The end of the summer season in Maryland and 2 days ago I go from a beautiful crystal clear pool to a green monster. It's terrible! I need advise on the quickest way to get rid of the algae so we can close the pool. We currently use Baquacil but I've had enough of it...cloudy water one pool season, pink slime the next and now this green algae. Baquacil is too expensive and the sales people don't seem to know enough to tell me exactly what to do to fix my problem. They say try this and if that doesn't work, then you'll need to this. Way too much money later, I've still got a problem. I'm going to switch to chlorine next summer. If I'm switching to chlorine anyway can I start dumping bleach in there to kill the algae now and continue the conversion when I open it next summer? Whats your opinion on a salt water system? Any advise would be appreciated. I'm ready to put the cover on it as is and just hope the cold weather kills everything and clean it up next summer.

The conversion from baqua to chlorine is common on this forum but the process can take 10 days or more of some fairly intense testing and work on your part.

It doesn't sound like you are of a mind to tackle that right now but you might want to read the article in Pool School that will take you through the process.

Your alternative is to just close it up and convert in the Spring.

Welcome to TFP!

Agreeing and adding to what duraleigh said: If you aren't going to swim any more anyway, you can close the pool right now with algae. Or you can do the conversion now, or do half the conversion now. There are lots of choices. The conversion won't be noticeably more difficult if you leave the algae in there over the winter.

If you are going to leave it till spring and you know you are going to do the conversion, I would print that part of pool school so you can look it over a few times and I would either order my test kit now or put it on my calendar so I would have it when I was ready to start the conversion.

Thank you so much for the help and advise. If I do a partial conversion, how far should I go or doesn't it matter? How much of the liquid bleach should I put in for a 13,500 gal above ground pool with green water (I can't see the bottom)? Should I add it all at one time or gradually? Of course I'll backwash, but how often during the process? I'd rather get started on the process now than wait till spring and uncover a green mess cause it sounds like your saying the algae wont die during the winter and will still be alive and thriving in the spring. I've never had this problem and don't know how the algae grew so fast and where it came from, like I said it was crystal clear and beautiful then in 2 days it was green and getting worse. I really want to get started on the process before closing it.