New Pool Owner - Planning for New AG Pool Install

[Mshell2879]

First time pool owner here and boy am I happy to find this site! I'm already pool schoolin' and prepping for installation of my AG pool later on this month. Lots of great information that I'm anxious to put to work, but the one piece of info that I haven't been able to find is how much of the various chemicals I should stock up on and continue to keep on hand in my supply "closet".

We'll be filling the pool with local city (Lake Michigan source) water from the outdoor spigot. My TF-100 kit is on order, so no baseline pre-test yet. I know it would just be a guesstimate at this point, but I'd like to plan as much as possible in advance. I have two small kiddos I'd like to avoid dragging to the store if I'm going to be loading up on a trunk full of supplies!

Thanks!

Michelle

 

[Texas Splash]

Hi Michelle and welcome to the forum! Great job on the TF-100. Some quick chemical thoughts for you:
- You know you'll need CYA (stabilizer). New water won't have any, so use the Poolmath calculator to figure-out the dosage to get you to at least a CYA of 30. If you go to 40 with summer approaching that may be not hurt either. Use the sock method to soak granular stabilizer, squeeze the sock often to help dissipate.
- While that's happening, add a little bleach on day one for a moderate FC goal of about 3 ppm. On day 2 the stabilizer should all be dissolved, so you could increase FC to about 5-6, but without the TF-100 yet, you probably won't be sure. But that's the idea anyways.
- PH will be next to adjust to the mid-7s.
- You can let us know TA later. More than likely, it will be high. IN/IL seem to have high TA for some reason. We'll help with that later.
- CH (low) is N/A for your vinyl pool. If it gets over 400 or so, let us know because we can help you with that as well.

So at first, it's CYA, FC, and pH. Those are your top-3 chores for the swimming day. Use/save the links below in my sig. Let us know if you have any questions. Nice to have you with us.

 

[spinPHD]

As a side note, you really don't need to stockpile supplies using the methods taught on this site. In fact, the only two chemicals we know you will need are stabilizer and regular unscented bleach (also known as liquid chlorine). The stabilizer you can pick up a bottle at any big box hardware retailer, like Home Depot or Lowes or even Walmart. Once you use it, you won't need it again for a long time so don't get more than you need.


As for bleach (liquid chlorine), it deteriorates over time so you should wait and buy it once the pool is open. When you do buy it, just get a couple gallons at a time. It can be bought at the grocery store during your regular grocery shopping or at a hardware store if you find a better price.

Once you test your PH, you will know if you need anything to adjust that. If it's too high, you can buy some jugs of muriatic acid that can also be found at a hardware store. It is actually the only item i buy at the pool store because it's the one item they have at a reasonable price. If it's too high you can use baking soda that you can pick up at grocery store as well.

 

[Rolodetective]

Welcome Michelle. I'm just down the road from you in Valpo....consider getting your liquid chlorine (bleach) from either Great Escape on 30, or Carrabean Pool. Their chlorine is 12.5%, 128oz per bottle and $10 for 4 gallons and very fresh.

Finding this site is the best accessory I could have found for my pool. Literally, the only thing I've put in my pool is cya (once or twice), muriatic acid (very oz's every 1-3 weeks) and bleach (17-51 oz's per day).

 

[Mshell2879]

Thank you everyone for all of the helpful information!