NEW POOL... NEED HELP WITH BALANCE

[Guest]

We have a new 20 x 40 vinyl liner pool. We filled it with city water which is very clear. We put in a Hayward Aquarite salt generator also. I had the water tested at our local pool store and they provided a list of chemicals to add. We added Balance Pak 100, Balance Pak 200, and Balance Pak 300. We were supposed to add Stabilizer 100, but it would NOT dissolve, so we skipped that. We have also added Optimizer Plus and Lo 'N Slo. All the chemicals were added in the amounts told to us by the pool store.

Our water temp now is approx. 50-55 degrees.

WELL, long story short, we have tested the water after all the chemicals were added and there is NO change in pH. We have not added the salt or turned on our salt generator because our water is not "balanced". I NEED HELP. We are new pool owners and we are confused and discouraged.

Please, if anyone has some advice... it would be appreciated!

[all4him]

You need to go ahead and get you salt level where it needs to be. Then you can balance your chemicals.

Keep in mind you need to keep you alka. in range as this lowers your PH will follow.
To lower you PH you need to add muradic acid

[Guest]

Thank you all4him... I need all the help I can get. Do you think it will matter if I add the salt and start up the salt system with the pH being so high?

[muss08]

First off dont trust your pool store until you've tested the water yourself with a reliable test kit and it matches their info. They want to sell you chemicals! The stabalizer, also known as Cyanuric Acid, is critical and must be added. Without stabalizer any chlorine you add will burn off from UV rays in a matter of hours. Before you start your salt chlorine generator get your pH down to 7.2-7.4 and your TA in line. These generators will cause the pH to rise. Dont worry though- they are great if properly maintained. Make sure your pool pump is running constantly to mix up the chemicals. It would help if you could post a complete list of your chemistry readings, equipment, and gallonage. A good test kit is a necessity. Read the stickies around the forum. They are very informative.

[njshorepools]

stay away from bioguard... too much money$$ with there stupid balance pack BS....

[Guest]

First off, test your water, use test strips, or a taylor test kit. pH should be 7.2 Total Alkalintiy 60ppm to 100ppm Calcium hardness 180pm-500ppm Free Chlorine 1to 4ppm(add bleach at rate of 6 gallons adn do so every other day until you ar balanced to keep the pool sanitary and clear use test strips to check the chlorine daily until you are bakanced, have added your salt and turned the generator on as explained below)
TDS/ Salt level 3200ppm you need approx 800 lbs of salt to achieve this level in a 20 x 40 8 ft deep end 4 ft shallow end. After you test add your neccesary chemicals and your salt(preferablely Aqua Salt, NOT softener salt or Biogaurd salt, which is just too expensive compared to Aqua Salt its what i use in all my Aqua Rite and Aqua logic. THe softener salt also tends to yellow white acrilic steps and PVC return jets and skimmers. Once your Aqua Rite reads 2800 or higher on the display, turn to 50 % and run the pool 24 hours a day test the free chlorine after that, and adjust percentage dial up or down accordingly.

[jdlloyd1183]

oh yeah almost forgot add 8 lbs of stabilizer (cyanuric acid) to the skimmers with the pump running. add slowly, and dont backwash or otherwise clean your filter for 48 hours ALWAYS RUN YOUR POOL 24 HRS
better to pay for electricity than to buy a new cell because of over production the longer the run time the lower the percentage on the generator nad vice versa