Balance

• Begin by testing your pool water for the alkalinity, pH and calcium hardness levels. Adjust these three levels prior to adding any other chemicals. The alkalinity should be within a range of 80 parts per million (ppm) to 150 ppm. The pH needs to be between 7.2 and 7.8, and the calcium hardness requires a range of 180 ppm to 250 ppm. Make adjustments in that order. Add Alkalinity Increaser, 1/3 of the whole amount at a time, and test between additions until the ideal range is achieved. Adding in increments ensures that you are not adding more than is actually required. Next, adjust the pH with either pH Up or pH Down until it is within the ideal range. Then add Calcium Hardness Increaser in increments and bring it into range.
  
  

Chlorine

• Chlorine works best when the balancers are in their ideal ranges; otherwise, adding chlorine may add cloudiness to the water. A constant supply of chlorine pucks or tablets is required in the skimmer basket to sanitize the pool. Use chlorine shock once a week, and more if either extremely hot weather or a heavier than average bather load is experienced. A residual of 1.5 to 3.0 ppm of free chlorine is the ideal range. Shock will spike the chlorine level, which oxidizes debris.
  
  

Clarifiers

• If your filter cannot remove all the fine suspended particles from your water, which make water appear dull or cloudy, then a clarifier may help. this chemical combines these particles so they will become heavier and sink to the bottom to be vacuumed out of the pool or to get trapped in the filter for removal.
  
  

Metal Remover

• If your water contains iron or other metals, you need to use a metal-removing product prior to adding any chlorine product. Metal removers bind to metal molecules and render them neutral. Chlorine added to untreated water containing metal reacts with the metal, turning the water black, brown or purple.
  
  

Algaecides

• Algae is a constant threat facing a swimming pool during the season. Preventive maintenance reduces or eliminates algae growth before it begins. Algae grows in layers on top of itself. Brush the pool walls and floor and dislodge all of the algae, followed by the proper maintenance dose of algaecide. This should remove the problem. Algaecide without brushing kills the top layers only, while the barrier set up by the dead algae protects other layers below.