Starting brand new pool - help!

[Jamie Languedoc]

We just finished filling our 22k gallon 30' round above ground saltwater pool last night and turned on the pump and SWG last night. I went to the pool store for pool school. They wanted us to buy all kinds of chemicals to get started, of course, but I knew I didn't have to use all that so I politely declined, however I don't know how much stuff to put in in order to match their recommendations.

My results were:
Free chlorine: 0
Total chlorine: 0
PH: 7.8
Alkalinity: 55
Calcium: 75
Stabilizer: 0
Salt: 2900 (I'm sure all the salt added yesterday isn't completely dissolved yet)

The first thing they told me to do was add 20lbs of alkalinity up. I didn't buy it though because I think baking soda will do the same thing? If so, how much baking soda would equal 20 lbs of their chemical stuff?
Then they recommended 3lbs of easy shock. Can I just use regular 6% bleach for this? If so, how much?
They also recommended adding calcium hardness, sun shield, and crystal clear supreme (borates) but all that was included with my pool package so I already have that stuff, even though I'd love to know what to use to replace these things in the future when this supply runs out.
Thank you in advance for any advice or help!

 

[mknauss]

First - don't go to the pool store.
Recommended Levels

Recommended Pool Chemicals

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

www.troublefreepool.com

Take a look through the above. Answers all your questions.

Most important, start dissolving 40 ppm worth of CYA granules.
Add 3 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine.

 

[Jamie Languedoc]

First - don't go to the pool store.
Recommended Levels

Recommended Pool Chemicals

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

www.troublefreepool.com

Take a look through the above. Answers all your questions.

Most important, start dissolving 40 ppm worth of CYA granules.
Add 3 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine.

I'm sorry, I'm so new to this and I don't have a clue where to start to know know how much 3 ppm worth will be! I read through the post you linked and will definitely utilize this link often, but I thought I'd start with 2 gallons of liquid chlorine. I found the 10% for just a little more than regular bleach. Would this be adding too much or not enough?

 

[mknauss]

PoolMath
In a 22000 gallon pool, 3 quarts is approximately 3 ppm. Try out the app I linked above.
For the CYA - 8 lbs of dry stabilizer / conditioner will add 40 ppm to your pool.

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[JeaniB]

Welcome to TFP!
Get some chlorine in that pool! Your SWG will maintain your chlorine level but most likely will not raise it to the correct level quickly enough to keep your pool safe. With no CYA you will loose a lot of chlorine to the sun, so start a sock of CYA. Get a goo test kit, ie TF100 so you can keep tabs on everything from here on. I personally wouldn't mess with the Calcium and TA unless you need to frequently add muriatic acid to control your pH. Start with the Chlorine and CYA, and start swimming!
Best of luck, we are here to help.