics page and update your signature. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the info. I’m definitely going to be ordering a new test kit. I’ve been using HTH test strips and I’m so not in control with any part of the pool - especially the water. It’s been a disaster so far.

I was literally left with a dirty, green pool, a box of chlorine pucks, a box of HTH Shock which included the Test Strips, a pool skimmer, a couple of other accessories which I guess are a brush and a vacuum & vacuum hose maybe - and that’s it. I had zero knowledge about anything pool related - I barely even know how to swim!

 

[Puppytoes]

Welcome to TFP! To be in control of your pool means having accurate test results. It's the foundation of all TFP guidance. So be sure to have a TF-100 (link in my signature) or Taylor K-2006C test kit as soon as possible. With those proper test results we can help you through anything.

Be sure to bookmark our Pool Care Basics page and update your signature. Thanks for posting.

I’m sorry to bother you again but I don’t see a link in your signature. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Katygreys]

Test Kits

tftestkits.net

Here ya go. If you are on a mobile device, turn the screen sideways and you should be able to see the signature.

 

[Katygreys]

Most folks will recommend this. You won’t regret it. This is the first step in getting in g control of your pool.

 

[PoolStored]

I have a pool shape that is similar. Calculators give me 33K gallons. From testing I know my pool is 30K gallon, or about 90%

Your pool, from calculators is about 23K. 90% of 23K is about 21K. I would use that to start.

Do you have pool math? If not, download it here -->PoolMath Use the same userid/password as your TFP login. Use 21,000 for your pool size.

When you get your test kit and are ready to make chemical changes, follow the advice and retest after 30 minutes. If your test results match expected results, 21K is correct. If it didn't make the change and it was less that you expected, increase your pool size by 500 gallons. If it didn't make the change you expected and it was MORE than you expected, decrease your pool size by 500 gallons. Rinse and repeat until you get the result you expect.

I would bet that 21K is +/- 1000 gallons from being correct.

 

[PoolStored]

I’m sorry to bother you again but I don’t see a link in your signature. What am I doing wrong?

It is not clear to us if you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG) or not.

If you do NOT have an SWCG, this is what you need. Uncheck the SaltStrips and pH meter in the options, you don't need them.

TF-Pro

tftestkits.net

If you DO have an SWCG, then this is what you want:

TF-Pro Salt

tftestkits.net

 

[Puppytoes]

Test Kits

tftestkits.net

Here ya go. If you are on a mobile device, turn the screen sideways and you should be able to see the signature.

Awesome - thank you so much!!

 

[Puppytoes]

It is not clear to us if you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG) or not.

If you do NOT have an SWCG, this is what you need. Uncheck the SaltStrips and pH meter in the options, you don't need them.

TF-Pro

tftestkits.net

If you DO have an SWCG, then this is what you want:

TF-Pro Salt

tftestkits.net

I’m pretty sure I don’t have a salt water generator - it’s not a salt water pool so I shouldn’t have one right? It has a Pentair Automatic In-Line Chlorine/Bromine Feeder - Model #320. So I should go with the first kit then right?

I’m trying to put all my info in my signature but it isn’t working. It won’t let me save it. I’ve attached a screenshot of the error message I get.

 

[Lake Placid]

I’m pretty sure I don’t have a salt water generator - it’s not a salt water pool so I shouldn’t have one right? It has a Pentair Automatic In-Line Chlorine/Bromine Feeder - Model #320. So I should go with the first kit then right?

I’m trying to put all my info in my signature but it isn’t working. It won’t let me save it. I’ve attached a screenshot of the error message I get.

Yes for now you can go without the Salt kit. The rainbow 320 chlorinator is designed for Trichlor pucks. You won’t want to be using those either.

 

[PoolStored]

Sooo, on the signature side, let's call in @Leebo.

So, on the chlorination side, your

Pentair Automatic In-Line Chlorine/Bromine Feeder - Model #320

is a chlorinator that uses pucks or tablets. These pucks or tablets add CYA (cyanuric acid) to your pool. CYA is a good thing and a bad thing. You want *SOME* CYA, but not too much. Some good reading here -->FC/CYA Levels

When your CYA gets too high, it is really difficult to maintain enough sanitizing Free Chlorine (FC) in your pool to keep algae at bay, and you need to drain/refill your pool to reduce the CYA levels. Too little CYA and your FC burns off really quickly.

The issue then becomes how do you add chlorine to your pool. We recommend Liquid Chlorine, or a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG). OR, you can use pucks for convenience, but you need to understand that you will have to drain/exchange your pool water when CYA becomes too high.

 

[Puppytoes]

Sooo, on the signature side, let's call in @Leebo.

So, on the chlorination side, your

is a chlorinator that uses pucks or tablets. These pucks or tablets add CYA (cyanuric acid) to your pool. CYA is a good thing and a bad thing. You want *SOME* CYA, but not too much. Some good reading here -->FC/CYA Levels

When your CYA gets too high, it is really difficult to maintain enough sanitizing Free Chlorine (FC) in your pool to keep algae at bay, and you need to drain/refill your pool to reduce the CYA levels. Too little CYA and your FC burns off really quickly.

The issue then becomes how do you add chlorine to your pool. We recommend Liquid Chlorine, or a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG). OR, you can use pucks for convenience, but you need to understand that you will have to drain/exchange your pool water when CYA becomes too high.

Thanks so much for all the info. I’m really sorry for the delay in responding- I had an emergency with one of my dogs and I’ve been in and out of hospitals/ER’s all week.

So let me make sure I’m understanding this the right way. The pucks - do they only add cya or they add both chlorine & cya? I think you’re saying that they add both but since cya can be tricky and mess things up if there’s too much - these pucks are not the best way to add chlorine to the pool. Is that right?

The only way I know to add chlorine to the pool is with the pucks and with shock. The owner of the house left us a bucket of these pucks and a small box of HTH shock (15 - 1 lb bags) which included a tube of 15 HTH Test Strips. Supposedly, that was all we would ever need to take care of the pool chemically.

I’ve never met the owner - only my roommate has and I’ve been super suspicious of what my roommate has told me about the owner’s instructions for taking care of the pool since day one. My first clue that something was off was that my roommate said the owner told him there was no shallow end - the pool was like 8-12 feet deep which sounded crazy to me. So imagine my surprise when I jumped in one day and realized I could stand up in the shallow end with half my body out the water.

I thought that the amount of chemicals you add to your pool is based on how many gallons of water it holds combined with the readings you get from testing the water. So I don’t know how to follow the owner’s instructions about adding chemicals when he clearly doesn’t even know how deep the pool is. I got my roommate to ask him how many pucks to use in the feeder thing - I had been using three. He said he just fills the whole tube up with them since they dissolve slowly.

 

[Lake Placid]

So let me make sure I’m understanding this the right way. The pucks - do they only add cya or they add both chlorine & cya? I think you’re saying that they add both but since cya can be tricky and mess things up if there’s too much - these pucks are not the best way to add chlorine to the pool. Is that right?

Trichlor pucks are stabilized, so they will add CYA in addition to chlorine. The problem is that your CYA levels will continue to build a point to which you cannot effectively add enough chlorine to sanitize your water. At that point your only option is to drain and replace enough water to bring your CYA levels back to a manageable place.

The only way I know to add chlorine to the pool is with the pucks and with shock. The owner of the house left us a bucket of these pucks and a small box of HTH shock (15 - 1 lb bags) which included a tube of 15 HTH Test Strips. Supposedly, that was all we would ever need to take care of the pool chemically.

You’re here now. TFP is the only resource you’ll need to learn to chemically care for your pool. Read Pool School and ask questions. Pool School. You can do it the correct way, it’s easy.

I thought that the amount of chemicals you add to your pool is based on how many gallons of water it holds combined with the readings you get from testing the water. So I don’t know how to follow the owner’s instructions about adding chemicals when he clearly doesn’t even know how deep the pool is. I got my roommate to ask him how many pucks to use in the feeder thing - I had been using three. He said he just fills the whole tube up with them since they dissolve slowly.

The amount of chems you will add will be based on your pool volume, what parameter you are looking to adjust, and it’s current test readings.

Chlorine amounts follow the chlorine/cya chart Chlorine / CYA Chart for your amount of tested CYA.

The other chem levels you can follow this tool for help What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Pool Math will help you with how much to dose chems based on your volume of water. PoolMath. Download the app and get a feel for it, it makes life super simple.

Read what PoolStored said above about chlorination and using liquid or eventually a SWCG. Keep asking questions. You’ll get this.

 

[Puppytoes]

Thanks for all the info - it helps more than you could know. I’m furiously taking notes from all the replies and I have been looking through “Pool School” - it looks amazing and like exactly what I need. I wasn’t sure exactly where to start since I know pretty much nothing. When I switched to “List View” - it looks like it put the topics in alphabetical order. So I guess I’m going to start with the first one “ABC’s of Pool Water Chemistry” and follow the list down.

I have also downloaded the “Pool Math” app and I was blindly playing around with it a bit but I think there’s a lot I need to learn first before I’ll really understand it. I also need to get the right test kit asap because the dipsticks I’ve been using have been basically zero help.

So I’m going to start with Pool School and take notes from there and see how many of my endless questions it answers. Then if I can’t find the answer there or if I end up more confused - I’ll definitely be posting more questions here. Everybody has been so nice and super helpful and nobody made me feel like an idiot for asking such simple, basic questions (something I admit I was a little worried about). Thanks everybody for helping out a complete and total newb and for pointing me in the right direction/s.

 

[Lake Placid]

Everyone has been where you are. There’s no question too simple or trivial. Ask away if you don’t understand something, doing so can save you potential mistakes that are unnecessary. You’ll get the concepts quicker than you think and everyone is here to get you up to speed as quickly as you want to learn.