Something to consider - check with the pool builder about having the ability to send water to waste, rather than the filter. Most useful for when you get those monsoon or hurricane rains. A manual vacuum head (for your pole), hose, and skimmer attachment. With the Dolphin, you will not need it for average day-to-day. But when mother nature does you wrong - tree junk, tons of dirt, bazillions of worms, or (hopefully never) a full on algae bloom (any of which would choke the Dolphin), you have a way to get the junk out - either to the filter, or to waste.
I like the clear, triangular heads with the replaceable brushes:. There are many, here's one:
Clear Vacuum Head
I like this hose. Get a length that will reach diagonal corner to corner:
Pool Hose
Skimmer adaptor depends on what skimmers you get.
A real life ring to keep hanging nearby, to toss if someone gets in trouble. A random one:
Life Ring
Use your shiny new test kit to test the water that will be put in your pool, and topping it off later - helpful so you know the baseline of where things are at, and can anticipate what may happen when adding down the road.
DON'T lay in a big stock of chemicals! Work very closely with the builder, and get a list of EVERYTHING they intend to add before they do so for startup.
Here's the guestimate of what they might have to add. Anything else is extremely suspect. Consult with us if you can first, if they are insisting on additional things.
Let us know the construction type of the pool - plaster, vinyl, etc. That may change the following a bit, or what levels you should be aiming for:
Salt - to get the level for your SWCG, by your testing (NOT theirs!)
CYA/Stabilizer - to 60 or 70 by your testing (NOT theirs!)
Alkalinity increase - IF yours tests low per your test. Pretty unlikely in your area.
Hardness increase - IF yours tests low per your test. Pretty unlikely in your area.
Just enough acid to get pH into the 7's, if high.
Liquid Chlorine only, to get an initial dose into the pool to what the Stabilizer target SLAM level is, and to tide you through until the salt dissolves/mixes completely and you can start up the SWCG.
NO algicides (might be a fight with them about that!), phosphate reducers, metal treatments, other chlorine products (tabs, powders, shocks), clarifiers!
If successful in holding them to the above, all you need to start: A couple of jugs of liquid CL, a bag of salt, and a jug of muriatic acid. And the first two may not get used much.
