Just set up above ground pool- salt water, can I swim in 48 hours ?

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

Hello that is the major question .
I have a bestway above ground pool 22x12 inches and I have a intex salt water system. I’m almost done filling the pool. I have a family gathering this Saturday, In a about 48 hours

my question to you all is. Will I be able to swim In this pool by that time . Can someone please give me a timeline? Also what other products I need other than salt to start this thing ? Any other chemicals.

I’m begging you all for you help. I really need to get this pool going . How can I make it happen in 48 hours. It’s a 6000 gallon pool.

 

[Newdude]

Rest assured WillHaveAPool, You will have a pool.

First up is CYA and Chorine. Add enough stabilizer to get to 30 per pool math. (Stuff a sock and hang by a return). HD or Walmart should have it in the pool aisle. Just make sure the bottle/bag says 100% Cyanuric Acid.

Pick up either HDX chlorinating liquid or Pool essentials chlorine / liquid shock when you’re there. Also add per poolmath and the FC/CYA Levels

Follow pool math again to get the PH in the 7s. You will need either 20 mule borax from the laundry detergent aisle or Muriatic acid (paint or pool aisle) if it’s high

Once that’s all good report back with your TA and we can work on it if needed. Lowering it takes some time and will probably overshoot your party, but won’t stop the party at all.

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

Rest assured WillHaveAPool, You will have a pool.

First up is CYA and Chorine. Add enough stabilizer to get to 30 per pool math. (Stuff a sock and hang by a return). HD or Walmart should have it in the pool aisle. Just make sure the bottle/bag says 100% Cyanuric Acid.

Pick up either HDX chlorinating liquid or Pool essentials chlorine / liquid shock when you’re there. Also add per poolmath and the FC/CYA Levels

Follow pool math again to get the PH in the 7s. You will need either 20 mule borax from the laundry detergent aisle or Muriatic acid (paint or pool aisle) if it’s high

Once that’s all good report back with your TA and we can work on it if needed. Lowering it takes some time and will probably overshoot your party, but won’t stop the party at all.

Hello NewDude

all this needs to be done for a salt water pool? I thought I only had to all salt hahah

also. When should I add the salt ? Before

everything you mentioned ?

the Intex manual says to run the pump for 24 hours before connecting the chlorinator

 

[PoolGate]

Very little would stop you from swimming in a newly filled pool. One thing is a chlorine level above the safe SLAM CYA to chlorine ratio. Anything SLAM and below is safe to swim in.

PH, if too acid, also might be an issue, but that is highly unlikely in a new, above ground pool. Do you have a proper test kit?

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[phonedave]

Hello NewDude

all this needs to be done for a salt water pool? I thought I only had to all salt hahah

also. When should I add the salt ? Before

everything you mentioned ?

the Intex manual says to run the pump for 24 hours before connecting the chlorinator

A salt water pool is going to generate chlorine at maintenance levels. Even at "shock" settings it is not going to generate enough to chlorine to really get the pool going.

A salt water pool is also not going to adjust pH, Total Alkalinity, CYA, or Calcium Hardness - it is just going to add chlorine.

The acid / borax is going to adjust your pH (and eventually your TA)

The bleach / liquid chlorine is going to get your pool chlorine quickly up to a level where your Salt Water Chlorine Generator can take over and maintain it.

The CYA is stabilizer for the chlorine (either added liquid or from the SWGC)

You can add salt at any time your want.

Think of your SWGC like a Roomba vacuum. You would not take a Roomba a let it loose in a room right after you just sheetrocked it. You would do a manual clean up, then the roomba would keep things clean on its own for a while, but then you will need to manually clean again to get what the roomba could not.

SWCG is the same way. You are going to have to "Clean up" your newly constructed pool by adjusting certain things, then your SWGC can take over and do most of what needs to be done for a while, but you are still going to need to watch the pool, and if anything starts to get out of whack, then you are going to have to step in and do a manual correction.

 

[Newdude]

Sorry. I forgot about the salt. You have to do the initial balance either way. Get it ok, add the salt and let that mix for a full day before running the SWG. Make sure to test the salt content before adding any, you could have some already and overshoot your target.

this is a perfect example of when to use the SWG and when to add liquid chlorine yourself. For a boost like right after fill up or before your party, as liquid. Once it is in range, let the SWG do its thing to maintain it.

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

@Newdude @phonedave @PoolGate

thank you all for your help. So I was kinda in a hurry to get this pool going to I went to pool supply store and ask them what I should do. I’m worried they will lead me in the wrong direction. Haha

so I added a half bag of chlorine , about the size of my palm worth: also added this conditioner. He told me to add the whole gallon. I’m freaking out that it was too much. I’ve attached a picture

I also added 120 lbs of salt. I wanted to test it before adding more. The instructions say I need 160 lbs of salt to start the system .
My question is , how soon can I test the salt? I haven’t started the clorinator , directions say to run pump for 24 hours .

thanks for your help everyone

 

[an1vrsy]

You can not mix advice from TFP with pool store advice. TFP provides a pool chemical calculator Pool Math that allows you to know exactly how much to add of a specific pool chemical. But to know what to add you must have an approved test kit, either the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006C

Adding a gallon of liquid conditioner to 6,000 gallons raises your CYA 62 ppm. But how can you test that? You need a test kit. Now, you’ll need to buy “liquid chlorine” to sanitize the water. Use pool math to determine how much liquid chlorine you’ll need.

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

You can not mix advice from TFP with pool store advice. TFP provides a pool chemical calculator Pool Math that allows you to know exactly how much to add of a specific pool chemical. But to know what to add you must have an approved test kit, either the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006C

Adding a gallon of liquid conditioner to 6,000 gallons raises your CYA 62 ppm. But how can you test that? You need a test kit. Now, you’ll need to buy “liquid chlorine” to sanitize the water. Use pool math to determine how much liquid chlorine you’ll need.

@an1vrsy

hello thank you for the quick reply. I honestly do feel better getting advice from TFP

I have a Taylor-2006C kit. I’ll be doing some research tonight and looking into getting some liquid cHlorine

thank you

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

Update

hello all

Yesterday I added .5 Lb of Chlor brite sanitizer 55% , It was too late to do a water test so
This morning added about a cup of regular bleach. I also added 1 gallon of liquid conditioner

I used my Taylor k-2006 kit and got a free chlorine sample of 6.8 parts per million

I added 5 drops of reagent #3 to try and get combined chlorine and it stayed clear. So I’m thinking I have no combined chlorine.

Can anyone help and give any insight on my next steps. Do these numbers sound about right ?

I really don’t want to mess this pool up before my pool gathering tomorrow .
I wish I had the time to go through all the forms and research . But it takes a lot of time and time is against me right now hahah. Putting up the pool was a mission. Let me tell you.
However it’s leveled for now

 

[PoolGate]

You need to test for "conditioner" aka CYA. This will tell you how much chlorine you need to keep. Right now if your test is correct, you are low on chlorine. Not sure how you got .68 parts chlorine though.

 

[PoolGate]

BTW: Is your saltwater chlorine generator running?

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

You need to test for "conditioner" aka CYA. This will tell you how much chlorine you need to keep. Right now if your test is correct, you are low on chlorine. Not sure how you got .68 parts chlorine though.

Hello I’m sorry . I updated my post. My calculations were wrong. I have 6.8 parts per million of chlorine.

I have not started my chlorine generator. I wanted to get a balance of my water first . I also need to add some more salt. I didn’t want to go over and add too much salt

 

[PoolGate]

Test CYA and it looks like you will need more based on the above that 1 gallon adds @ 20ppm to your pool (17 k gallons).

Also keep in mind chlorine is a consumable and until you get your SWG running, you will need to add chlorine regularly most likely daily.

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

Test CYA and it looks like you will need more based on the above that 1 gallon adds @ 20ppm to your pool (17 k gallons).

Also keep in mind chlorine is a consumable and until you get your SWG running, you will need to add chlorine regularly most likely daily.

Hello. I have a 6000 gallon 12x22 oval pool. I just did a cya test and it’s reading between 60-90 ppm
At 90 the black circle at bottoms starts to fade but after a second I can’t start to see it a little.
At 60 it’s pretty much clouded and I can’t see the black circle. I did two test both with similar results.

 

[PoolGate]

Ah ok sorry don't know where I got 17k gallons from. You need to target 6 (10% of CYA) for your chlorine level. You are perfect right now. It is safe for you to swim up to 24.

So looks like you are balanced then? Post a full set of tests.

FC 6
CC
pH
CH
TA
CYA 60

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[iwillhaveapoolthissummer]

Okay I’ll get rest of test and get back to you. Can I ask why I didn’t have combined chlorine though? Is that okay?
Also do anyone know a safe amount of bleach or chlorine to add everyday till I start chlorinator

or should I best testing daily

 

[PoolGate]

Okay I’ll get rest of test and get back to you. Can I ask why I didn’t have combined chlorine though? Is that okay?
Also do anyone know a safe amount of bleach or chlorine to add everyday till I start chlorinator

or should I best testing daily

CC's indicate the 1/2 life of chlorine doing its job cleaning nasties. You have a new pool and no nasties so no CCs. No CCs is a good thing!

 

[PoolGate]

I would guess you are going to need about a quart of 6% chlorine bleach per day. That'll replenish about 2 parts chlorine.

PoolMath

Discover the calculator behind the perfect pool, PoolMath. Dealing with pools has allowed TFP to become the original authors of the best calculator on the net.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[MITBeta]

You should be testing chlorine every day until you have a handle on how your pool operates. Use the instructions for the 10ml sample instead of 25. It will save on reagents and will give a good enough result.