Total Newbie. Chemical Set Up Question

[Davis S.]

Hello All! City dweller for all my life but with Quarantine, pulled trigger on a Coleman 18 x 48" Power Steel Swim Vista Series 2. Price to good to pass up. The Board has been tremendously helpful, but with the inability to go to a pool / rec store kind of in the dark in terms of chemicals to start and what i will need for season. Ive seen some pool opening kits that have a variety of materials, but others say go a la carte and you are going to need more materials on hand throughout the season. Just looking for ideas to start off with and carry me through the startup and management early on. We have level ground and two 10 by 12 tarps. Would there be an issue in cutting them to 9 by 9 or slight overlap as base cover? Pool supply options that are eaily on Hand are Home Depot and the like, although pool company may be opening soon for pick-up .

Once again, any suggestions, literature and chemical purchase instructions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[scout123]

On the top left of this page, click on the three little lines and then click on pool school, and read the ABC's of pool chemistry. And then go from there in pool school and you'll learn all about taking care of your own pool the easy and cheap way. To start up your pool, you'll need:

liquid chlorine or plain bleach (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Ace Hardware, pool store)
stabilizer/CYA (bought mine at Walmart. I think the above stores will have it too)
A good test kit : the TFtest kit or Taylor K2006c are recommended. I have the Taylor and love it.
After you test your water you may need : borax (to raise Ph) or muriatic acid (to lower Ph)
That will get you started. You'll use pool math (an app you can download or use the site on the bottom of this page) to figure out how much of each chemical to add to your pool.

The tarps are fine for a base. And yes, you can cut them. I have a round pool and cut my tarp round. Good luck with your new project.

 

[Davis S.]

Thanks Scout123 . I started doing so last night. The material list is greatly appreciated. I also downloaded the App. With the colder weather in the northeast (NY) , i am thinking the tit may be best to hold off a little while until the weather gets warmer .
One thing i was trying to figure out as well as is chlorine tablets and shock. Or is that something that is needed after the fact.

 

[Davis S.]

Feeling pretty confident after reading the many resources on the website. In the process of getting supplies from the pool store, happened to take a sample of my Water to them. Came back with the following test info:

Free Chlorine : 0.13
Total Chlorine: 0.13
PG: 7.3
Total Alkalinity: 60 (/)
Calcium Hardness : 11
Cyanuric Acid: 5
Phosphates : 1667
TDS: 300

What are the chances that would change once i fill up the pool.

Obviously, from the tap and fill i figure i will need to substantially up the alkilinity up and have that on hand . Similarly , also have some HArdness Plus on hand. We were given a start-up kit gratis that has Leslie's Chlor Brite, 1 pt Algae Control, 1 pt Ultra Bright Advanced and 1 pt Stain & Scale Prevent Start-Up. Anything else i should be thinking about in terms of startup. Or play it by ear once the pool is full, settles and i start with the Alkalinity Up. Thanks in advance.

 

[Richard320]

Feeling pretty confident after reading the many resources on the website. In the process of getting supplies from the pool store, happened to take a sample of my Water to them. Came back with the following test info:

Free Chlorine : 0.13
Total Chlorine: 0.13
PG: 7.3
Total Alkalinity: 60 (/)
Calcium Hardness : 11
Cyanuric Acid: 5
Phosphates : 1667
TDS: 300

What are the chances that would change once i fill up the pool.

Obviously, from the tap and fill i figure i will need to substantially up the alkilinity up and have that on hand . Similarly , also have some HArdness Plus on hand. We were given a start-up kit gratis that has Leslie's Chlor Brite, 1 pt Algae Control, 1 pt Ultra Bright Advanced and 1 pt Stain & Scale Prevent Start-Up. Anything else i should be thinking about in terms of startup. Or play it by ear once the pool is full, settles and i start with the Alkalinity Up. Thanks in advance.

It's really unlikely you have 5 CYA in tap water. Makes the whole set of results suspect. Around here we trust pool store testing about as much as minimart sushi. Test strips are no better.

The only thing in your free stuff that looks useful is the Chlor Brite, which is dichlor, which could be used to both chlorinate and raise CYA. Be aware that it is really acidic, so your okay pH and your lower-limit TA are going to be adversely affected if you do. It might be wiser to save it for later in the season when your CYA is dropping from splashout and you have a better handle on pool chemistry.

The pH looks good but could climb with any aeration that comes from filling. You'll have to test it when the pool is full and circulating. With that TA level -- if accurate -- it seems unlikely to need immediate adjustment.

You'll need to add stabilizer aka CYA
You'll need chlorine.

That's it.

The TA is acceptable as-is. I guess since you already have Alkalinity Up, when it's time you can use it, but it's just overpriced baking soda in a fancy package. Don't buy any more.

That looks like very soft water. Your vinyl pool is okay with that. If you get a bunch of foaming on the surface, and it bugs you, then you'll need to raise CH. For now, don't worry.

Don't make this harder than it is. But get your own proper test kit. 6000 gallons is not a kiddie pool. You need a grown-up test kit. One algae outbreak or one trip to the Urgent Care with an ear infection or pinkeye will completely overshadow the expense of a proper kit, not to mention the savings on overpriced or useless chemicals they'll scare you into buying at the pool store when you go in for one of those free tests.