New to pool ownership and maintenance

[BaronVonSteve]

I need to exercise in water because of damaged joints. I moved to be near a community College to use their pool. However, Covid put a stop to that so I bought my own exercise pool because I've been gaining a lot of weight from not exercising. It's an iPool and is small compared to the pools most people have here at 2,000 gallons. It has a cartridge filter and a Hayward heater. The pool is setup in an insulated pole barn with heat and AC as well as humidity control and automatic venting. Getting the pool water chemistry correct is a bit of a challenge. The water is consistently alkaline. I may have received some bad advice using bleach for chlorination and Muratic Acid to lower alkalinity. I have the pump running when I add chemicals. I think I added the Muratic Acid (8oz 31%) too close to adding bleach for chlorination. I got a small release of what I think was chlorine gas which I vented immediately and I left the building. I'm looking forward to going to pool school and getting everyone's valuable feedback on insights here.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Normally for a pool your size, we would recommend following the link below. The difference here being it doesn't look like you can just dump your water in that area if you get algae or something. So you might end-up maintaining your water chemistry like a regular pool. A few things to keep in mind:
- Proper testing is #1. We highly recommend owner testing with either a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. Those are best and easy to use.
- Yes, liquid chlorine or regular bleach is best to use for increasing the FC level. Muriatic acid is best to lower the pH and/or TA as needed.
- One of your challenges is that your water receives no sunlight that I can tell. The sun's UV is beneficial to oxidizing residual contaminants from the water- hence the chlorine smell like a public pool. We may come back to that later.
- The first link below really has just about everything you need to know to get started. Spend some times going through those articles and you'll be better prepared.

Once you get one of those test kits, post a full set of test results and we'll be happy to help you.

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Smaller seasonal pools can see just as much enjoyment as their larger counterparts. In this guide we'll show you how to maintain your temporary pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[BaronVonSteve]

Welcome to TFP! Normally for a pool your size, we would recommend following the link below. The difference here being it doesn't look like you can just dump your water in that area if you get algae or something. So you might end-up maintaining your water chemistry like a regular pool. A few things to keep in mind:
- Proper testing is #1. We highly recommend owner testing with either a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. Those are best and easy to use.
- Yes, liquid chlorine or regular bleach is best to use for increasing the FC level. Muriatic acid is best to lower the pH and/or TA as needed.
- One of your challenges is that your water receives no sunlight that I can tell. The sun's UV is beneficial to oxidizing residual contaminants from the water- hence the chlorine smell like a public pool. We may come back to that later.
- The first link below really has just about everything you need to know to get started. Spend some times going through those articles and you'll be better prepared.

Once you get one of those test kits, post a full set of test results and we'll be happy to help you.

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Smaller seasonal pools can see just as much enjoyment as their larger counterparts. In this guide we'll show you how to maintain your temporary pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks for the welcome. I received my Taylor 2006c test kit. It's a bit intimidating but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I've been reading the blogs here about pool care and they have been very informative. I have added an airateor and have some medical grade UV lamps I can over the pool that can run on a timer. Unfortunately, I've had an incident involving my left leg so I'll be out of the pool for a couple of months while I heal. I'll spend the time reading more here and getting familiar with testing and maintaining the water.

 

[Texas Splash]

Get well and we'll wait to hear from you.

 

[an1vrsy]

Welcome to TFP!

One thing... good luck with your exercise routine when you get back at it. Sorry to hear its been derailed for short while. The Taylor K-2006C is a very good kit. Taylor puts out some great videos on how to use it. If you didn't buy the magnetic stirrer, get one. You'll be glad you did. It makes testing so much easier.