Day one pool owner looking to get up to speed

[ryanscott]

Hi all, thanks to everyone that contributes to this amazing resource.

TL;DR Tell me what to do right now with what I have from the previous owners to keep chemistry in check on our new pool.


My head is still a little dizzy after closing on a new house yesterday, so forgive any oversights.

-This is our first day in the house but we haven't moved in yet. The previous owner was doing a good job taking care of the pool, but it hasn't been touched in 2-3 days except for the solar skimmer running.

-I've brushed the walls of the pool, have got the solar skimmer running as well as the robo-vacuum(dolphin proteus dx4)

-I know the test strips aren't accurate and have ordered a TF-Pro test kit from the guidance on this site, but it won't be here for another couple of days.

-The previous owner left test strips and things all seem a little low - with what I have shown here, what should I do l using the chemicals they left? (Or that I can easily go pick up).

I'll certainly be getting on a schedule, have my test kit coming and have downloaded the pool math app, but we don't move in until 7/2 so need to keep things at bay until the new routine sets in.

THANK YOU for any help as I go through the pool owner baptism this weekend.

 

[TinFoilHat]

Ignore the test strips and don't use any of the products they left behind. I stopped using pool store chemicals as soon as I found this site. I would just put 1/2 gallon of liquid chlorine in each and every day and let the pool filter and cleaner do their thing until you get your test kit. Then plan on spending an hour or more to run all the tests in that kit. From that you will get your baseline that you can post on here. From there the guidance from this site will guarantee a clear, safe pool.

 

[PoolStored]

How big is the pool (volume)? Use pool math to add 3ppm of liquid chlorine PER DAY until the test kit arrives. Nothing else.

Post a full set of results when you get your kit.

 

[ryanscott]

How big is the pool (volume)? Use pool math to add 3ppm of liquid chlorine PER DAY until the test kit arrives. Nothing else.

Post a full set of results when you get your kit.

17,496 is where I landed with a volume calculation. does that sound normal for a 6 foot deep end kidney pool?

Still figuring out the Pool Math app and getting my PPM from that...

 

[ryanscott]

Ignore the test strips and don't use any of the products they left behind. I stopped using pool store chemicals as soon as I found this site. I would just put 1/2 gallon of liquid chlorine in each and every day and let the pool filter and cleaner do their thing until you get your test kit. Then plan on spending an hour or more to run all the tests in that kit. From that you will get your baseline that you can post on here. From there the guidance from this site will guarantee a clear, safe pool.

Thank you. That's definitely the plan once the dust settles with our move. The best thing I learned from this site is that all of the pool store products are unnecessary.

 

[PoolStored]

17,496 is where I landed with a volume calculation. does that sound normal for a 6 foot deep end kidney pool?

It's a start...

 

[ryanscott]

Hey all - my test kit should arrive today. We officially move in tomorrow.

Question for right now - I stopped by the house and the pump / filter, which is on a timer, is not running. If I flip it off and on manually it seems to start up, then stop 20 seconds later.

I know this is a very amateur question - should the pump be running nonstop or will go off and on? What should I look at if it's not running and should be? I just now read about the filter basket on the pump - will that being full cause the pump to shut off?

I'll get all of my ducks in a row with a schedule and chemistry later this week once we are moved in - I'm just trying to maintain for another couple of days. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[ryanscott]

Hi all - I cleaned the filter basket and it still shuts off after 20 sec or so. Can anyone give me a hint as to why my filter pump isn't running? (More detail/photos in reply above)

 

[PoolStored]

It is probably the thermal protection circuit kicking in. This usually happens when the motor is overloaded by either an impeller restriction or bearing failure.

 

[sls]

I just wanted to add .... beautiful pool!!