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How To Open An Above Ground Pool

How To Open An Above Ground Pool

Spring Pool Opening - An Exciting Time Of A Year!

After winters, we enter in a warm weather but even with the sunshine and warm water the pool isn’t quite ready for swimmers. Discounter’s Pool and Spa Warehouse is here to help you open your pool with the following easy-to-read instructions. With a little bit of effort, you will be on your way to having a clean pool and a stress-free spring opening!
1. Cleaning The Pool Cover
Drain as much water as possible from top of your winter cover before removing it. You can use cover pump to do so. Don’t forget to scoop or blow all leaves off the cover before removal.
2. Remove The Pool Cover
It is advisable to remove the cover from the pool using two people. Don’t worry if a little water and debris fall into the pool, this is OK. You will be shocking and vacuuming the pool so small amount of water or debris won’t effect anything.
3. Clean And Store The Pool Cover
Once you removed the pool cover, brush away the remaining debris from the cover. Dry the cover and sprinkle both sides with Alkalinity Increase or talcum powder to prevent mold and mildew buildup.
4. Raise The Water Level Back To Normal
Now you can raise the water level back to its normal level using your garden hose. This is around the middle of the skimmer opening or halfway up the tile. If you did not winterize your pool for freezing conditions, please skip ahead to Step 9.
5. Reconnect Your Pool Equipment
If you winterize your pool, you will want to reconnect all the equipment including filter pumps, heater and anything else. For above ground pools reconnect the flexible plumbing lines to the pool equipment and skimmer.
6. Remove Winter Plugs And Re-attach Drain Plugs
Please ensure to take out all the winterizing plugs from the pool equipment. A list may consist of your pump, filter, heater, booster pump and pool cleaners. Don’t forget to reinstall each normal drain plug.
7. Remove Winterizing Plugs From Skimmer And Return Lines
Remove winterizing plugs and foam rope from skimmer and return lines. Now you will reconnect any return valve fitting that were removed last winter.
8. Turn Your System Back On
At this point, you will want to start turning most of your pool equipment back on. This includes priming the pump and turning on the circulation and filtration system. If you have an air relief valve on your filter, make sure to open it to bleed the air from the system.
9. Add MetalFree To Prevent Staining
Add 1 liter of Omni Stain & Scale Control  for every 50,000 L of water to prevent copper or iron from causing stains or discoloration in your pool. These metals may have build up after a long winter season and could be in your fill water. Once you added Omni Stain & Scale Control, keep running the circulation and filtration systems for at least 2 hours.
10. Test Your Pool Chemistry
After running the circulation system for 24 hours, test your pool water for pH, Total Alkalinity and Chlorine levels using a test kit. Following are the ideal levels for these chemicals: 

• pH: 7.4 to 7.6 
• Total Alkalinity: 80 to 120 ppm 
• Chlorine: 2.0 to 4.0 ppm 

Each Discounter’s Pool & Spa Warehouse location offers free in-store water analysis. All you need to do is bring in sample of pool water. A trained Discounter’s Pool & Spa Warehouse expert will test the water and provide recommendations to balance your chemical levels.

11. Adjust The Total Alkalinity
Control the pH and chlorine levels in your water by adjusting the Total Alkalinity. If your Total Alkalinity is too high, you will want to use Omni PH Decreaser to lower the levels to the accepted range.
If pH reading is 7.2-7.6 7.7-8.0 8.1-8.4 Above 8.4
Add pH Decrease for each 10,000L Acceptable Range 75 g 125 g 150 g

If the Total Alkalinity of your pool is too low, it will increase by using Omni Alkalinity Increaser.

Total Alkalinity Dosage Per 10,000 L
0-20 ppm 1.8 kg
20-40 ppm 1.5 kg
40-60 ppm 1.1 kg
60-80 ppm 0.7 kg
80-99 ppm 0.4 kg
12. Now, It's Time To Adjust The pH Balance
Once the Total Alkalinity is within its proper range of 80-140 ppm, you can now adjust the pH balance in your pool. Bringing the Total Alkalinity back to a normal range should have pushed the pH level close to normal, as well. If the pH is not between 7.4 and 7.6, not to worry.

If your pH level is above 7.6, you can add Omni pH Decreaser. Wait 2 hours with the circulation system running and retest before adding more acid.

If your pH level is below 7.4, use Omni pH Increaser. To raise pH, add 100 g of Omni pH Increaser per 10,000 L of pool water. Wait 4 hours with the circulation system running and retest the water.
13. Test And Adjust Calcium Hardness
Our pool’s calcium hardness level should always be above 150 ppm. If the calcium hardness is too low, you can bring it up by adding Hardness Increase. Just 100 g will increase the calcium hardness of 10,000 L of water by 10 ppm. Note: Never add Hardness Increase on the same day as pH Increase or Alkalinity Increase. Always wait until the next day to add Hardness Increase.
14. Brush And Vacuum The Pool
After your pool chemistry has been adjusted, there will still be some remaining dirt and debris from the winter. Now is the time to thoroughly brush and vacuum your pool, giving special attention to areas near pool stepsladders, or other equipment.
15.Run The Filteration System Overnight
Filtration will filter out all the dirt, debris, algae, and bacteria still floating in your pool after brushing and vacuuming your pool.
16. Shock The Pool
To eliminate all the remaining bacteria and contaminants you need to shock the pool. You can use Liquid Chlorine or Powder Chlorine. These two products will shock your pool effectively. Please read the instructions to determine what quantity you should add to your pool.
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