jessman

We are getting ready to open our above ground pool again for the summer, but lost the sheet that says which chemicals to put in.

The pool itself holds 13,600 gallons of water, and since we have had it for 2 years now, there is already water sitting in it (although we will have to add some more since some got evaporated)

Anyways, didn't know if anyone knew what chemicals to add to open a pool, I assume one would be chlorine, but don't know how much to add. If anyone knows this it would save me a costly trip to the pool place

dai

you need to test the ph balance first and shock treat it with clorine before you use it
the ph reading will tell you if you need to add acid or soda to get it to the right ph level
ph at the right level allows the clorine to do it's job efficiently and keeps down the running costs

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mommabear

I think an above ground we had several years ago was probably about half the water capacity of yours. It was a 15ft round, 4 1/2 feet high. The first year we had it, we spent tons of money on all the fancy chlorine, the "shock" treatment, and some other stuff I can't remember now. Spent most of the summer trying to keep the water clear, algae-free, etc.

The next year when we opened it, I plopped in about 6 gallons of normal household bleach. A day or so later, the water was clear and I vacuumed the bejeebers out of it after scooping the leaves and debris that accumulated over the winter.

For the rest of the summer, I just used that same bleach (I think it was around a cup full) every few days and vacuumed once a week. I increased the chlorine a few times during some really, really hot spells because it dissipates quicker then. Never had a problem with it. The key is scooping the leaves out and vacuuming religiously. It really is.