I believe Aqualeader advocates putting a 2' wide ring of crushed stone down around the permiter, compact and then place posts directly on top of that.
Maine, Sharkline Matrix 24' Install
- Thread starter tjroux
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2011
- 141
Pool looks great and I'm having bad deja vu. We have the same pool and liner that we installed last summer 
The little duck below is my new best friend... 35 degrees at night ambient temperature, filled with cold lake water and ice cold tap water... Current temp is 64 degrees ( without any solar cover )
Putting solar cover on tonight, might be taking a dip this time next week... I prefer 72 for a swimming temp .
Putting solar cover on tonight, might be taking a dip this time next week... I prefer 72 for a swimming temp .
So, we were a little dumb... I should of know better but...
Pool builder is always going to tell you to go to the pool store to buy chemicals ( we did )
Wife spent 110$ and left with this:
our CH is non existent and need to add 40lbs of these calcium crystals ( 50lb bag for 50$ )
We needed 3" tablets ( we knew this, but 10lbs for 50$ seemed outrageous )
We needed to shock ( even after putting 1.5 lbs of shock in the night before, cheap walmart stuff i had from our old intex pool ) We still needed more shock ( something like another 2 lbs? ) The blonde bimbo at the counter was ******* my blonde wife off ( battle of the blondes right? ) and she didnt know her Rear from a hole in the ground...
They told her and I quote "If you CH is to low, the water will suck the calcium out of the metal pool wall right through the vinyl liner"
This seemed odd to me, but not knowing i said "grab it, if he's FS then we'll return it with a nice friendly letter"
The sheet they printed off for us stated we needed to raise our TA, so I added half the recommended Baking Soda this morning, will add the rest tonight ( about 12 lbs this morning, and another 8 lbs tonight i think it was ) I will check my math again.
Dummy me forgot to order the GOOD test kit... have some crummy strips i can use for now to get it close to being in line. Will post test results tonight when i get home. Put 2 Chlorine tabs in and put the feeder ( Mr Rubber duck ) on low to start.
BBB Method thoughts... I dont like having a ton of liquid bleach hanging around... I think were going to use the 3" tabs, but Sams club has a 50lb bucket for 75$ ( any thoughts? says no fillers on the bucket )
I plan on using baking soda ( 7$ for a 12 lb bag at sams, even has recommendations on back for pool usage )
Other Note: Their math was way off, they figured for a 48" tall pool when ours is 52 and my wife told them 52 ( they figured for 13,000 something gallons ) so i had to redo their math on all addition of chemicals... Pool is CRYSTAL CLEAR, and I Mean i can stand in my living room and count the rocks in the patter on the bottom from 33 ft away clear...
I guess this was more of a rant and a vent, but anyone use the PUCKS from sams for Chlorine? I want to do the BB method...
Pool builder is always going to tell you to go to the pool store to buy chemicals ( we did )
Wife spent 110$ and left with this:
our CH is non existent and need to add 40lbs of these calcium crystals ( 50lb bag for 50$ )
We needed 3" tablets ( we knew this, but 10lbs for 50$ seemed outrageous )
We needed to shock ( even after putting 1.5 lbs of shock in the night before, cheap walmart stuff i had from our old intex pool ) We still needed more shock ( something like another 2 lbs? ) The blonde bimbo at the counter was ******* my blonde wife off ( battle of the blondes right? ) and she didnt know her Rear from a hole in the ground...
They told her and I quote "If you CH is to low, the water will suck the calcium out of the metal pool wall right through the vinyl liner"
This seemed odd to me, but not knowing i said "grab it, if he's FS then we'll return it with a nice friendly letter"
The sheet they printed off for us stated we needed to raise our TA, so I added half the recommended Baking Soda this morning, will add the rest tonight ( about 12 lbs this morning, and another 8 lbs tonight i think it was ) I will check my math again.
Dummy me forgot to order the GOOD test kit... have some crummy strips i can use for now to get it close to being in line. Will post test results tonight when i get home. Put 2 Chlorine tabs in and put the feeder ( Mr Rubber duck ) on low to start.
BBB Method thoughts... I dont like having a ton of liquid bleach hanging around... I think were going to use the 3" tabs, but Sams club has a 50lb bucket for 75$ ( any thoughts? says no fillers on the bucket )
I plan on using baking soda ( 7$ for a 12 lb bag at sams, even has recommendations on back for pool usage )
Other Note: Their math was way off, they figured for a 48" tall pool when ours is 52 and my wife told them 52 ( they figured for 13,000 something gallons ) so i had to redo their math on all addition of chemicals... Pool is CRYSTAL CLEAR, and I Mean i can stand in my living room and count the rocks in the patter on the bottom from 33 ft away clear...
I guess this was more of a rant and a vent, but anyone use the PUCKS from sams for Chlorine? I want to do the BB method...
All this time on here troux, and still doing the pool store route 
:lol:
Get the test kit
:lol:
:lol: Get the test kit
Return. Not needed on a vinyl pool.tjroux said:
Adds cya and lowers ph, return if you have it.tjroux said:
Read: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pooltjroux said:
Why?tjroux said:
Stop adding until you have accurate test results. Most likely you will not need it and your TA may already be too high. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/recommended_levelstjroux said:
That is about the only thing they are correct on.tjroux said:
:lol:
tjroux said:
It's not a ton of bleach. When I was feeding my last pool, I was buying 10 jugs of bleach at WalMart @ $2.89 every 2 weeks and I still had supply at the end of those 2 weeks.
Where are you getting this ton of bleach at?
If you test the water and feed the pool every day which doesn't take that long, you won't have a ton of anything. You are taking up more space with all the stuff your wife bought. More Pool School for you!
A ton of bleach ( i like buying in bulk ) tabs are easier to manage... but told the wife we might need to suck it up and just buy a few cases of bleach.
Cheap test strips i had from last year ( kit is being ordered in the morning )
Chlorine 0
PH is 7.2
TA is 120ppm
CYA is 40ppm
Cheap test strips i had from last year ( kit is being ordered in the morning )
Chlorine 0
PH is 7.2
TA is 120ppm
CYA is 40ppm
You need to get some chlorine in there.
Also, if you are going to go with the pucks, you need to keep an eye on low pH and figure in the cost of partial drains to keep your CYA in check. Ultimately, it's your pool and up to you on how you want to treat it.
Also, if you are going to go with the pucks, you need to keep an eye on low pH and figure in the cost of partial drains to keep your CYA in check. Ultimately, it's your pool and up to you on how you want to treat it.
Ok, so some of my mental issues aside ( touched, special what have you )
What your saying and what I cant pull from pool school and BBB is this
using pucks will increase my CYA which means i need to drain part of my pool and replace with fresh water to lower CYA
Baking soda raises my TA which is Dang near close to what it needs to be. ( Slightly elevated )
By my calculations ( pool calculator ) we need to add 1 gallon of 6% bleach to the pool to raise our FC to 4ppm ( or 3 for range )
My PH at 7.2 requires 54 OZ of borax to raise the PH to optimal range
My wifes main worry is the liner... the PB basically scared her into thinking we need the expensive chemicals to keep the liner in good shape.... He also had me second guessing what I've read on here for months
My next question ( im sure this in in pool school but, reading comprehension is not one of my strong points )
Is bleach bleach? AKA aslong as the only active ingrediant in the jug is bleach, is that fine?
Dollar store bleach vs clorox? I understand the % and what not changes how much of it we add ( cost vs % = Total cost per oz )
Im not great with this stuff, just trying to make sense of it all and make sure my thinking is straight
Recap:
54oz of Borax
1 gallon of 6% bleach
and no more Baking Soda.
Calcium hardness doesnt matter
I will check the levels again to make sure my numbers are still accurate.
What your saying and what I cant pull from pool school and BBB is this
using pucks will increase my CYA which means i need to drain part of my pool and replace with fresh water to lower CYA
Baking soda raises my TA which is Dang near close to what it needs to be. ( Slightly elevated )
By my calculations ( pool calculator ) we need to add 1 gallon of 6% bleach to the pool to raise our FC to 4ppm ( or 3 for range )
My PH at 7.2 requires 54 OZ of borax to raise the PH to optimal range
My wifes main worry is the liner... the PB basically scared her into thinking we need the expensive chemicals to keep the liner in good shape.... He also had me second guessing what I've read on here for months
My next question ( im sure this in in pool school but, reading comprehension is not one of my strong points )
Is bleach bleach? AKA aslong as the only active ingrediant in the jug is bleach, is that fine?
Dollar store bleach vs clorox? I understand the % and what not changes how much of it we add ( cost vs % = Total cost per oz )
Im not great with this stuff, just trying to make sense of it all and make sure my thinking is straight
Recap:
54oz of Borax
1 gallon of 6% bleach
and no more Baking Soda.
Calcium hardness doesnt matter
I will check the levels again to make sure my numbers are still accurate.
Likely yes at some point.tjroux said:
The strips are likely wrong, but if they are right your are well above the 70-90 ppm recommendation.tjroux said:
The strips are likely wrong. 1 gallon of 6% will raise your 13000 gallon pool by 4.7 ppm, to a total of 5.7 ppm (if your strip is right), which is a bit high for 0 cya. I would shoot for 3 ppm total.tjroux said:
I would skip this for now since you high TA (again if the strips are right) will likely cause your ph to go up fast and soon you will be needing to lower it with Muriatic Acid.tjroux said:
Plain bleach is plain bleach (also called liquid chlorine when the percentage is higher). Make sure to avoid scented and splashless bleaches.tjroux said:
Chlorine is chlorine. There is salt n water in liquid n cya/stabilizer in the pucks n whatever else. It's all designed to do the same thing... chlorinate pool water.
How are we still figuring 13,000 gallons? 24ft 54 inch deep 24ft 4.5 feet deep... 15,2000 gallons is what the poolcalculator figures for size... take a few hundred gallons off for other stuff.... just making sure we are not figuring volume and chemicals with incorrect information... we have it filled to within 2 inches of the top of the skimmer.
Is my math off? Wouldnt be the first time 
Is my math off? Wouldnt be the first time
My mom always told me I was special. I will adjust all math tonight when I get home. returned everything except the shock. Wife's picking up 10-15 bottles of bleach in the next day. 6% no additives or scents. Plain Jane bleach. Thanks for getting me back on track
If your wall is 54" then your volume is 13500, if it is 52" (like you posted previously) then your volume is 13000...either is really close enough.
On the bleach, you might want to check around for liquid chlorine in the area. Liquid chlorine= bleach with higher percentage of sodium hypochlorite (the sanitizer in bleach). Many places often carry it, home depot, lowes, pool stores, etc. and it is often cheaper per ounce of sanitizer. Formula is PriceInDollars/(TotalOunces*PecentageOfSodiumHypochlorite) to compare....so for example if you can buy 5 gallons of 12.5% liquid chlorine for $15, then your price is 15/(640*0.125)= $0.19/oz NaClO. Then lets say you can get 1 bottle (121 oz) of 8.25% Clorox for $2.50, then 2.50/(121*0.0825)= $0.25/oz NaClO. Last example, lets say This approach just give a easy way to compare what you are getting for your money.
On the bleach, you might want to check around for liquid chlorine in the area. Liquid chlorine= bleach with higher percentage of sodium hypochlorite (the sanitizer in bleach). Many places often carry it, home depot, lowes, pool stores, etc. and it is often cheaper per ounce of sanitizer. Formula is PriceInDollars/(TotalOunces*PecentageOfSodiumHypochlorite) to compare....so for example if you can buy 5 gallons of 12.5% liquid chlorine for $15, then your price is 15/(640*0.125)= $0.19/oz NaClO. Then lets say you can get 1 bottle (121 oz) of 8.25% Clorox for $2.50, then 2.50/(121*0.0825)= $0.25/oz NaClO. Last example, lets say This approach just give a easy way to compare what you are getting for your money.
Linen, thank you very much... we have 100's of other uses around the house for bleach ( not just our pool ) Will using the 6% bleach cause any issues compared to the pool store liquid bleach. ( she buys in massive bulk when she can find deals... IE local dollar store, sams club where she works )
Just ordered the Test kit for 49.99 shipped.
Just ordered the Test kit for 49.99 shipped.
I also believe that when BBB is in place, the pool water is clearer a.k.a. sparkling than when using pool store chemicals AND!!! It's cheaper!
Also... IMO, the sun will do most of your fading in regards to your liner.
Also... IMO, the sun will do most of your fading in regards to your liner.