Newbie owner A/G Intex metal frame pool 15x42..help

[jcarr492]

here were my levels after filling up our new pool:
total hardness: 400
free chlorine: 0/0
pH: 8.4
Total alkalinity: 240(maybe little higher as it looks slightly darker, but the highest color is 240)
CYA: is between 30-50 and 100.

We have country well water. I couldn't find information in the books that came with the pool on chemical and such so I called the HTH toll free number and the guy told me to add 15oz of stabilizer & conditioner, 5oz of shock, and 2oz of chlorine granules. The pamphlet that came with the small starter kit I bought tonite just to start it up said our size pool is about 5oz of chlorine granules. That confused me. So I just added the 2oz like the guy said to do. We put the stabilzer & conditioner in the skimmer like it said, waited a few min..then added the dissolved shock broadcasted over the pool, waited a few more minutes then added the dissolved chlorine granules broadcasted over the pool too. Then we put the cover on to keep bugs and debris out over night. So, did I do it right? Should we have waited longer between adding? Did I do them in the right order? Were they the right measurements? What do I do next tomorrow? Test stick it again in the morning? Do I need to buy pH plus or minus? How soon can we swim in it? What other steps do I need to do from here starting tomorrow? sorry..but dh is absolutely no help and I don't want to regret buying the pool. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

[Guest]

I just did a test strip dip this morning and this is the new results:

TH(total hardness)200-400---chart shows thats ideal
FC(free chlorine)-1/2 still low probably because I only put in 2oz instead of the 5oz that was on the bottle?
pH: 7.8 still a little high
TA(total alkalinity): 180 still high
CYA: 30-50 which chart on test box says is ideal.

So what do I need to do to get the pH down a little more and to get the alkalinity down further? Can I still use the baking soda in it for the alkalinity..or will that raise it? can I mix it in even though I used HTH products last night? What do I do to raise the chlorine a little more, should I go ahead and use the granules I still have left and add 3oz more or use the bleach I have? And what do I do to lower the pH more? All I have on hand is bleach, baking soda and borax besides the HTH granules and shock. Do I need to buy pH minus? Thanks so much!

[Buggsw]

Baking soda will raise both TA and pH.
Use muriatic acid to lower TA and pH.

If this is vinyl, do not let your pH go below 7.0 or you will permanently damage your pool.

[jenn8504]

Here is a chart that will tell you how much muratic acid to add:


go towww(dot)poolplaza(dot)com/pool-school/alkalinity_adjusting.shtml


Looks just like my results. I have a 18'x48" easy set pool but I added that HTH shock and it was a calcium hypochlorite one and it made my water cloudy so be careful!

Good luck!