Whew! I just started the opening sanitation and cleaning of my pool today, and I think it's going smoothly. The hardest part was finding all of the parts to my pool vacuum, as the previous owner was not, shall we say, very organized, and didn't leave much information to help.
Here's what I've done so far:
- I turned on the pump, then tested my water.
- Brushed down the walls and steps, trying to get the algae at the edges. Will do that again this evening when it is cooler.
- Added muriatic acid to bring down the pH.
- Assembled the vacuum, a Zodiac G4, set it up, and let 'er go. Seems to be doing a fine job. Better than I expected.
- Tested the pH again, and it is now 7.5. Time to add chlorine once the sun goes over the yard arm.
So my plan is to leave the vacuum running for a while, just to let it keep cleaning things up. I've been checking the pressure on my DE filter, and it hasn't budged yet. Brush the pool again this evening and again in the morning. Add the chlorine to shock level once the sun gets lower. Then continue the shocking process per pool school until I meet the pool school criteria
Here are my test numbers:
FC - 0 (big surprise)
pH - 8.2 (now 7.5
TA - 120
CH - 120
CYA - 30
Now for my questions:
1. I looked at the chlorine/CYA chart, and found that for a CYA level of 30, shock level for chlorine is 12. So that's what I plugged into the pool calculator to get the amount of chlorine I need.
2. Should I leave the pump running continuously while I'm shocking the pool, or turn it off tonight?
3. Because I lowered the pH, should I check the TA number again before I do anything to lower it?
4. Should I raise the CYA at all? Pros and cons of raising versus doing nothing?
5. Once the pool looks good, and the chlorine level is stable, I assume we are good to go swimming. Yes?
Thanks!!
Here's what I've done so far:
- I turned on the pump, then tested my water.
- Brushed down the walls and steps, trying to get the algae at the edges. Will do that again this evening when it is cooler.
- Added muriatic acid to bring down the pH.
- Assembled the vacuum, a Zodiac G4, set it up, and let 'er go. Seems to be doing a fine job. Better than I expected.
- Tested the pH again, and it is now 7.5. Time to add chlorine once the sun goes over the yard arm.
So my plan is to leave the vacuum running for a while, just to let it keep cleaning things up. I've been checking the pressure on my DE filter, and it hasn't budged yet. Brush the pool again this evening and again in the morning. Add the chlorine to shock level once the sun gets lower. Then continue the shocking process per pool school until I meet the pool school criteria
Here are my test numbers:
FC - 0 (big surprise)
pH - 8.2 (now 7.5
TA - 120
CH - 120
CYA - 30
Now for my questions:
1. I looked at the chlorine/CYA chart, and found that for a CYA level of 30, shock level for chlorine is 12. So that's what I plugged into the pool calculator to get the amount of chlorine I need.
2. Should I leave the pump running continuously while I'm shocking the pool, or turn it off tonight?
3. Because I lowered the pH, should I check the TA number again before I do anything to lower it?
4. Should I raise the CYA at all? Pros and cons of raising versus doing nothing?
5. Once the pool looks good, and the chlorine level is stable, I assume we are good to go swimming. Yes?
Thanks!!
