We have one of those 900 gallon.. 2.5' deep by 16' wide semi
inflatable swimming pools, with an water filter running (8.5 hours a
day after 7pm)...

I'm having trouble figuring out the proper chemicals i should be
buying.. and what that cost probably is per season.

At this point i've bought the shock granuals that come in a bag for $3
and should be applied weekly. The directions call for an entire bag
per 11,000 gallons.. Our pool isnt filled to capacity due to slope..
so say it has 650 gallons.. i guess this would imply that each week i
should be putting in about 5.9% of the bags contents.. whatever that
is in OZ (probably 5.9 of 16 oz) and then teaspoons i guess?

Also.. the bag mentions following the 4 step guide..

water balancing, chlorinating (or bromine), shock treatments, and then
algae treatments..

Other than this shock treatment.. are the other 3 done only in the
beginning of the year.. and what does this imply? Do I simply go
stock up on ph balancer (or akalinity), bromine or chlorine, and algae
chemicals, then apply these once, followed by weekly shock treatments?

At any rate.. so far I've only used the shock treatments.. i had gone
like 3 weeks without doing one.. and algae (slimy on the bottom/sides,
slightly green) was appearing.. so I used the underwater sucker device
and strainer to remove all that i could in general.. then applied the
shock.. but even after 20 minutes the water feels very slimy.. i'm
worried i may have a mess that cant be fixed... or perhaps i just need
the other 3 chemicals..

(I guess if i did bromine i could avoid chlorine.. is chlorine linked
to any conditions that should be avoided these days.. seems like you
dont see it much, though the shock treatment says it has 45% chlorine
in it i think.. i thought the shock was all 4 steps but i'm a bit
confused now)..

Thanks for any tips..

markm75 writes:

Thanks for any tips.

The essential water items are chlorination and pH. Get a 2-way test kit
and chlorinator and pH-down, and use them.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:14:11 -0700, markm75 wrote:
-SNIP-
I'm having trouble figuring out the proper chemicals i should be
buying.. and what that cost probably is per season.
Ther variables on how much you'll use per season are-
how much water
how hot it is
how humid it is
how much use the pool gets.

No way to tell until the end of the season.

At this point i've bought the shock granuals that come in a bag for $3
and should be applied weekly.

Again- all those variables come into play. Get a $6 test kit- little
red and yellow bottles and some sort of 'test tube' with the color
scales on them. Test your pool twice a day until you figure out how
much chlorine to add. Then once a day.

-snip-
Also.. the bag mentions following the 4 step guide..

water balancing, chlorinating (or bromine), shock treatments, and then
algae treatments..

Balance first- [best scenario is take a jar of water to a pool
place. They test for free- and they can tell you exactly what you
need.] then chlorine and an algae preventer.


Other than this shock treatment.. are the other 3 done only in the
beginning of the year.. and what does this imply? Do I simply go
stock up on ph balancer (or akalinity), bromine or chlorine, and algae
chemicals, then apply these once, followed by weekly shock treatments?

Test- test- test. A decent pool place will be happy to help
you. [if they aren't helpful, they aren't a "decent pool place"]
They know that by taking care of you with your first pool you're more
likely to buy a pool from them later.

At any rate.. so far I've only used the shock treatments.. i had gone
like 3 weeks without doing one.. and algae (slimy on the bottom/sides,
slightly green) was appearing.. so I used the underwater sucker device
and strainer to remove all that i could in general.. then applied the
shock.. but even after 20 minutes the water feels very slimy..

The chlorine has kind of a slimy feel- But with a pool that size,
it might be more efficient to dump and start over. The bigger the
pool the easier it is to keep in balance and algae free.

i'm
worried i may have a mess that cant be fixed... or perhaps i just need
the other 3 chemicals..

You need them- but don't just start dumping willy-nilly. You really
have to test it. You bought a giant science project. It isn't
really hard- but you need to make it a religious daily habit. You
need to do it every day- and not be able to get to sleep at night if
you forget.


(I guess if i did bromine i could avoid chlorine.. is chlorine linked
to any conditions that should be avoided these days.. seems like you
dont see it much, though the shock treatment says it has 45% chlorine
in it i think.. i thought the shock was all 4 steps but i'm a bit
confused now)..

I've never used bromine. Too much chlorine is bad. I don't think
the right amount will harm anything. The only way to tell how much
is right. . . is by testing.

Good luck- Get it in shape now- because August will make the
balancing act twice as hard. [at least in my part of the world-
upstate NY]

Jim

On Jun 24, 11:14 pm, markm75 wrote:
We have one of those 900 gallon.. 2.5' deep by 16' wide semi
inflatable swimming pools, with an water filter running (8.5 hours a
day after 7pm)...

I'm having trouble figuring out the proper chemicals i should be
buying.. and what that cost probably is per season.

At this point i've bought the shock granuals that come in a bag for $3
and should be applied weekly. The directions call for an entire bag
per 11,000 gallons.. Our pool isnt filled to capacity due to slope..
so say it has 650 gallons.. i guess this would imply that each week i
should be putting in about 5.9% of the bags contents.. whatever that
is in OZ (probably 5.9 of 16 oz) and then teaspoons i guess?

Also.. the bag mentions following the 4 step guide..

water balancing, chlorinating (or bromine), shock treatments, and then
algae treatments..

Other than this shock treatment.. are the other 3 done only in the
beginning of the year.. and what does this imply? Do I simply go
stock up on ph balancer (or akalinity), bromine or chlorine, and algae
chemicals, then apply these once, followed by weekly shock treatments?

At any rate.. so far I've only used the shock treatments.. i had gone
like 3 weeks without doing one.. and algae (slimy on the bottom/sides,
slightly green) was appearing.. so I used the underwater sucker device
and strainer to remove all that i could in general.. then applied the
shock.. but even after 20 minutes the water feels very slimy.. i'm
worried i may have a mess that cant be fixed... or perhaps i just need
the other 3 chemicals..

(I guess if i did bromine i could avoid chlorine.. is chlorine linked
to any conditions that should be avoided these days.. seems like you
dont see it much, though the shock treatment says it has 45% chlorine
in it i think.. i thought the shock was all 4 steps but i'm a bit
confused now)..

Thanks for any tips..

by not giving it daily attention and chlorine, your pool got away from
you. your pool water goal is for clean sparkling water so clear that
you can easily read coins on the bottom of the pool when standing
nearby. every day.
in buffalo ny: city water arrives with some chlorine in it, from the
hose. this dissipates in sunlight and with "bather load". so when it
does, the pool tester will show you that you ran out of chlorine.
chlorine prevents slippery algae. if your pool is out of control
there is always a complete water change and plain liquid regular
clorox bleach to get it started again. there are modern water test
strips in a small plastic pill bottle, or the old style less expensive
liquid testers with red drops and yellow drops. if you smell
chloramine [formed when the chlorine can't finish its job properly],
you have INSUFFICIENT chlorine. if your water is changing from
desirable clear to undesirable partly cloudy, SHOCK DOSE it with
chlorine to kill the algae which first appears as cloudiness before it
turns the water green [and slippery].
see a large amount of info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_pool_sanitation
and quick info at:
http://www.poolinfo.com/Pool-Water-Chemistry.htm
or here's my expertise:
April 29, 2007: Buffalo NY: Our Pool: Theory and Care and Feeding of
our 12,000 gallons of pool water, which is 3-1/2 ft. deep: Above
ground 24ft round flat bottom, Hayward sand filter S-144T, New 2007: 2-
speed pump has built-in off-low-high speed switch. [Use high during
vacuuming and to speed up shock and filtering of problem water. If
pool water has no problems and is sparkling clean and you are simply
circulating routine chlorine, use low speed.] For removal of leaves
and for springtime pool opening always use HAND SKIMMER ON A POLE.
Don't clog the vacuum hose with leaves.
1. ADD WATER [hose fills the pool at only one-half inch per hour].
Water level in the skimmer box should be 2/3 full plus whatever you
are about to use for vacuuming and backwashing. Skimmer Box Level must
not be below 1/2 or the pump will suck air thru the skimmer box,
damaging the pump. Skimmer Box Level must not be full, or the skimmer
can't skim the floating leaves off. Add water as needed for vacuuming
to waste, backwashing, and rinsing, and to replace evaporation and
splashed water. Hose water to fill the pool: At 11 Upper kitchen, it
takes 30 seconds to fill a one-gallon pitcher with cold water. Hose
delivery will be faster at the pool [at ground level without kitchen
fixture]. Use 2 hoses without nozzles for refilling in spring. 12,000
gallons at only 2 gpm takes 6000 minutes divided by 60 minutes in an
hour = 100 hours, to fill to 42 inches. But that's at a fill rate of
only .42" per hour. -
Our average water depth is 3.5 feet. Walls are 4 feet tall. The
capacity of a Circular shaped pool, which measures 24 feet in diameter
with a depth of 3.5 feet of water , is approximately 11894.4 gallons.
2. Manually clean the Pool: Use hand skimmer to remove leaves, etc.
3. In your swimsuit, whirlpool your bottom leaves to the center, use
hand skimmer to remove debris and to make vacuuming easy.
4. Pump off, Empty skimmer basket.
5. Pump off, Empty pump basket.
6. Vacuum to Waste never to Filter.
Vacuuming requires a higher level of genius intelligence than usual!
Find the skimmer box's insert adapter, vacuum hose, and brush head on
extension handle.
a. Hose dirt off the vacuum hose. Connect 30-foot hose to brush head
with extension handle, submerge vacuum brush head with vacuum hose
attached.
b. Turn pump on in Filter mode. Fill the floating vacuum hose with
the fast return hose from filter [or slow garden hose] until air
bubbles stop. This will take several minutes. You may encourage the
air bubbles to move along by tipping the vacuum hose to allow the air
bubbles to get pushed out the submerged brush head.
c. Pump off. Quickly attach vacuum hose thru from pool to skimmer box
insert adapter while keeping brush submerged. Pump on in WASTE mode.
7. BACKWASHING: Pump's SAND FILTER likes low 10 pounds pressure on
the gauge.
When pressure reaches over 16 pounds:
Pump off.
Shift to BACKWASH.
Pump on for at least 3 backwash minutes [or even better until waste
water discharge hose is clear].
Pump off.
Shift to FILTER.
Pump on
and FILTER. [Watch the clock or you will pump out your water to the
bottom of the skimmer box and cause pump damage. The water cools the
pump!]

page 2
POOL CHEMICALS: Do not mix chemicals. Choose the most suitable one
for the dose.

Leaves, dirt, and sunshine reduce the chlorine level. 1. Avoid skin
contact. 2. With filter running, and when swimming is over for the
day, add to empty skimmer basket and run pump overnight. 3. Rinse
hands, measuring devices, and bottle. Circulate liquid bleach 5
minutes or dissolve 5 oz. granular 10 minutes minimum.

8. Bad Water? If water is cloudy or green algae or "heavy bather
load" or chlorine smell is present:
a. If going swimming now add big 22 oz. scoop of granular Oxygen
[sodium persulfate] to skimmer basket with pump running for 10 minutes
or until return hose is clear.
b. If after swimming time add shock dose to skimmer with pump
running: 22 oz. granular chlorine for our 12,000 gallons. Also use
shock dose of 22oz. weekly during 80-degree hot weather, and August
algae season. Note August hose water may arrive with higher levels of
chlorine, so it's always best to test.
9. Testing. If water is sparkling clear [object on the floor of the
pool appears in focus], test the water at 18-inch depth with 5 yellow
drops in chlorine tester.
TYPES OF CHLORINE we choose from, pick one, depending on temperature
and bather loads:
Pool "hockey pucks" are EXPENSIVE STABILIZED CHLORINE: maintain 1.0
to 1.5 ppm chlorine. One 3" tablet per week or as needed to maintain
proper chlorine levels. Dosage may vary depending upon water
condition, bather load, time of day and geographical location.] When
tester shows 1.0 ppm or less, just add a chlorine "hockey puck" tablet
to an empty skimmer.]
GRANULAR CHLORINE: If tester results are clear [with zero ppm], add
routine chlorine dose with pump running: 5 oz granular chlorine for
our 12,000 gallons. Maintain 0.6 to 1.0 ppm chlorine when using
granular chlorine.
CLOROX: If you are going swimming now you may use Regular dose of
liquid Clorox: Add One quart (32 ounces) will raise the pool 1.0 ppm.
There are 4 quarts in a gallon (128 oz.) CLOROX LIQUID BLEACH (5.25%
sodium hypochlorite) (800) 242-7482 from product bulletin 224-83 FOR
OUR 12,000 GALLON POOL
Regular dose of Clorox: One quart (32 ounces) will raise the pool 1.0
ppm.
Shock dose of Clorox: Two quarts (64 ounces)
Cloudy Water/Algae dose of Clorox: One gallon (128 ounces)
Bill's Note: Clorox is more expensive than granular chlorine. It
works faster in the pool. It weighs more, so is less convenient. Read
% ingredients when using other chlorine liquids.

EXPERT Department: Never let your water be less than crystal clear.
If pool is a not crystal clear, algae is beginning to cloud your
water.
Liquid acts faster than granular.
Tester used with proper chlorine added will bring pool water to
similar levels required for drinking water. Because of dirt it is not
for drinking, of course.
Pool chlorine tester may also be used for testing refilled fish tanks
when removing chlorine.
11. PH Test [red drops] Skip it unless you have water trouble. ph
range should be 7.2 to 7.6 (It usually stays in this range by itself,
due to "acid rain" in our area.

On Jun 25, 12:27 pm, wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:14:11 -0700, markm75 wrote:
We have one of those 900 gallon.. 2.5' deep by 16' wide semi
inflatable swimming pools, with an water filter running (8.5 hours a
day after 7pm)...

I'm having trouble figuring out the proper chemicals i should be
buying.. and what that cost probably is per season.

I think you can get by with a floater using tablets and shocking once
a week. You may find liquid bleach is a better "shocker". I use about
200 oz of 10% pool bleach to shock 15,000 gallons so I bet you could
get by with a half pint of regular laundry bleach (5%) .
Watch the pH. In a plastic pool like this it will drop and the acid
will eat up your equipment. In a concrete pool you have the opposite
problem and I end up adding acid. You want it to be the off color
orangy look with the tester, not yellow or pink.
Take your water to a pool store once a month or so and have them test
it, more often if you are having bad results. Just be careful and
"fix" it a little bit at a time. Most people get in trouble by adding
too many chemicals and try to see a change too fast. Less is more. You
can always put more in but you can't get it back once you put it in.


Thanks for all the tips..

Still one question..

So this bag of Shock granuals.. I do this in addition to the other
chemicals correct? (Even though it appears to have some of the
necessary components already in it).. and do so about once a week.. Am
I about right in assuming I need to use about 5% of the bag each week
(for 650 gallons or so, guessing).

I will also have to check out the local pool store to see if they are
indeed helpful in getting the right things, without highway robbing
me

"markm75" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jun 25, 12:27 pm, wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:14:11 -0700, markm75 wrote:
We have one of those 900 gallon.. 2.5' deep by 16' wide semi
inflatable swimming pools, with an water filter running (8.5 hours a
day after 7pm)...

I'm having trouble figuring out the proper chemicals i should be
buying.. and what that cost probably is per season.

I think you can get by with a floater using tablets and shocking once
a week. You may find liquid bleach is a better "shocker". I use about
200 oz of 10% pool bleach to shock 15,000 gallons so I bet you could
get by with a half pint of regular laundry bleach (5%) .
Watch the pH. In a plastic pool like this it will drop and the acid
will eat up your equipment. In a concrete pool you have the opposite
problem and I end up adding acid. You want it to be the off color
orangy look with the tester, not yellow or pink.
Take your water to a pool store once a month or so and have them test
it, more often if you are having bad results. Just be careful and
"fix" it a little bit at a time. Most people get in trouble by adding
too many chemicals and try to see a change too fast. Less is more. You
can always put more in but you can't get it back once you put it in.


Thanks for all the tips..

Still one question..

So this bag of Shock granuals.. I do this in addition to the other
chemicals correct? (Even though it appears to have some of the
necessary components already in it).. and do so about once a week.. Am
I about right in assuming I need to use about 5% of the bag each week
(for 650 gallons or so, guessing).

I will also have to check out the local pool store to see if they are
indeed helpful in getting the right things, without highway robbing
me

To balance the pool water use the Langlier Saturation Index
method(S.I.)=ph+TF+CF+AF-12.1.
ph=actual test result.
TF=temperature factor
CF=calcium hardness factor
AF=total alkalinity factor

0=balanced
minus value = corrosive tendencies
plus value=scale forming tendecies
http://www.rhtubs.com/langlier.htm
have fun.

buffalobill writes:

in buffalo ny: city water arrives with some chlorine in it, ...

Chlorine, or chloramine?

On Jun 25, 2:30 pm, wrote:
Still one question..

So this bag of Shock granuals.. I do this in addition to the other
chemicals correct? (Even though it appears to have some of the
necessary components already in it).. and do so about once a week.. Am
I about right in assuming I need to use about 5% of the bag each week
(for 650 gallons or so, guessing).

I will also have to check out the local pool store to see if they are
indeed helpful in getting the right things, without highway robbing
me

I wouldn't even use the bags of shock on a pool that small. You can do
it with plain unscented bleach (sodium hypochlorate only). Money wise
no name laundry bleach costs about the same as real pool bleach once
you extrapolate out the concentration. I think about 8oz will shock
your pool if your 600-700 gallons is right. I imagine there is a chart
somewhere here on the net, maybe even on the Chlorox web site but if
you are guessing on the capacity you are guessing on the amount
anyway.
This is not really that hard, just don't go crazy on chemicals. I have
a 12 mnonth pool in Florida and all I do is keep a floater in it,
shock it once a week and manage the pH.
You may also need to deal with total alkalinity by adding some baking
soda occasionally.(Arm and Hammer has that chart) You want it around
110-130 using the 5 bottle pool test kit. Adding well water here in
Florida will do that all winter but rain water dilutes it out in the
summer.

I went to the local shop.. they recommended the liquid shock approach
(chlorine).. as the particles in my small type pool dont always
disolve, as i've found.

Basically they said to worry about the PH and Chlorine levels
(Alkaline as a buffer if i wish too). I already have PH and Alkaline
so I'm good for a while there.

They didnt recommend the store bought bleach as with this type of pool
they said it would "bleach" it out in about 2 weeks time (the liner?),
though I'm not sure how their $6 chlorox style bottle of liquid shock
differs. They recommended putting a few ounces in each day, rather
than each week, though right now I'm not adding any as my chlorine
went to a 10, after too much granual schock.

Can anyone comment on how long to run the pump/filter? IE: On 900
gallons is 8 hours a day enough?

Thanks

markm75 writes:

Can anyone comment on how long to run the pump/filter? IE: On 900
gallons is 8 hours a day enough?

Should be plenty.

Unlike some of the other posters I DON'T recommend going
to a store and getting a water test.
Invariably they will find 3 things wrong with your water
and recommend a 100 bucks worth of chemicals to fix it.

With your small pool that makes no sense at all.

Monitor the chlorine level and PH.
You should be fine.
Enjoy.

If you have a vacuum guage going into the
pump and a pressure guage you can compute the flow with the pump
performance tables on the manufacturer's web site.

Or just fill something of known volume and time it.

markm75 writes:

They didnt recommend the store bought bleach as with this type of pool
they said it would "bleach" it out in about 2 weeks time (the liner?),
though I'm not sure how their $6 chlorox style bottle of liquid shock
differs.

Bunk. Typical pool store ignorant profit-padding lore. They and their
grubby advice should be thrown in the deep end.

The pool store's chlorine is sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide just
like plain Clorox. Clorox claims 6.15 percent, and the pool store about 10
percent. Just proportion your local prices to see which is cheaper.

Ask them for an MSDS and compare it to this:

http://www.thecloroxcompany.com/prod...leach0505_.pdf

Beware. My local pool store, one of the largest and well-known franchise
chains, where they refill the 2.5 gallon chlorine jugs themselves in the
back from a big tank, are as crooked as a butcher with his thumb on the
scale. They adulterate their bulk chlorine and acid. The acid is watered
down to about 4/5 of what they claim on the label, according to several
samples I checked in my laboratory. The slightly higher priced jugs at the
local Home Depot have always been full strength.

The "computerized water test" at this pool store is a phony sales trick. A
public-schooled kid who flunked chemistry performs the same colorimetry you
do with the test kits from Walmart. Pimples then types in the results
(right or wrong) to a computer program design chiefly to get you to buy
overpriced stuff at the store. This is supposed to "pinch pennies", when
in fact their products are mislabeled (as to strength), misrepresented (as
to contents, such as labeling baking soda as "sodium hydrogen carbonate"
and telling you it is different from baking soda), and misapplied (telling
you to use stuff that won't do you any lasting good, overusing cyanurics,
absolutely unneeded algaecides at $100/gallon). The pool store biz tends
towards hustling, because it fleeces the foot traffic who just wants to
believe pool-owner ignorance plus pouring something in can fix anything.

http://www.truetex.com/pool.htm
http://www.truetex.com/poolcontrol.htm

Richard J Kinch wrote:
-snip-
Beware. My local pool store, one of the largest and well-known franchise
chains,

That's a point worth making. I probably have a dozen 'local stores'.
I trust 2 of them. I avoid the huge store like the plague.

I am one of the folks that recommended going to 'your local store'.
The one I go to now has saved me money & time by making complete tests
and recommending the right chemicals. I've been going there for 5
years & spend less than $200 a year maintaining a 24' round AG pool.
I buy tools there that are more expensive than the Walmart down the
street because I appreciate the time these guys have taken over the
years to solve 'mystery problems' with my water or equipment.
Someday I'll probably buy a pool or spa from them.

For 15 years prior to this pool place I used another similar outfit
who had some family sickness and had to close. I used 4 other shops
one time each in between the two. There are crooks & idiots out
there. There are also shops that can save you money & time-- and more
important, when it is 95 degrees- can get your pool usable again in a
hurry.

Find one before you need it.
Jim