Please help!

[wdmorgan]

Hello! I have spent over $500.00 in the past two weeks trying to get rid of the green monster! I started with four gallons of bleach and some algicide from WalMart which didn't touch it. I then went to the pool store where I bought shock (Burnout 35) and Banish which didn't touch it. I then used more banish and burnout and some kwik strip filter cleaner. I then did that again along with PH increaser (Bioguard Stabilizer 100) and alkalinity increaser (Balance Pak 100), no visible change! That process took more than a day as I had to follow many steps and still had a green pool when finished! Finally, they told me I needed 24 bags of shock because I had hit chlorine break? I used the burnout 35 over the next 24 hours. I also added some Banish afterward trying to get rid of the remaining green tint. The shock did help but my pool is still not okay. My pool is not really green now but still has a pale green tint and very cloudy water. It also has way too much chlorine. I am exhausted and frustrated and broke! Desperate for help, I discovered this website yesterday so I have a new sense of hope! I do not think I have a good test kit so will order one that you all recommended. My test kit is called hydrotools by swimline. My chlorine test says cl/ br and the level on the test kit is 5.0/10.0 The other test I have is PH and it is 7.8. I also have some test strips which say my free chlorine is safe but my total chlorine is high/high. The strips say my PH is a little high closer to 8.4, hardness is 250, TA is between 180 and 240, and stabilizer is 100.

 

[woodyp]

We'll eagerly await GOOD test results when you're kit arrives. Best bet is that your CYa is over 100. See the extended test kit procedures to accurately determine that.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Welcome. We can help you and I'm surprised your post as lasted 40mins unanswered before our resident green-to-clean gurus have jumped in...must be a slow Sunday.

OK, we can help but you need to help yourself by getting one of the commercial grade test kits we recommend. Either the Taylor K-2006(C) (has to have "C" in the name for "commercial" grade) OR the TFTestKits.net TF-100 with XL option. One of these kits will run you about $70 and you should consider the SpeedStir for ease of use. I know this seems like a lot, but it's going to save you money in the long run by never having to step foot in the pool store again.

If your numbers are to be trusted (and strips are highly untrustworthy), your water needs some serious help. Your pH and TA are way too high, there's too much stabilizer in your water and your chlorine is basically too low to be effective at all. Get your test kit ordered and, for the time being, just add 1 gallon of clorox bleach (8.25% concentrated bleach NO splashes or scents, just plain old bleach) per day until your test kit arrives.

Please go to pool school (link at the top of the site) and read the ABCs of Water Chemistry as well as the article on how to tackle a green swimming pool. Read as much of Pool School as you can and then read it all again. When your test kit arrives, there will be folks here to help you with all the numbers.

- - - Updated - - -

Oops, saw you mentioned ordering the kit ... good job

 

[kellyfair]

Something that really opened my eyes was the explanation in Pool School of how CYA works. Like you, I was green no matter what I did. With the test kit, I found that my CYA was well over 100, which meant it was rendering my FC ineffective. So I did two drains, got CYA to a manageable level, and my water is so clear now that sometimes the pool looks empty!

so, do as these folks say, and don't get near pucks or powdered shock. You can truly do this without ever darkening the door of a pool store again!