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First Time Pool Owner, Old Pool--Pls Help


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Hi everybody,

I am a proud owner of a new to me house with a pool. The pool is old though---built about 35 years ago. It is an 18 x 36' pool with vinyl lining.. I will be opening the pool for the first time (we moved in during the winter), and I have a couple of newbie questions:

1) After I remove the cover and fill the pool to the top, would it be OK to leave it like that for 2 days before treating the water with the chemicals? Would that destroy the water even more? The reason for asking this is because a guy who knows these things will help me with the chemicals and train me, but I have time to deal with the cover about 2 days before that.

2) Looks like the skimmer and main drain of the pool have no valve, and run together into one pipe (going to the pump). Is that possible, or it could be hidden somewhere? The pump is disconnected now (for the winter), so I wonder---if there is no valve to stop the drain, then how come the water is not coming out from the pipe? Am I missing something?

Thank you in advance for the answer to my questions. I am looking forward to more participation in this forum in the time to come as I pick up the skills :)

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Congratulations on the new house and pool!

To give the most effective advice I have some questions for you:

1. Are you able to tell how the water looks right now?

2. What sanitizer do you plan to use, i.e., chlorine (liquid such as household bleach or 10%, pucks, granules) or a Baquacil-type substance?

3. Do you have a test kit? If so, which one?

You may wish to do some reading at Pool School which will give you a lot of excellent information.

Can't help with the plumbing question, I'm sorry.

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Congratulations on the new house and pool!

To give the most effective advice I have some questions for you:

1. Are you able to tell how the water looks right now?

2. What sanitizer do you plan to use, i.e., chlorine (liquid such as household bleach or 10%, pucks, granules) or a Baquacil-type substance?

3. Do you have a test kit? If so, which one?

You may wish to do some reading at Pool School which will give you a lot of excellent information.

Can't help with the plumbing question, I'm sorry.

Thanks for your reply and pointing me to the Pool School---really useful knowledge there! Regarding the water--I don't know as of know how it looks, the cover is still on top. Will be draining the water from top of the cover and removing the cover in a couple of days. However, I am not familiar yet what test kits, chlorine etc. I will be using as a friend will teach me that over the weekend (and I'll buy the supplies from the local pool store).

I guess, removing the cover and leaving the water untreated for a couple of days will not be fatal or a problem, right?

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I'm a fan of the Taylor testing kits. You'll need to know more before buying just any tester. chlorine, pH and stabilizer are important in my mind, calcium is nice, alkalinity is argueable, last but not least phosphates. With that said "askalanaquestio dot com" is another good resource for you. He'll recommend lamotte which is in my opionion an equal to taylor but harder to find for me locally. avoid testing strips, even lamotte's are not great, drip test is your best option. Water is not coming up from your plumbing for 1 of 2 reasons. Either there are plugs in all of holes, ie jets, skimmers, and main drain, or more likely because water auto levels. If your equipment is higher in elevation than your pool, the water is in the pipe just not up to the top of the plumbing. You can remove the cover, down here in dallas few cover their pools at all, be very afraid... Kidding... Kind of! You could be in for a suprise! Be careful with your chemicals in a vinyl lining pool! Be certain you convey that to everyone giving you chemical advice as in my area I assume it's plaster and could give you advice that could be problematic with a vinyl pool!

Congratulations and we'll see you around here for a while I'm sure!

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