putting chemicals in the pool for the 1st time - IS this cor

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stjemmes

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Jul 25, 2010
39
Pool is filled and has about 12,500 to 13,000 of water in it. I took my water sample to the store and this is what is said

Total Chlorine = 0.00
pH = 6.5

everything else was 0.00


So the store told me to add all this

10- 40lbs of salt
7lbs. Alkcalinity
12lbs Calcium ( dissolve and pour around pool)
3lbs stabilizer into skimmer

wait 6hrs - 8hrs and add

7lbs Alk.12lbs Calcium
3lbs stabilizer

wait 6-8hrs

add 7lbs Alk
12lbs calcium
1 clarifier tablet in skimmer


So far I turned the filter on and have added 8 -40lb bags of salt. I stopped because the bag of salt says a 15,000 gal. pool needs 10bg. I was worried I was adding to much salt and thought I would take a minute to ask the pros.
 
What type of pool do you have -- ie, inground; plaster; vinyl; etc. Also where do you live -- climate can matter on recommended levels. It will be helpful if you can add this information to your signature by going to the User Control Panel.
 
You really need a good test kit in order to know what you really need. If it's a vinyl pool you don't need the calcium at all.

If I read correctly you're supposed to add a total of:
400 lbs of salt.
21 lbs of baking soda (aka Alkalinity).
36 lbs of calcium.
6 lbs of CYA (aka Stabilizer)
and 1 clarifier tablet. (whatever that is) ???

Is that correct?

400 lbs of salt will raise your salt by 3600.
21 lbs of baking soda will raise your TA by 115.
36 lbs of calcium will raise your CH by 226.
6 lbs of CYA will raise your CYA by 55.
 
Well first off, lets talk about pool store testing. It is useless. There is no way your TA and CH are 0. You should get a test kit of your own. Even with a small pool you should take control of your pool balance and you can't do that without your own good test kit.

Now lets talk about pool store advice.

  • With a vinyl liner you don't have to worry about CH being too low, so you didn't need the calcium.
    [/*:m:2y40vgbt]
  • I am not sure what a clarifier tablet is. Clarifier is rarely needed, and definitely not in new water. Do you mean a trichlor tablet?
    [/*:m:2y40vgbt]
  • With an SWG and high TA you will be dealing with pH rise. You would be better off setting TA to around 70. Since I can assure you your TA is not 0 and they have you adding 115, you could wind up with TA around 200. It will be a laborious process involving lots of acid to get it back down.
    [/*:m:2y40vgbt]
  • If you trust the pool store test, the pH is SUPER LOW. This can cause damage to pool equipment and irritate eyes. Get some borax in there right away to get pH up.[/*:m:2y40vgbt]

Are you familiar with the pool calculator? Have you read pool school?
 
Not to sound stupid or anything but I have no clue as to what the #s are that you just posted. I only have the 6way test strips right now BUT plan on buying a better testing kit soon. Right now I only added 8 bags of salt and NOTHING else because I wanted to make sure that I was over doing it. Plus I wanted to see what someone who had more experience would do. Its pooring down rain now so I won't be going out there for a few.

Mind you this is my first pool except a Intex for a few years that I used a SWG on and never knew I needed to add anything other then salt and turn on. During the time it was up and running we never had anything but crystal clear water so the pool company and reading on here have made me realize that I was doing it all wrong during this time.
 
Read pool school, order a good kit and find a good pool store that will give you real numbers till you get the kit.

But first, Add 4 boxes of 20 mule team borax and then one large (182oz) jug of bleach.
Then you can go ahead and add the whole 6 lbs of stabilizer in a sock or through the skimmer.

What else have you added to the pool?
 
The only thing I have added was 8 bags of salt.

I have two more bags of salt on the back porch, 50lb bag of Alk. , large 10lb jug of Stabilizer , 50lb bag of calcium and the clarifier tablets they told me to put in the skimmer. Apparently they are to eliminate oil and scum build up.
 
Ok so if I go out and buy the 4 boxes of Borax, 182oz jug of bleach and add 6lbs of the stabilizer to the pool this afternoon WHEN will it be safe to let my kids get in the pool. Is this all that I would need to put in the pool??? Also at what point do i turn on the SWG? The pool store told me to turn it on in a day or two and to run my pump for 48hrs. I just spent $175 on chemicals and salt and now I'm looking at it all and seeing I have alot of junk that apparently I don't need. I feel really freaking stupid now. Oh I went out and tested the water with a 6way test strip (thats all I have right now) and it says-

FC- 0
TC- 0
Alk- between 0
CYA- 0
pH- 6.5
TH-50
 

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stjemmes said:
Ok so if I go out and buy the 4 boxes of Borax, 182oz jug of bleach and add 6lbs of the stabilizer to the pool this afternoon WHEN will it be safe to let my kids get in the pool. Is this all that I would need to put in the pool??? Also at what point do i turn on the SWG? The pool store told me to turn it on in a day or two and to run my pump for 48hrs. I just spent $175 on chemicals and salt and now I'm looking at it all and seeing I have alot of junk that apparently I don't need. I feel really freaking stupid now. Oh I went out and tested the water with a 6way test strip (thats all I have right now) and it says-

FC- 0
TC- 0
Alk- between 0
CYA- 0
pH- 6.5
TH-50
Click to expand...
Assuming the water's clear, I'd say it's safe when the pH gets between 7.2 and 7.8; after all, the kids bathe in the same stuff, don't they?

You'll need to spend some time in Pool School. Read until your eyes water. Then take a break and order a proper test kit. There's a good article comparing kits in Pool School. Hint: TF100 is the best value.

Once you clear the initial hurdle, taking care of the pool is pretty easy, but it has to be consistent. It's like taking care of your teeth. A few minutes a day brushing for pennies a week or thousands of dollars once a year. And one way is also painful.
 
Don't feel so bad about all the stuff you have there. A lot of us have been pool stored before. Wait a few days and see how much of it you can return.

Just to reinforce what Richard said. Add the bleach in front of a running return, give it a few mins to mix and then add the borax the same way then give it about 30 mins and let the swimming begin. You can swim while you're adding the stabilizer.

Buy a few jugs of bleach. You'll use them while getting the salt right.

How much salt does your Aquatrol say that you need?
 
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