Hello! House we bought came with a pool.

[digiegg]

Hi everyone. Found this forum as I was looking into what Leslie's chemicals the previous owner had. Been reading up on it and it seems like a lot of people do not like Leslie's.
This made me suspicious and ended up here.
It's a 14000 Gallon pool. I've just been running filter for about 4-6 hours everyday. Haven't added any chemicals to it. Leaves keep falling in and I've been trying to get those out 3 times a week. The robot vacuum seem to pick it up pretty well so I've been changing out the filters too.
I recently ordered AquaCheck (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083SMU7C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to start checking the levels.
I'm not sure what to do next since it sounds like I need to be very careful about adding liquids. There's a lot of different information out there like shocking and what not. Will try to go through the database here and digest it.
In the meantime, should I not put any chemicals as I learn? I've been here for about 2 months now with no chemicals added. It's been pretty cold in Southern California so we haven't used the pool.
Thanks for creating this community and hope to learn a lot from you guys as I'm wanting to take care of the pool myself.

 

[Dtkokay]

Hi there.

Your question is tough to answer in a short way because you’re asking “how do I take care of my pool?” The answer is you’ll have to educate yourself on basic water chemistry and how to keep that chemistry in balance. It isn’t hard at all, but it will require some effort on your part.

I suggest going to the Pool School section of this web site and read the ABCs section.

Those test strips are “guess strips” and not very accurate. I would order a TF100 kit along with a speed stir accessory. That will tell you what you need to know about your pool’s current water chemistry.

You mentioned that you haven’t added any chemicals to your pool for a few months. Your pool will consume chlorine, especially during the warm months, so you need to add chlorine continually. How you do that is an entirely different topic, but you need to learn about that and start doing it asap to prevent algae growth. Keeping chlorine in your pool water is the #1 thing you should monitor.

Good luck - do some reading, asking questions, and you’ll get it.

 

[Dirk]

Hi, and welcome to TFP. You're in good hands now, but you need to act quickly if you haven't added any chems. You've only gotten away with that because of the weather. You might have some automation that has been sanitizing your pool, but you might not. You're poised to end up with an algae problem, and you don't want that. So:

- Go here and buy this right now. Test Kits

- Then buy one of these. You'll thank me later. Taylor 9265 Magnetic Stirrer Speedstir Start-Up Pack w/ Stir Bar + Batteries: Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

- Return that AquaCheck to Amazon if you haven't opened it. If it's too late, oh well. You won't use that for anything, unfortunately.

- Go buy a gallon of chlorine and pour half of it slowly into your pool, above one of the returns, while the pump is running. There is the slimmest of possibilities that you don't have a chlorine pool, but that is pretty far fetched. A half gallon won't hurt anything, and might very well save you a lot of trouble and money, so it's worth the unknown factor.

- Read Pool School all the way through. I like the eBook at the bottom of this page. Put it on your phone and get started. It's a short read.

Pool School

www.troublefreepool.com

Post a few pics of your pool and a few more of your equipment pad and we can help you sort out what's what. Do this today, if you can.

Once the TF-100 arrives you'll perform a full suite of tests and then post the results here, and then we can get started sorting out your chemistry.

DO NOT buy anything but chlorine from Leslie's or anywhere else. No matter how hard they try to sell you stuff, or how much their spiel makes sense. Trust us on that. Your instincts about them are sound.

Sorry for the barking, but time is of the essence and I gotta get to work! We can go more slowly once you get through that list.

 

[digiegg]

You're all awesome! Okay I'll see if I can return this thing even though I used one strip.
Pool is Salt water pool apparently. It's about 30' by 13'. Deep end is 5.5' and 3' at the shallow end. I used the calculator and it came to about 14000 gallon pool. There's a robotic skimmer.
Initial reading from this guessing strip gave me these results:
Hardness: 1000 High. Apparently the place where I live have super hard water.
Chlorine: 15
Free Chlorine: 5
PH: 8
Alk: 60
Cya: 60

As for the chlorine, knowing it's a salt water pool, should I still follow those steps? And is any chlorine good? I can just pick one up at Target?
Ty for all the help!

 

[digiegg]

Amazon.com : TAYLOR TECHNOLOGIES INC K-2006 TEST KIT COMP CHLORINE FAS-DPD : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : TAYLOR TECHNOLOGIES INC K-2006 TEST KIT COMP CHLORINE FAS-DPD : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

Would this one be good to get from Amazon? Have gift cards I need to spend so...

 

[kellyfair]

Yep, you can use that test kit!

Don‘t use any of the potions in the photo, but do hang onto the muriatic acid. You will use that if you need to lower ph, but don’t use it until you can do a real test with your kit!

Saltwater generators simply convert salt and water to chlorine, so you are absolutely fine to use chlorine while we get you sorted out. But not just any bleach - sadly most household versions now have extra junk in them to make them splash less and other nonsense. You want plain chlorine and that’s something you can get at Leslie’s (just don’t buy anything else). Can also get pool chlorine at Home Depot.

 

[kellyfair]

By the way, I love the tile on the pool! Looks very Moroccan!

 

[Dirk]

OK, good pics. It looks like you might have a salt water chlorine generator (SWG), which would explain why you haven't run into any trouble from not adding any chemicals. But it's hiding in the pics. Can you take a pic of this thing, and/or its label?



The Taylor K2006 kit is a good one. It's what I have. It's the smaller, less expensive version of the Taylor K2006C. The difference is in the size of the reagents (3/4oz vs 2oz). The TF-100 kit uses the same Taylor reagents as the K2006C. It offers slightly different quantities that they claim better suits a residential pool and is a good value. Any of the three kits are what we recommend, so you're good to go.

We can't rely on the numbers you posted, because they were acquired from strips, but if the numbers are close, you're in good shape. Order one of the kits and use it to do a full suite of tests, and then we can fine tune.

If you do in fact have an SWG, then you can probably ignore the previous advice about buying the chlorine right away. But it is good to have some on hand, for lots of reasons. Do you have anything that reads the pool water temp? SWGs don't work in water colder than about 50°, so we need to look out for that. We just need to make sure your SWG is actually producing chlorine. If it's got a bunch of LED lights on it, try to snap a picture of them. We might be able to tell what's going on from that.

Keep the muriatic acid. Give the rest of the stuff to anyone you know with a pool that might be able to use it. You won't be.

Regarding the "robotic skimmer." You have a suction-side vac. Might even be the same model I have. TFP uses the term "robot" to mean something else. Robots vacuum, but they don't rely on the pool's plumbing. They're powered by electricity and plug into an outlet. Your vac uses suction from your pool pump. So you have an automatic pool vacuum (or "suction-side vac"), not a robot. And a skimmer is the component of a pool that removes floating leaves and debris. Yours is under a white lid, over by your pool light, and sucks water and leaves and gunk in through the big rectangular hole in the wall in front of the lid.

 

[setsailsoon]

dig,

Welcome to TFP! As you've already found we are pool experts and experienced here to help you learn to maintain your pool the TFP way. Dirt cheap generic chemicals from big box stores at a fraction of the cost. We also have experts in everything from equipment to pool repairs and construction. We also sell nothing. So the advice is never conflicted. It helps our volunteers to be efficient with their time if you can add your signature. Here's how. All you need for normal pool maintenance is some MA and liquid chlorine. You won't use much chlorine since you have an swg. We normally find the best deal on MA at HD or Lowes. Pricing and best location varies by state but the MA around here is 2 gal for $11.99 at Home Depot. This is for the stronger MA that's 30%+. There's a weaker solution that's a little easier to handle so some prefer this. Liquid chlorine deteriorates so best not to keep too much sitting around for salt pools. I usually keep a single 2.5 gal jug. Used to keep 4 of them before I converted to salt... one of the best decisions I made.

One of the most important things you can do now is get your test kit on order. Test strips and "free" pool store tests are not as accurate as the tests you can perform even if you've never done it before. It's required to use TFP methods and we recommend two different ones. Don't agonize on this just get one on order. My personal preference is the TF 100. Had it 6 years now and will soon be ordering my 3rd set of refills when the go on sale this year. Also you need a Taylor 1766 salt test kit. It will last forever and it's the only way to test your salt level accurately. Don't rely on the salt system display. They are notoriously inaccurate. Test strips are only +/- 500 ppm. Be sure to check salt any time you've had a LOT of gusher rains or have drained your pool. Water overflow or draining is the only way salt is consumed.

Again, welcome aboard. We're looking forward to getting to know you better.

Chris

 

[ComputerGuyInNOLA]

Welcome to the forum. You have a Jandy salt water chlorine generator. It looks like a model 1400. You also have automation. Did the home owners leave you with the remote control for the system? You need to get a test kit ASAP as others have recommended. You can then run your own tests and be confident in your results. Most of the people on this forum have been in the same boat as you. By coming here or you will learn how to take care of your pool and spend your time enjoying it not fighting it. I have the exact same Jandy system that you have and it could not make pool care any easier. When we first installed our pool I spent a lot of hours reading up on this website. Now I feel like a pool expert. All my neighbors now come to me for advice. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[setsailsoon]

Your automation appears to be Jandy RS system with iAqualink 2.0 that give you full internet and local wifi control via phone apps and desktop apps. You'll need to transfer the account to yourself if you haven't already done so.

Chris

 

[Dirk]

You have a Jandy salt water chlorine generator. It looks like a model 1400.

Ah, good. Someone recognized what that gizmo is! So we can confirm you have an SWG. We just need to make sure it's on and producing chlorine.

You've got some other to-dos now: figuring out your SWG and your automation. I don't know Jandy, but many here do. So don't be shy with the questions. Sounds like you need to get internet access to the automation controller so you can start running it from your phone. And/or find the remote. Keep up posted on your progress.

 

[digiegg]

Thanks everyone for all the info! The test kit is on the way and will test soon as it gets here. Yes I do have the app that controls the pool. I never knew it had more options to control when you click the web button! The filter's pressure seem pretty good for now? And I guess owners left the MA and some CYA (which I guess I won't be using). And the machine tells me 90 as you can see below. I will post the results of my water test when it gets here. Thanks again for all the help! Really helps with the anxiety of owning a pool which I know nothing about!

 

[kellyfair]

Actually you will use CYA, so if you have that, keep it!

Ah, it’s the bucket of Chlor Save. I had to zoom in to read the active ingredient!

 

[Orion7319]

The two chemicals you will need all of the time are Chlorine and Muriatic acid. The salt cell will make the chlorine so you shouldn’t need any additional unless you get algae or the chlorine level drops unexpectedly. You will also need CYA as it keeps the sun from burning up all the chlorine in the pool. You will only probably need to add some only once or twice a year. The other chemicals you might need and should keep on hand are baking soda and if your pool is plaster possibly calcium (sounds like your calcium hardness could be high... check that when you get your kit).

 

[digiegg]

Finally got the kit and was able to test using Taylor k2006
Free Chlorine: 6.8 ppm
Combined Chlorine: 0? The test did not turn pink and stayed clear so I'm assuming it's close to 0.
PH - 7.8 Only one drop of acid demand was needed to get it to 7.6.
Alk: 120ppm
CYA: 33
Calcium: 550ppm

What do you guys think? I'm guessing my next step is to add some muriatic acid? Thanks for the help!

 

[AndyTN]

Did you keep the same water from testing the FC (free chlorine)? You add the R-0001 and R-0002 to test FC and then add R-0003 to test for CC (combined chlorine). If the color doesn't get any darker after adding R-0003 then you are good.

Add some acid to bring down ph a bit. Anything below 7.8 is fine but I like to keep mine at 7.3 or 7.4 since I get iron stains. I have also read that your natural tears are 7.4 which will prevent eye irritation.

 

[AndyTN]

Sorry, let me clarify. Keep the pH below 7.8 but when you get down to below 7.2 then it is too acidic and you need to raise it back up you at least 7.2. I didn't want my comment to make you think that something like 6.5 is fine.

Also, you can't really have CYA of 33. It is always in increments of 10 and you're supposed to round up if you measure it between 30 and 40. If you are using your salt cell as your primary source of chlorine then you should have your CYA higher around 70.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Big difference from the "Guess-Strips" huh? Your initial question/comment was about Leslies, and I just wanted to clarify our feelings about pool stores in general. There are a few good ones here and there, but on the whole they exist to make sales. Right? Well, the way they do this is by offering "Free Water Tests". Once they do that they always seem to find a "problem" which is going to cost you money to fix. The biggest one is telling you your pool is chock full of phosphates and you need to buy this $50 jug of phosphate remover right now! Phosphates are "food for algae".

At Trouble Free Pools, we only believe in putting the necessary chemicals in to our pools and nothing else, and we know what the outcome will be before adding chemicals. We know that if your pool has the appropriate amount of free chlorine (FC) in the water, there will be no algae, hence no need to worry about phosphates at all.

Pool stores have many posters coming here to ask for help to fix the chemistry problems that the pool store sold them telling them it will "fix all your problems"..... and now the pool is cloudy, or the filters are gummed up, stains on the pool walls, etc.

So in a nutshell we trust our own testing and chemistry help here at TFP. I hope you will also!

Maddie

 

[Newdude]

^^^^^^^^. All that. Grand slam right there. Matter of fact, the whole thread too. Awesome job everyone.

Belated Welcome digiegg