Well i closed on this house last november and the pool was closed when i moved in. It wasopen and beautiful the first time i came to see the house. This is my first time maintaining a pool and its a big one. Its 20'x40' 3' deep at the shallow end and 10' at the deep end. I figure around 39,000 gallons.

It was covered with a tarp that had a LOT of water and crud in it. I pumped off as much water as i could and pulled the tarp towards one end to gather the rest of the water in one spot so i could pump off some more. It got down to where my small sump pump screen was getting instantly clogged or the tarp was sucking to it. So we decided to man handle the tarp out with the last of the "stuff" in it. Well the tarp ripped and sent around 20 gallons of the foulest smelling rotted leaf sewage into the pool. Durn the bad luck.

The water really diddnt look too bad. i could see the bottom in the shallow end and some of the ramp down to the deep end. Layer of fine brown stuff all over the bottom. Spent the next 3 hours trying to figure out how to get the pump to run. Suction hose leak fixed and the pump runs good at 20psi. It has been running since and i have been backflushing at 25psi.

I have been lurking here on and off since i moved in because i am a little anxious about the pool and the pressure is on from a VERRY excited 8 yr old. Theres a question comming,promise.

A real test kit is on the way but for now i have strips. I took 2 initial readings in a row and they matched.
CYA30-50
Total alkalinity 80
PH 6.8 -- this one is hard to read
Total hardness 250
Total and free chlorine 0

I just got the majority of the sludge vacumed off the bottom that is visible so i figure its time to wage war on the living nasties. After dark i added 3 gallons of bleach (6%) and waited 2 hours and tested again.
My total and free chlorine were both at .5 So i added another 1.5 gallons.

I dont really know what to expect as far as level increases per gallon added but i am sure disapointed at a .5 increase after adding 3 gallons. Will the algae and bacteria eat the bleach that fast since this is the first time since last year its had any in it? Or does a pool of this size just need chlorine by the truckload?

I plan to test in the morning before work but im not planning to add any more bleach untill the sun goes over tomorrow.

The next time the FC level is below 5 you should adjust the PH up to at least 7.2.

It is very unpredictable how much chlorine you will need to clear the pool, but if you could see the bottom of the shallow end, I'm guessing that it won't be all that much.

I feel for you with the 8 year old, I had 3 kids and a wife bouncing off the walls when they weren't able to go in the new pool because the plaster needed to cure. That was rough....a crystal clear pool that can't be used.

My recommendation is to keep the pump running....keep putting bleach in....keep backwashing when the pressure gets high...until you get the test kit. Once you get the kit, balance the ph, verify the CYA value is acceptable, and then you hit it and hit it hard over and over with the ppm recommended by the pool calculator for your estimated gallons. Follow the shock instructions in Pool School (it's a process not a product) and you should be able to turn this thing around in 2 weeks, so tell your wife and kid 3 weeks. Then you'll be a superhero if you pull it off in 2. The extra week is for unforeseen circumstances.

BTW, if you want to try to get rid of some of that nervous tension in the home, take your child to a dollar store or $5 below store. This is the time of year to grab some pool stuff on the cheap. They might last a year if you're lucky, but give your kid a $10 spot and turn him or her loose.

Yes, the bacteria and algae will eat it up that fast........but only in the beginning. The important thing is to get the chlorine in there and keep dosing it (at the prescribed values found in The Pool Calculator) Getting an FAS-DPD chlorine test will be the best thing that ever happened to you.

The 4 1/2 gallons of bleach i dumped in last night made a big difference. The water is now a little milky but i can see the bottom of the deep end.

I came home from work and the ups guy had been here. Probably no suprise to you guys but the test stripswere just not acurate except for the PH.

New numbers:
CYA <30 range on the test is 30-150
Total Alkalinity: 60
Total hardness: 180
Ph: 6.8
Total chlorine 0
Free chlorine 0


As soon as the sun sinks behind the house i am gonna get some more bleach going.

Another question. My system has a gizmo on it for trichlor pucks. Instead of buying stabiliser, should i use the pucks untill my CYA comes up to where it should be? Or would that take forever?

That will take too long, you have an 8 year old that wants to swim. Adjust Ph to normal. Then let's see what the experts say, but I say you put enough CYA to get you to 30 in a sock in the skimmer basket and then start shocking as if you had 30 CYA in the pool (following the shocking instructions in pool school).

+1 what snewo said.

Added a full box of 20 mule team borax last night and got the PH to 7.6 and its holding there. The pool calculator said that it would take 3 times as much. So now my total alkalinity is still at 60 so if i add baking sodato correct that, my Ph will probably go off again. I supose i will just leave it be for now.

I am continuing to bring the chlorine level to 10 after the sun goes down and in the morning it is back to 0. I will get some stabiliser on friday when i am out by the pool store, but till then i guess i keep feeding it the bleach. Up to 21 gallons and counting.

I apreciate the input. My buddies advice was to add half a gallon of chlorine every night and it would be fine. "Dont waste your money on a test kit"

Adding baking soda won't have much effect on the PH. You should go ahead and raise the TA level a little.

Keep at it, you will get there.

Don't listen to your buddy on this one. The guys here at TFP are your new buddies when it comes to all things pool related. I have spent the past year lurking and soaking up all of the knowledge. The end result is a very stable, balanced, low maintenance pool in my yard.

Well its been a few weeks now. The water is in the upper 70's. Balanced and nice & clear. Thanks for the help. Thanks to you guys and everyone else on the board, i went from having no experience to operating a clean and healthy swimmin pool in 2 weeks and for under $100. Well i havent gotten the electric bill yet


Just wanted to pass out some thanks where its due.