My First Pool..How Do I Add Chemicals & Make Adjustments?by Jamie
I just got a 15ft by 4 ft deep pool and I have not the slightest idea on how to keep it clean and test the pH levels and all that. Can you please help me out? Thanks Jamie Thanks for the question Jamie Not to worry because everything you need to keep your pool crystal clear is on my site. I've taken care of hundreds of residential and commercial pools in Arizona and Oregon, so you're getting real in-the-field first hand knowledge on what to do. It would really be time prohibitive for me to explain everything you need to do, from testing the pH level, chlorine, vacuuming, filtration, etc.. So, I'm going to give you the links to my web pages. You can go through them at your leisure. If you have any questions, please feel free to email back. First, and before you add any chemicals to your pool, you need to get a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. It's the best on the market and the one most pool professionals use. Test the fill water for pH, alkalinity, and hardness. No need to worry about chlorine because there probably isn't any. The reason you do this is to have a good starting point. Water Testing Kit Pool Water Testing If you want good pool water right now you can call a local pool water delivery service. Pool Water Delivery Everything about chlorine: Swimming Pool Chlorine Calcium Hypochlorite Sodium Hypochlorite A good page for a new pool start up: Pool Start Up Vacuums and how to vacuum: Swimming Pool Vacuums A good place to go to learn and get links about your pool chemistry: Swimming Pool Chemistry Your chemical levels should read: Chlorine 1.5ppm - 3.5ppm pH 7.6 - 7.8 Alkalinity 80 - 100ppm Calcium Hardness 150 - 250ppm Cyanuric Acid (chlorine stabilizer) 30 - 50ppm This is why you need to test the fill water first, to know what the levels are so you can make the right adjustments. If the pH is already at 7.4ppm, great. Don't touch that. It should come up naturally through splashing around and people swimming. Again, as you can see, there's alot going on here. If you can just take one step at a time, you can do it. I would encourage you first to shock the pool with Dichlor chlorine. This is from the chlorine tablet page: Chlorine Tablets While Dichlor does add pool chlorine it will also increase your CYA level while lowering your pool water pH level. Take care in using Dichlor as your CYA can get out of hand very quickly. Trichlor tabs can be used in a floater to keep the CYA and chlorine levels up throughout the week. Never put tabs in the skimmer. If you can tell me the kind of filtration system you have, I can help with that as well. This is a good starting point. Read through the pages and ask as many questions as you want. Please remember that I do need alot of information to help you, so if you have a problem, it's best to make it as detailed as possible; what you've done, how much and when, what were the results, etc.. Remember this: Swimming Safety Good luck with your pool and have a great and safe swimming season. Robert New Question: New Pool..How To Put In The Right Amount Of Chemicals? By: Kinder From: Eastover, NC USA How to put in the right amount chemicals for a 12 feet round pool and 3.3 feet deep. My chlorine is 0/0 and pH is 6.4 and my TA is 40. This is my first pool and I don't understand the basis because I don't want to injury myself or my children. Answer By: Robert Thanks for the question Kinder A 12 ft round pool with 48 inch tall walls, your pool would hold about 2,975 gallons. A 12 ft round pool with 52 inch tall walls, your pool would hold about 3,398 gallons. Knowing the gallons is the first step. I'm going to give you some links to look at because this question has been answered in other posts. Above Ground Pool..Need To Know About Chemicals & What To Do.. What Is A Swimming Pool Conditioner & Stabilizer? The above link has a little to do with brown algae, but you can disregard that. Just look at the links within the post and chemical readings. About Adding Chemicals To A Relined Pool.. You may not have a newly relined pool, but the way to add chemicals to a newly refilled pool is the same. Get a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. Water Testing Kit You'll want to shock the pool with Dichlor. This is a fast acting granular chlorine with a stabilizer (cyanuric acid/CYA) in it. Then adjust the alkalinity. It should read between 80 - 100ppm. pH should be between 7.6 - 7.8ppm. Chlorine should be 1.5 - 3.5ppm. Below is the page that has those links to make the adjustments that were just listed: Swimming Pool Chemistry Follow the links above and they will direct you on what to do and exactly how to do it. Test your fill water so you'll have a starting point. Knowing your fill water readings is important so you don't have any surprises. There's many posts and answered questions on the pool Q&A page so I would encourage you to look through those categories as well. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Hope this helps and have a fun and safe swimming season. Robert |
