Opening my pool and want to do it real nice this time

[monsterman]

Hello all. We have a 15 x 24' above-ground pool in NY. I am not the greatest when it comes to balancing my water chemicals. I use a floating chlorinator with the chlorine tab in it. I occasionally use baking soda powder when needed by pouring the powder into a bucket adding water mixing then spilling that bucket into the pool around the perimeter while the filter is on. That is really all I do besides adding in some clarifier every now and then. The pool looks crystal clear BUT the particulars like hardness and whatever else there is MAY NOT be GREAT. I backwash and brush and all the cleaning is done by me. I am pretty OCD BUT I am not the best at chemistry. I was looking on a site and they said they sell an item called pH Free and Clear that you add to the chlorinator and that is all you need to keep the pool crystal clear. An alternative product is Arm and Hammer Clear Balance which is less costly. Some sites said that BOTH of these products are ONLY baking soda. If that is the case what I am purchasing from Costo in the form of powder is better economically and does the same trick. is this TRUE? Please advise me on this. With all the chemicals that are available- pH bounce or increase to pH decrease to soda ash to calcium hardness etc- one can go broke with all this. One site said that the only chemicals needed for a pool are Chlorine, baking Soda and Chlorine Stabilizer(CYA)- BUT what product is CYA(chlorine stabilizer and when would you need it? As it is I almost rarely use Regular shock- I use a shock called GREENOUT. I use that and baking soda and the clarifier every now and then- is this OK??

I also vacuum the pool with my old robot - does OK. and also do it manually myself with the pole and the vacuum head at the end.

as mentioned I use a floating chlorinator with 2 tablets of chlorine in it.-as you can see by my attachments- I use BOTH- stabilized AND NON stabilized chlorine tablets AND the GREENOUT--which says
is a shock treatment and super chlorinator. is this combo OK- and if it is a super chlorinator- should I use "Fewer chlorine tablets floating weekly- to lower that chlorine level? I am trying to figure this out I want to prevent using or having to add CYA at all- and not have to have the problem of draining the pool etc if I add too much. What do you guys recommend? There can be a few scenarios I guess
1) Use the chlorine tablets WITH CYA stabilizer already in them and use REGULAR shock(NOT the GREENOUT version shock-which is super chlorinated)
2) use the GREENOUT ONLY with much FEWER chlorine tablets-(BUT which type- the combo tabs or the NON stabilized chlorine tablets.
Over the last few years- my pool has been CRYSTAL clear- by using JUST GREENOUT and chlorine tablets so if that is the case why should I change? I very rarely have had to use a clarifier to make the pool clear except when I open the pool at the beginning of the season. If I use the GREENOUT shock- what version of chlorine tablets would you suggest I use?

And can I save money by using Clorox bleach as my shock instead of the commercial bag shocks- since this has NO algicide in it like GREENOUT or POWER SHOCK(and how much would be needed for a 15 ' x 24' oval above ground pool)- which one site said I should not use regularly(only at closing of pool?) So many questions?

I guess that is all I have at this point- I will attach some pics so you can see my pol (before and after opening to see how it looks. Thank you
I tried to attach more pics BUT it said the attachment was too large-(how do I fix that?) So this pic is of the NON stabilized chlorine tabs in my floating chlorinator and the other no pic is called SLOW Tbas- which one should I use REGULARLY?

Thanks to all

 

[Newdude]

Full stop Monte. Throw out everything you have done. Delete it from memory, like worrying about calcium in a vinly pool or using 4 in 1 mystery chemicals.

Start over from scratch and do it right this time. We'll happily help.

Pool Care Basics

Welcome to TFP.

 

[monsterman]

Full stop Monte. Throw out everything you have done. Delete it from memory, like worrying about calcium in a vinly pool or using 4 in 1 mystery chemicals.

Start over from scratch and do it right this time. We'll happily help.

Pool Care Basics

Welcome to TFP.

Wow - thanks for the quick reply- BUT I have been on the web for days now- and I am really tired- so i am hoping that you can give me just a quick lesson- (real quick of what to do)
As mentioned - my pool is crystal clear)- just the chemicals might be a little off? need to get a good test kit-STRIPS??and recommendations?
Now remember I 1)brush the walls and bottom of the pool
2) fill the pol with filtered water
3) Vacuum manually and with an OLD robot
4) backwash
5) add GREENOUT-2 bags at opening)
6)Turn the filter on and leave it on for at least 24 hours
7) Add clarifier if needed
8) Put the floating chlorinator in with 2 tablets and refill this when they are gone.
- This is where I start getting crazy- the maintenance.
So please see what I have told you and let me know if this is OK to start with and then how I move forward throughout the season.

I appreciate your reply- but I am so tired of reading and reading. can you please just in a short few pointers tell me what is right or wrong with my procedures it seems to have been working for me as my pool always looks great and no one has ever complained of smell or cloudiness or whatever. As you can see by my picture this is my pool last ear with my 1-year-old grandson(precious)- and my water is nice and clear by the looks of it- as for chemically??

 

[Newdude]

my water is nice and clear by the looks of it- as for chemically??

Exactly. You have no idea. Algae, while unsightly, is harmless. The worry is about all the invisible ickies that cause swimmers rash or worse.

You need your own reliable test kit. The tfpro from tftestkits.net will pay for itself several times over because you won't be buying all those spendy chemicals anymore.

We use just liquid chlorine and occasional Muriatic acid for the most part. We cannot advise what to do with Greenout, clarifyer and other products we do not use.

You own a pool in easy land. The fill water and rain are friendly and unless you dump in a bunch of mystery chemicals, your PH, TA and CH will rarely need a thing. The pool store wants you fooling with these so it's a never ending roller coaster. (spendy)

Get the kit and we'll show you how to use it, and help you learn every step of the way.

 

[monsterman]

Exactly. You have no idea. Algae, while unsightly, is harmless. The worry is about all the invisible ickies that cause swimmers rash or worse.

You need your own reliable test kit. The tfpro from tftestkits.net will pay for itself several times over because you won't be buying all those spendy chemicals anymore.

We use just liquid chlorine and occasional Muriatic acid for the most part. We cannot advise what to do with Greenout, clarifyer and other products we do not use.

You own a pool in easy land. The fill water and rain are friendly and unless you dump in a bunch of mystery chemicals, your PH, TA and CH will rarely need a thing. The pool store wants you fooling with these so it's a never ending roller coaster. (spendy)

Get the kit and we'll show you how to use it, and help you learn every step of the way.

you are very kind-- just one more question-- another DIY site said Taylor K-2006 or TFT test TF-100 kits-- can be used--- if you say the TF PRo- can you say why and are they about the same?
But as for the procedures I go through- is everything done properly as I outlined above

 

[Newdude]

- if you say the TF PRo- can you say why and are they about the same?

It includes a nice case and a $48 stirring device that's a must have.

The k2006c while the same from a functionality purpose is too expensive for what it is.

The TF-100 is the TFpro without the stirring device or case.

But as for the procedures I go through- is everything done properly as I outlined above

The procedure is no good. We test first and add only what you need, which is where the long term savings from the test kit comes in. (Liquid chlorine and maybe some borax and CYA to start)

 

[monsterman]

HUH?-- When I say the procedure- I am not including the chemicals- I am talking about the manual opening of the pool and then if needed the chemicals? Sorry, but I am frustrated and confused- every site I read- including Swim University- tells it the way I have been doing it- Manually-- even by starting the season with shock- every case is different but my pool is seasonal and as mentioned fairly well controlled--Sorry but I feel like I am getting beaten down here- there have to be gray areas with all? Sorry?

 

[Newdude]

- I am talking about the manual opening of the pool and then if needed the chemicals?

Yes. Your physical procedure is Ok.

 

[RLP]

You have finally found the right place that will provide you with sound advice to properly maintain your pool.

It will be sanitized, which is the important part.

And in an economical way. Trust what the people hear tell you.

 

[monsterman]

Yes. Your physical procedure is Ok.

Whew- I feel much better now- one step at a time- let me get the pool opened and then go from there. Thanks you

 

[monsterman]

You have finally found the right place that will provide you with sound advice to properly maintain your pool.

It will be sanitized, which is the important part.

And in an economical way. Trust what the people hear tell you.

I appreciate your reply- but let me ask you something if I may. I was always a good student- never the best but good- I am now 65- and want my pool to be OK- not the best just OK- for happy swimming etc. So as mentioned I have been using for years now- a shock called GREENOUT throughout the season- you can google it if you need to-- it is a super chlorinator and an algicide. Do I need to use this or JUST PLAIN shock without the algicide?
Now remember- my levels are NOT whacky- they just might not be the best- so I have to play throughout the season. So be it. No one has ever had rashes or whatever- and no smell of chlorine in the pool- if the pool gets any sort of cloudy I add a clarifier and vacuum after and backwash. Now I know that not many people have used or heard of GREENUT r clarifier- but they are here and are used and sold quite often. And GREENOUT is a shock treatment. So again my question- is to keep things inexpensive and JUST OK- why isn't I have been doing in the past OK?-- I test with strips every day or so and adjust accordingly- sometimes the strips (more often than not-) say the chemicals are perfect(this shocks me but makes me feel great). Why am I different than many other people who do the same thing I suppose? I am just asking because these kits recommended are so expensive and I am wondering if they are overkill. As the old standby, we all learned when we were younger -KISS- keep it simple stupid? This is what I am trying to do. What do you think? I am climbing the walls- I read too much and hear so many different things.

 

[RLP]

I cant comment on the products that you are using, I have only used the procedures outlined in this forum.

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate. We all use a drop based test kit.

We also use either liquid chlorine, or a salt water chlorine generator, muriatic acid, baking soda, and borax. Thats about it.

Following the TFP method results in spectacular water clarity and quality. Check out the thread "how clear is a tfp pool"

 

[Pauls234]

The methods taught here are as simple and inexpensive as it gets, but they are different than a pool store or other websites.

You do need the test kit, but will never have to buy expensive pool store chemicals again and your pool will be cleaner and clearer than it is today with less effort.

Pool store testing or test strips are not accurate so we can't help based on those results.

Your pool and of course your choice to keep up what you've been doing, but we won't be able to help much of we don't know what's in your water chemically.

 

[Mdragger88]

@montek
Here’s the pool opening guide

Opening your pool- An easy to follow guide

Opening your pool can be stressful. This Pool Start Up guide teaches everything from start-up chemicals, covers, and more for your start up.

www.troublefreepool.com

I don’t know what’s in your “green out” product but there are only 4 kinds of manually added chlorine that most people have access to:
Trichlor (pucks & powder) - adds fc, adds cya, lowers ph & ta
Dichlor- does the same as above
Calcium hypochlorite - adds fc & calcium
Liquid chlorine- just adds fc
Note that Trichlor, dichlor, & cal hypo products may have other ingredients added to them such as copper which you don’t want in your pool. Copper algeacides may control algae to a point but they do nothing to sanitize the water.
Only adequate fc can do that
FC/CYA Levels
There are varying strengths of some of these -
PoolMath can show you the difference each will make in your pool but when used to achieve the equivalent amounts of fc one is not more effective than another.
Throwing random things in without knowing where you stand & what they will do to affect all your parameters is a recipe for disaster.
This is why a proper test kit is so important- a tf100/pro or taylor k2006(c) are the only kits that contain all the tests you need to adequately & accurately test all your parameters. They all contain the same Taylor reagents just in different amounts and with different cases/accessories.
Test Kits Compared
The TFP way is simple, test your water & add what your pool needs, nothing more, nothing less & have a safe, beautiful, easy to care for pool to enjoy with your family.
There are a million different pool products out there that are mostly just comprised of basic ingredients with a fancy name & fancy price tag to match.
Here we focus on the ingredients as that is what matters.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.google.com

Non-Recommended Pool Chemicals

These pool chemicals should not be added to your pool. Save your money and frustration and avoid these chemicals!

www.google.com

Here’s all the important links wrapped up in 1
Pool Care Basics

 

[monsterman]

@montek
Here’s the pool opening guide

Opening your pool- An easy to follow guide

Opening your pool can be stressful. This Pool Start Up guide teaches everything from start-up chemicals, covers, and more for your start up.

www.troublefreepool.com

I don’t know what’s in your “green out” product but there are only 4 kinds of manually added chlorine that most people have access to:
Trichlor (pucks & powder) - adds fc, adds cya, lowers ph & ta
Dichlor- does the same as above
Calcium hypochlorite - adds fc & calcium
Liquid chlorine- just adds fc
Note that Trichlor, dichlor, & cal hypo products may have other ingredients added to them such as copper which you don’t want in your pool. Copper algeacides may control algae to a point but they do nothing to sanitize the water.
Only adequate fc can do that
FC/CYA Levels
There are varying strengths of some of these -
PoolMath can show you the difference each will make in your pool but when used to achieve the equivalent amounts of fc one is not more effective than another.
Throwing random things in without knowing where you stand & what they will do to affect all your parameters is a recipe for disaster.
This is why a proper test kit is so important- a tf100/pro or taylor k2006(c) are the only kits that contain all the tests you need to adequately & accurately test all your parameters. They all contain the same Taylor reagents just in different amounts and with different cases/accessories.
Test Kits Compared
The TFP way is simple, test your water & add what your pool needs, nothing more, nothing less & have a safe, beautiful, easy to care for pool to enjoy with your family.
There are a million different pool products out there that are mostly just comprised of basic ingredients with a fancy name & fancy price tag to match.
Here we focus on the ingredients as that is what matters.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.google.com

Non-Recommended Pool Chemicals

These pool chemicals should not be added to your pool. Save your money and frustration and avoid these chemicals!

www.google.com

Here’s all the important links wrapped up in 1
Pool Care Basics

thank you for your in-depth and well-thought-out reply- that makes a layman's job so much easier.

 

[Mdragger88]

thank you for your in-depth and well-thought-out reply- that makes a layman's job so much easier.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the info/misinformation out there on the world wide web.
But our approach truly is a K.I.S.S. one. Even though the kits look complicated, the individual tests are quite simple to perform.
The ranges provided by strips are simply not sufficient & will have you chasing your tail which makes them actually not simple at all. We call them guess strips-
What you initially save by buying strips/ relying on pool store “free” testing vs buying your own kit you will spend many times over buying unnecessary & often overpriced things. Most people spend more in 1 trip to the pool store than a kit (which can last 2 seasons) costs. The reagent refills can be purchased separately for a few $ here and there as you use them up. Some are used more than others. The tf100 & tfpro just have larger amounts of the reagents that homeowners use the most than the taylor k2006.

What is TFPC?

We believe any pool owner can achieve and maintain safe, crystal clear pool water, by using the science-based, Trouble Free Pool Care (TFPC) methodology.

www.google.com

 

[monsterman]

again I thank you--But which kit is best-- a person from this site recommended the tfpro- because it comes with the stirring strips?- but if I buy the one without- it's just a swirl of the tube? correct-- so which would you suggest is the best and most accurate for the least cost.
You have been great -. Can I clone you

 

[PoolStored]

again I thank you--But which kit is best-- a person from this site recommended the tfpro- because it comes with the stirring strips?- but if I buy the one without- it's just a swirl of the tube? correct-- so which would you suggest is the best and most accurate for the least cost.

Yeah, it is just a couple swirls, you can get by with the 100.

Personally, I got the pro. Smart stir is a game changer. Makes test accurate and reliable and super easy. I don't worry about if I swirled enough. My brother, who owned a pool for 30 years came to visit. We did back to back FC test comparison, me with smart stir, him swirling. His results were 1ppm higher. Smart stir makes the mixing of chemicals consistent.

You have been great -. Can I clone you

@Mdragger88 is the best!

 

[Mdragger88]

I got by with swirling by hand for years - the speed stir is very nice to have but it’s not an absolute necessity so you can always get one later separately.
The taylor k2006 is a few $ cheaper than the tf100 & contains less of certain reagents.
The tf100 is actually more comparable to the much more expensive taylor k2006(c) (c stands for commercial) so it is generally the best value-
but all of them will get you where you need to go.
As mentioned they all do the same exact tests - they just have different amounts of reagents yielding more of some tests. You can always purchase more reagents as you go.
I have a tf100 that I purchased 7 or 8 years ago. It has served me well.
I just purchase refills as needed. I test fc nearly every day when my pool is open- it takes 2 minutes. The other tests I do weekly, some are every couple of weeks.
Every spring tftestkits.net offers full kit refills for both Taylor & tf kits at a discounted price and its a great time to restock for the upcoming season.

 

[Newdude]

Why am I different than many other people who do the same thing I suppose?

Your way doesn't work well, neither is it economical, or you wouldn't be out searching for answers.

You can't tell us the first thing about water chemistry or sanitization so that means you've been lucky to date. It happens, it does. But that doesn't make it ok, or a good plan going forward.

Mixing and matching is the worst thing you can do, so you have to choose a path and follow it completely.