Hello!! New-by (semi)pool owner here! LOL

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Jul 10, 2011
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Hi,
A week ago I was sold a 10 foot quick set pool (1,018Gallons). The man at the store said "everything you need is in the box", and said because it had a pump, and it was so small I didn't need to worry about chemicals! LIAR! So, I went home set up the pool, and let the kids play in it. Then we had a 3-4 day cool spout, so I didn't go near it (thinking the pump was taking care of it!) I let the pump run ALL day, from 7am, until about 10pm, if not all night as well. So as you can imagine, over the course of say a week, the completely untreated tap water started clouding, and turning green. I've been trying to get this all sorted, and got what I thought I needed, but now I'm at home and LOST!! The only test kit I could find only tests for Total Bromine, Free chlorine, pH, and Total Alkalinity. I Have shock, borax, pH up, baking soda, and bleach. I was told (by an unreliable source!) to put in 1/2 a package of shock, and adjust the ph, and I'd be good.... so I did! Now after looking into it, I think I might have messed it up even more. Now what do I do?! And what else do I need?... If you need any other info, let me know!!
PS...I live in a small town, so there's no pool store for miles, and I don't drive, so the more I can find at the market the better!
 
The link to the Temporary Pool Guide that dmanb2b posted is the best information that you could get for a pool such as yours. You are limited by your ability to test the water unless you have a reliable test kit. You need to be able to test for FC, CC, pH, CYA, and TA. Calcium hardness isn't so important with your pool but if your pool clouds up after you added HTH Sock It, you might have a problem with high CH. We need you to post test results for all that you can right now. Consider getting a good test kit from www.tftestkits.net. It will save you lots of trouble.
 
OK, so I tested the water this morning, and these r the results.......Br 2, Cl 2,pH 7.5, Alk 180......... Now remember, all I can test for is listed, and I have only put in Shock and PH reducer. The water has gone from cloudy greenish, too clear, and only a slight cloudy effect. Now what do I do? Can my kids get in it yet? The pool calculator is kinda confusing, and as I can't test for everything, I don't think it will work..... I'm trying to get a proper test kit, but will have to wait for it to come in.
 
OK, what I think we have is a pool with no stabilizer and too many days of no chlorine. The cloudiness is dead algae. The cal-hypo shock you added did kill some or all of it, but that chlorine is fading away fast with the sun. So, the 2 ppm of chlorine now will be gone by afternoon as the sun consumes it. A bit of stabilizer, a sort of sunscreen for chlorine, will help it to hold onto that chlorine. Meanwhile that cloudiness is dead algae. The filter will eventually get it out. But you have to be sure to keep some chlorine in the pool at all times.

You can just add bleach each evening, sufficient to sanitize the pool and carry it to the next dose. Bleach is cheap, easy to find, and contains no bad additives. It will, however, make a mess of your clothes if you get even a microsplash on you.

Eventually you may need to adjust pH and that will mean some dry acid (pH Down) or Muriatic Acid, which you may have around anyhow somewhere, comes from hardware store, in paint or pool areas.

Go to Pool School, and find Temporary and Seasonal Pools. That will guide you through this. Also see the part about the Pool Calculator. That will do all the math for you, all you need to worry about is the pH and the Free Chorine and be sure to input the Total Alkalinity too. Forget about calcium. Not likely the problem.
 
So, I've figured out the pool calculator, and up until this morning I seemed to have everything balanced, and the clouding is gone. I've been in the habit of testing my water 3 times a day (until I get it sorted right) once in the early morning (then I adjust anything needed) then about an hour after that, to make sure I got it right, and then at dusk, to adjust again. So this morning I woke up, and there was a chlorine reading of 0, so I added the advised 1 cup 6 oz of bleach (the pool calculator) and checked the levels again, and its still reading 0.....What's up? My kids swam last night, so does it just need more, or is there something going on?
 
Did the water have time to mix well? Bleach is heavier than water so will drop to the floor if not mixed in.

Is there a lot of grass in the pool? Any debris that can be netted out?

If you added bleach and overnight the level dropped to 0 then there are organics in the pool. Visible like grass or invisible like urine or algae. Take the pool to shock level after cleaning floor and brushing the sides of any slimeyness. I don't recall if you have any stabilizer so I cannot advise on what ppm that is.
 
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