Startind A Brand New Salt Water Pool
1. salt doesn’t take 24 hrs to dissolve. At most it takes a few hours. Brushing it around helps.
2. so long as the pump is running you can’t go wrong with adding chlorine. I’d use bleach, and not the tablets since they will add CYA to your pool, and you are trying to adjust the CYA right now. I started my salt pool 10 days ago. I started up the pump and added enough bleach to shock until I got the SWG running the next day.
3. CYA can take up to a week to dissolve. It should be added via a sock in the skimmer and/or pouring it into the skimmer with the pump running – it will get caught by the filter and dissolve there. Now that it’s been poured into the pool, keep brushing it to break it up.
Test & Balance Your Pool’s Chemical Levels
Once you know how many gallons of your pool holds it’s time to test your water. The amount of water in your pool will help determine how much of each chemical you’ll need to add after you’ve tested the water for it to be properly balanced.
Here’s what you’ll need to test for and their ideal range:
- Alkalinity
- Metals
- Salt
Your water needs to be completely balanced with all the ideal levels before turning the salt chlorinator on. Read more on testing your water here. An existing pool converting to chlorine will have a salt presence already. you’ll want to know your starting salt level after all the rest of your chemicals are balanced so you know how much salt to add in the next step.
If pool maintenance seems confusing or just isn’t your thing, now is also a good time to add E-Z Pool to your backyard living style. The combination of these two products takes out the need for adding a bunch of different chemicals to your pool to balance out your levels.
Remove And Prevent Metal Stains With Metalfree
Over a long winter off-season, metals like copper and iron can build up in the pool and cause stains. These metals can be difficult to remove once they’ve reached concentrations where they’re staining the walls, so it’s best to attack them early. One initial dose of METALfree during spring opening can help neutralize the metals in your pool and prevent further staining on the walls and pool floor. METALfree also helps eliminate stained water that comes from having high metal content.
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Filling Your Pool With Water For The First Time
Follow these simple steps to get your new pool ready:
Filling Your Pool with Water for the First Time
Check filtration system
Make sure the filtration system is operational.
Fill pool
Based on temperature and type of finish, fill the pool to the middle of the skimmer or specified water level without interruption and as rapidly as possible with clean water, to help prevent a bowl ring. Be sure to place the hose in the deepest area with a clean rag on the end to prevent damage to the surface material.
Start filtration
Based on temperature and type of finish, fill the pool to the middle of the skimmer or specified water level without interruption and as rapidly as possible with clean water, to help prevent a bowl ring. Be sure to place the hose in the deepest area with a clean rag on the end to prevent damage to the surface material.
Test the pool
Test the pool in multiple spots, at least 600mm 900mm below the surface to make sure the readings are right.
Additionally:
- At no time should any person or pets be allowed in the pool during the fill
- To prevent streaking, do not allow any external sources of water to enter the pool
- Do not swim in the pool until the water is properly balanced
- Test the water for: pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness and metals
Dont forget to record the results.
The Importance Of Balanced Pool Water
Balanced pool water is clean, safe, healthy, and comfortable to swim in. And it will prevent damage to your pools structure and equipment.
Too much chlorine will cause skin and eye irritation, and potential illness, while too little will not be effective at killing bacteria, algae, and other contaminants.
If pH levels are too high, the water will become cloudy and create scale deposits on your pool walls and equipment. And if the pH levels are too low, the pool surfaces and equipment will become etched and corroded.
Simply put, unbalanced water can lead to plenty of unwanted issues with your pool. So do yourself and your pool a favour and keep your water balanced.
Read Also: Will Chlorine Kill Head Lice
How To Put Chemicals In Your Pool For The First Time
First time opening your pool? Congratulations! You’re about to have endless summers of fun and enjoyment. Before you can get to swimming, follow these steps to put chemicals in your pool for the very first time:
Pro Tip: Be sure to check your filter and return lines for damage, cracks, or leaks. If you have a sandfilter, add sand if needed. If you have a cartridge filter, check the cartridge and clean/replace asneeded.
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What Is Breakpoint Oxidation
To reach breakpoint oxidation, the chlorine reading must be 10 ppm over your combined chlorine reading.
Your chlorine has two readings: free chlorine and combined chlorine . Free chlorine refers to the chlorine that is free and available to kill.
NOTE: Pool shock products are made with unstabilized chlorine or no chlorine at all. They will go in, do their job, and get eaten up by the suns UV rays very fast. Thats why its important to shock your pool at night or dusk, and let it work for 8 hours throughout the night.
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Inventory Your Pool Chemicals
Youll want to have all of your chemicals ready to go before you start opening your pool. Check the expiration dates on all of your pool chemicals, and replace any that are past their prime. . You should also replace any chemicals that werent properly sealed before they were stored.
Chemicals Checklist: Everything You Need to Open Your Pool
Need to do a pre-opening pool chemical supply run? Heres what youll need to get the job done right:
- A good test kit or test strips for checking your pools pH, calcium hardness, total alkalinity,and chlorine levels
- Chlorine granules or tablets
- Stain treatment
Important Preventative Maintenance To Prevent Calcium And Mineral Scale
Certain local water conditions and pool water chemistry imbalances increase the likelihood of white calcium build-up and other mineral deposits on pool interior surfaces and within pool maintenance equipment and most commonly salt-cell chlorinated pools.
Designer Pool Coatings recommend the use of Startup-Tec® to protect against calcium / mineral build-up. This dose needs to be repeated every six months or in accordance with advice from your pool maintenance professional.
For more information, visit www.easycarewater.com.
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Testing Your Freshly Filled Pool Water
To find out the water balance of your source water, just use a pool test kit or test strips. Be sure that your kit or strips are fresh, last years supply may produce inaccurate results.
To produce the full battery of water tests , you will need a complete test kit like the Taylor Deluxe K-2005. If you prefer test strips, AquaChek Select 7-Way, and LaMotte Insta Test 6 are both complete test strips.
Taking a water sample to the pool store may not be the best option, as their system is designed to sell you chemicals, after which you will need to test the water again, and test all summer – so you may as well buy the K-2005 , or buy some fresh 6-way or 7-way test strips, which aren’t as accurate, but may be close enough.
When Balancing Water Start With Total Alkalinity
Once you have tested your water chemistry, it is time to start adding chemicals to balance your water during pool opening. Total alkalinity should be balanced first, because it will help bring the other aspects of water chemistry closer to their normal range. This makes it significantly easier to achieve a safe and clean pool.
To lower the total alkalinity, you can use Leslies Dry Acid. This product quickly decreases total alkalinity levels in your pool. A dose of 1½ pounds of Leslies Dry Acid in 10,000 gallons of water will lower the total alkalinity by 10 ppm. If you need to increase total alkalinity levels, use Leslies Alkalinity Up. To raise total alkalinity by 10 ppm in 10,000 gallons, use 1½ pounds of Alkalinity Up.
Once the total alkalinity has returned within the range of 80 to 120 ppm, you can begin to adjust the other chemicals. To increase pH, adding Leslies Soda Ash will help raise it to an acceptable range. To decrease pH, you can again use Leslies Dry Acid.
If the calcium hardness is too low, 1¼ pounds of Leslies Hardness Plus will raise the levels by 10 ppm in 10,000 gallons of water. It’s much more difficult to lower the calcium hardness level than it is to raise it, so be sure to keep calcium levels below 400 ppm, and don’t add too much hardness increaser at once.
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How To Open An Above Ground Pool In 11 Steps
If you own an above ground pool, your thoughts are probably never far from the sun and fun of pool season. But before you can enjoy your pool, youll need to open and prep it. You could pay someone to do it for you, of course. But why P-A-Y when you can DIY?
Once you learn how to open an above ground pool, the process will become easier every year. All you need is a friend, the right supplies, and a little elbow grease, and youll be swimming again in no time.
Get Your Water Checked Before You Go
Take a sample of your pool water to your local pool store and get it professionally checked.
Make sure when you get it checked that you correct any issues before you go. You want to make sure that your pH and alkalinity are properly balanced and your sanitizers levels are correct.
- pH: 7.4 to 7.6
- Alkalinity: 100 parts per million to 150 ppm, with 125 ppm being ideal
- Calcium Hardness: 175 ppm to 225 ppm, or 200 ppm to 275 ppm for concrete and plaster pools
- For Chlorine Pools: 1 ppm to 3 ppm
- For Bromine Pools: 3 ppm to 5 ppm
- For Biguanide Pools: 30 ppm to 50 ppm
- For Salt Water Pools: 0.5 ppm of chlorine
- For Mineral System Pools: 0.5 ppm of chlorine
Also, make sure your pool is clean and crystal clear before you leave.
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Protecting The Concrete Pool Interior Finish
The pools cement interior will start its crystallisation process once mixed with water, and most its internal chemical hardening will take place within the first 28 days. This critical time period is when a pool interior finish is at its most susceptible to staining, scaling and discolouration. Proper start-up procedures including timely brushing, constant monitoring and adjusting the pool water are mandatory.
Due to unique local water conditions and environmental factors, some of the recommended start-up procedures outlined here may need to be modified to protect the pool finish. For example, if filling your pool with local water that has low calcium hardness, low pH or low total alkalinity levels, you may need to take different start-up steps.
Brushing and monitoring chemical adjustments will be mandatory by the homeowner or a trained pool technician during the service life of any pool surface.
To find a pool technician in your area, .
If you have any questions regarding starting up your pool, contact us.
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Remove Excess Water With A Sump Pump Before Taking Off Pool Cover
If you have a winter cover or a solid safety cover, chances are a fair amount of water and debris has built up on the cover during the long winter off-season. Pool covers can be difficult to remove when water is on them, so we recommend using a sump pump to drain the water off the cover before moving it.
It is best to use two people when taking the cover off of the pool, because even with most of the water drained off, pool covers can still be quite heavy. Take care not to spill too much debris from the cover into the pool, or else it’ll take longer to open the pool. If a small amount of water or debris does spill in, don’t worry. The pool will soon be thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed.
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Care For Your Pool Cover To Keep It Clean And Strong
After removing the cover from your pool, it is important to clean, fold, and properly store the cover to avoid any damage during the summer. Once the cover is off the pool, lay it out flat, and brush off the remaining water and debris. Let the cover dry thoroughly. Before folding it, sprinkle on a bit of Leslies Alkalinity Up or talcum powder to prevent mold and mildew from growing on the cover.
Take special care when folding the cover to prevent cracks and rips. Loosely fold the cover and then store it in a cool, dry place like a basement, garage, or storage shed. This should help keep your cover in good condition year after year.
Balancing Your Water Chemistry
Step away from the Bunsen burner. Pool chemistry might sound intimidating and complicated, but you dont have to worry. While it is an essential part of effective pool maintenance and water care, basic pool chemistry is surprisingly straightforward.
The most important tool in your bag of water care tricks is your water testing kit. You wouldnt season your stew without tasting it. So before you reach for the chemicals, do some pool water testing. Understanding whats in your water, and what isnt, is the first step to balancing it.
The three most important parts of pool water chemistry are:
- pH levels: The measure of how acidic or basic your pool water is. Low pH levels are acidic, while high levels are basic. The ideal range for your pool is 7.4 to 7.6.
- Alkalinity: Works as a pH buffer and helps avoid huge spikes in basicity or acidity. The ideal range is 100 to 150 parts per million . And you can use baking soda to increase your pools alkalinity level.
- Sanitizer levels: The amount of chlorine, bromine, etc. in your pool water. Proper levels vary depending on which type of sanitizer you choose.
Once you know your pH, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, you can start to add chemicals to tweak your water balance. Take your time, follow all the directions, and be sure you know what each chemical does and how itll affect the water, and the folks who swim in it, before you add it.
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What You Need To Open Your Above Ground Pool
The basic supplies for opening your pool are probably already at hand in your pool shed. Except your friend, of course. Please dont store friends in your pool shed if you plan on keeping them as friends.
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Youll need:
Add Salt To Your Pool
Every salt chlorinator has a suggested range for salt so check your manual to make sure you the best dose for your pool. We’ll be using the average salt level required which of 3200 ppm.
Make sure you are using the proper kind of salt for your pool, i.e. Sodium Chloride Salt that is at the very least 99% pure. We strongly recommend using AquaSaltwhich is 99.9% pure especially if you need to add a lot salt like for a new pool or converting to salt. While that 0.1% may not seem like much of a difference, when you have to add several bags of it to the pool it adds up.
Use the below chart to see how many lbs of salt needs to be added to your pool based on the current salt ppm and the gallons of water in your pool. Salt is typically available in 40lbs bags.
To add the salt, pour a few bags directly into your pool at a time. Then use your pool brush to move the water around and help kick up any salt sitting on the bottom to help disolve the mixture. Once you start getting close to the final number of bags recommended, go ahead and test your water’s salt levels. You can always add more but the only to remove salt is to add more water. If your salt levels are too hight this could result in needing to drain your pool several inches before filling it up again with fresh water. Start low and build your salt level.
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Why You Need To Know How To Open An Above Ground Pool
Your pools been covered all winter. As convenient as it would be to just pull the cover off and dive right in, think for a minutethat waters been sitting there, stagnant, all winter long. Do you really want to submerge yourself in that? Didnt think so.
Knowing the above ground pool opening process will ensure that when you do finally get back into the pool, its in clean, clear, non-swampy water.
