What Chemicals Do I Need To Open an Above Ground Pool?

When opening your above-ground pool for the season, it's crucial to use the right swimming pool chemicals to ensure clean and safe water. Here’s a simple guide:

1. Chlorine Shock: Add 1 gallon of liquid chlorine or 1 lb of granular chlorine for every 5,000 gallons of water. You can add more chlorine at the end of the opening process.

2. Water Testing: Use a pool test kit or strips to check levels before adding chemicals. Test for chlorine, pH, alkalinity, stabilizer (cyanuric acid), and calcium hardness. Ideal ranges:

• Free Chlorine: 2.0-4.0 ppm

• pH: 7.2-7.8

• Alkalinity: 80-120 ppm

• Calcium Hardness: 200-400 ppm

• Cyanuric Acid: 30-50 ppm

3. Balancing Chemicals: Start with alkalinity adjustments, then move on to pH, calcium hardness, and chlorine. Use dry acid or muriatic acid to lower alkalinity, and soda ash or borax to raise it. Adjust pH with soda ash (to increase) or dry acid (to decrease). Increase calcium hardness with calcium chloride or Hardness Plus.

4. Shock and Circulate: After balancing, shock the pool with chlorine to eliminate algae, bacteria, and debris. Run the pool pump for 1-2 hours to circulate the water, then add algaecide to prevent future algae growth.

5. Other Pool Chemicals: Common chemicals include:

• Sanitizers (liquid chlorine/tablets)

• Cyanuric Acid (stabilizer)

• Oxidizers/Calcium Hypochlorite (for killing bacteria and algae)

• pH Increaser/Soda Ash and pH Reducer/Dry Acid

• Alkalinity Increaser (Sodium Bicarbonate)

• Calcium Hardness Increaser

• Algaecides (for algae control)

• Clarifiers (for small dirt particles)

• Flocculants (to remove dirt by sinking it)

• Enzymes (breaks down oils and contaminants)

• Phosphate Removers (removes algae-causing phosphates)

• Stain Removers (for stains from metals)

• Vinyl/Tiles Cleaner (removes grease and oils)

For any questions about pool chemicals, visit Discount Pool Supply, Canada’s top online source for pool products, with fast and free shipping across Canada.