Start-up Chemicals for New Pool

by Crystal
(NC)

When initially filling your pool what chemicals need to be added?

Hi Crystal.

This is what is recommended in my area for starting an above ground pool. Once the pool is full you start the filter. The filter should then run for several days while you add these chemicals. The first day you add stabilizer to the pool. This should be mixed in a bucket of water before adding to the pool. The pool size will determine the amount of stabilizer you will need to add. This just needs to be done one time, on initial fill up.

The second day you add a bag or two of vinyl shock treatment to the pool, again, the amount depends on the size. The next day you put tablets in your floating chlorinator and set it in the pool.

After that you will want to shock the pool at least once a month and always keep tabs in the chlorinator.

My best tip for dealing with water that turns cloudy or green is to run the filter nonstop until the water turns clear again. Most of the time simply adding shock treatment and running the filter for a few days will take care of any problems you may have.

One of the main reasons people have problems keeping the water clear in their pool is not running the filter enough. The hotter it gets the more it needs to run, also the smaller the HP the more it needs to run.

These are just my ways of doing things, if you are working with a local pool store they may tell you something completely different. Just keep this in mind about pool stores, they love to sell chemicals. Before spending to much at any one place I would take water samples to several different stores and compare what they all recommend.

This page may help some also.

Pool Cleaner

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May 05, 2010
 Green pool
by: Phil

Ok,just fyi I'd had the above ground pool covered since last November and now of course it's MAY. Just opened it last week and boy, it doesn't even look like I had a cover on it. Water green, algae in the skimmer, big sections of dirt on the floor. I think this cover was seeping water through it too since I'd have a ton of water all the time on top of it. Wasn't just "rain",etc.

I got to work quickly by cleaning the DE filter and putting in fresh/clean DE. Tossed 3lbs of chlorine in, and earnestly been running the auto cleaner day and night. I finally had to get the straight vacuum out for some of the spots the "crawley" wasn't getting to. Anyway, still running the filter all day/night with now another lb. of chlorine added. Still green water. What else to do?

Hi Phil. You could try using a product called vinyl shock and continue running the filter. This should clear the water up. Another option is to drain some of the water out of the pool and refill it. You should never completely drain a vinyl pool but you could drain it down to about a foot and refill it a time or two if needed. While the pool is draining you can sweep the bottom and keep the dirt stirred up so more of it gets drained out.

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