Total newbie. A little overwhelmed.

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Bryleemom0709

Bryleemom0709

Well-known member
Sep 18, 2021
82
North Carolina
Pool Size
19200
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hello everyone. I bought a house last fall that just so happens to have come with a pool 🤪. I’ve never had a pool, so I am a complete newbie to everything. I am very slowly learning (or trying to) and just rolled off the cover to the pool on Friday. I thought I’d be smart and have a guy from our local pool company come over and “open” the pool. He vacuumed it, turned on the pump/filter, dumped some Algaephos and 2 gallons of old (have no idea how long it’s been in the pool building) chlorine in and called it a day.
Thankfully, I already had the TF-100 on hand. I have a 19,200gallon vinyl. Tested yesterday morning and FC was 0. Alkalinity was 40. PH was 6.8. I have been reading that alkalinity is the first thing I need to get straight so I put in 12lb of baking soda last night.
This morning, Alkalinity is 110, PH is 7.5. Calcium hardness is 50. CYA is 0. And Chlorine is .5. I not sure why my chlorine is so low, since he said he shocked it on Friday? Anyway, I’d love some advice on what to do next. I was thinking I need to shock it again tonight with the stuff the pool company gave me (cal-hypo powder) and test again tomorrow? I also got chlorine tabs at the pool company. Should I throw one of those in as well? Sorry if I sound stupid. This is all so new to me and chemistry is not my thing.
The water looks pretty good, other than some floating little white stuff that doesn’t seem to be going away. No idea what that is either. But it’s so small the net won’t pick it up.
 
Hi Mom. welcome to TFP :handwave:
My advice is to stop letting the pool guy near the pool, and we'll help you do it right.
We need more information:
Plaster, Fiberglass or vinyl lined pool?
How do you *normally* chlorinate?? We really strongly rec either Liquid Chlorine only, or a Salt Water Generator. I'll link some articles explaining why.
www.troublefreepool.com

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

We need you to give us test results like this:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt if applicable

Some more important reading-
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Recommended Levels
FC/CYA Levels
PoolMath
SLAM Process

Please review and give us any questions you have. We're happy to help!

Maddie :flower:
 
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Welcome to TFP! :wave: Be very careful about the product you allow in the water as some of them have ill side effects. For now, I would recommend:
1 - No more TA up products (i.e. baking soda). Your TA is high enough.
2 - Do not use tabs/pucks right now
3 - No algaecides or any other snake oils of any kind
4 - Your CYA looks to be low, so get some granular stabilizer but let's talk more before you add it.
5 - Get some liquid chlorine. You'll need it to increase the FC and possibly to perform some preliminary testing before increasing the CYA.

Nothing too difficult for you to manage with some help here from TFP.

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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Texas Splash said:
Welcome to TFP! :wave: Be very careful about the product you allow in the water as some of them have ill side effects. For now, I would recommend:
1 - No more TA up products (i.e. baking soda). Your TA is high enough.
2 - Do not use tabs/pucks right now
3 - No algaecides or any other snake oils of any kind
4 - Your CYA looks to be low, so get some granular stabilizer but let's talk more before you add it.
5 - Get some liquid chlorine. You'll need it to increase the FC and possibly to perform some preliminary testing before increasing the CYA.

Nothing too difficult for you to manage with some help here from TFP.

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I know this sounds totally stupid, but when you say liquid chlorine, do you mean bleach? The people at the pool store told me I only needed the powdered “shock”, so that is all I bought. They don’t open again until Tuesday, and they told me not to use the liquid chlorine from Walmart that I already had. They said it would harm my liner? Is there an ideal amount of liquid chlorine that I should begin with?
 
YippeeSkippy said:
Hi Mom. welcome to TFP :handwave:
My advice is to stop letting the pool guy near the pool, and we'll help you do it right.
We need more information:
Plaster, Fiberglass or vinyl lined pool?
How do you *normally* chlorinate?? We really strongly rec either Liquid Chlorine only, or a Salt Water Generator. I'll link some articles explaining why.
www.troublefreepool.com

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

We need you to give us test results like this:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt if applicable

Some more important reading-
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Recommended Levels
FC/CYA Levels
PoolMath
SLAM Process

Please review and give us any questions you have. We're happy to help!

Maddie :flower:
Click to expand...
Thank you Maddie!
To answer your question, I don’t “normally” chlorinate LOL. This is the first time I have ever done anything with a pool, so I am totally out of sorts. The pool store told me I only needed the powdered shock, so I didn’t buy any liquid chlorine.
 
Bryleemom0709 said:
I know this sounds totally stupid, but when you say liquid chlorine, do you mean bleach?
Click to expand...
No stupid questions. Yes, regular laundry bleach is the same as liquid pool chlorine only weaker. Walmart Pool Essentials for example is 10% while your laundry bleach may be 6% - 8.25%. Laundry bleach must be plain/regular, never splashless or scented. I would also avoid the Clorox brand bleach. Remember that a pool eats (chlorine) everyday, just like a pet needs food. It must have chlorine to keep the organics at bay and kill bacteria. That is why the FC/CYA Levels is so valuable. With some time and reading, you'll see how easy it is.
 
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Thank you!! I’ll run out to Walmart to grab some. Do I need to wait until the sun goes down to add it? Also, is there a chart or anything to tell me how much I should add, or should I test the FC again?
 
Bryleemom0709 said:
Do I need to wait until the sun goes down to add it?
Click to expand...
Nope. Chlorine, stabilizer, and anything else can be added at any time. If you go to our Recommended Chemicals page, it lists not only what each product is designed to do, but how to apply it. Very useful.
 
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When you get back and ready to tackle the pool, remember a few things:
1. We give advice only on your own home testing with your TF-100. We trust YOU and will help you with performing any test. You almost never need to go to the pool store.
2. Be sure to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. Also add your test kit and how you chlorine (i.e. liquid chlorine).
3. The PoolMath APP does a really nice job of telling you what items need to be adjusted once you enter all your pool info and test results. But the APP sometimes needs clarification, and that's where we can help.
 
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Alrighty! Got back, added the recommended amount of liquid chlorine. Tested it 15 minutes later and FC was 9. Now, an hour later, FC is 7.5 and CC is 0. Do you have any recommendations on what I should do next?
 
You're almost out of sunlight over there I believe. Not enough to really steal too much chlorine (sun's UV). Here's what I would suggest for this evening:
1 - Update your signature from your TFP profile settings. See mine as an example. It helps tremendously.
2 - Tomorrow post a full set of test results with your TF-100. That's our best place to start.

With chlorine in the water for this evening that seems to be holding fairly well, you'll be fine until tomorrow. Relax for now, read-up a bit on the Pool Care Basics page so that you aren't overwhelmed, and we'll help get all your chemistry on track. Easy stuff.
 
Hello and welcome! Many of us have been in the New and Overwhelmed boat but you're off to a great start. Stick with us and you'll never need a pool guy again!
 
Happy Monday everyone! Finally got home and was able to test. Here are my numbers….
FC-0
CC-0
PH-7.5
CALCIUM HARDNESS-50
TA-100
CYA-0

Seems as though my chlorine is going away as fast as I put it in. What do you all think? (If I need to make a new post, please let me know…I wasn’t sure if I should continue here or create a new one)
 
Hey look who's back! Okay, here's what I would like for you to do:
1 - With pump on to circulate water, have enough liquid chlorine on hand to increase the FC to 10 per the PoolMath APP. Do not add anything else to the water at this point.
2 - Test the FC again in 10 minutes and report back. We'll go from there.
 
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