Help a beginner with an attack plan?

[Wizaugh]

Background: I bought a HUD house in March, the house sat vacant since the previous March. I've got an in ground kidney pool with an attached spa which has not been maintained for at least that one year.
I started to do some testing last night, pulled off some of the cover and immediately saw a couple dozen tadpoles.

Tested the water, no chlorine and ph was off the chart. The water is actually pretty clear (despite how the picture looks :lol: ) but there is quite a bit of sediment on the bottom and God knows how many soon to be frogs.
This gives you an idea of the sediment levels.

I'm a complete beginner with pool maintenance, so please chime in and give me some advice.
I'm thinking first I need to completely remove the cover, get a net and get out what debris I can. At this point do I try to remove the sediment settled at the bottom? Or would that just stir it up?
Then I need to vacuum whatever I can. Will a regular pool vac do the job? Or are they intended for lighter purposes?
I'm assuming I need to change the sand in the filter, then fire up all the pumps to see if everything's in working order? Once I get all the pumps running and water circulating then I can tackle the chemistry of the water.
How far off am I in the game plan?

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome

Sounds pretty good:
Take off the cover.
Remove what you can.
Get the water moving.

Then follow these:
Defeating Algae
Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis
Shocking Your Pool

To do the shock process correctly, you will need a good test kit (see link in my signature for the recommended kits ... TF100 is a better deal and you may want to get the XL option since you are starting with a swamp). Order one now and you will have it in a few days to start the shock process.

 

[Wizaugh]

Thank you for the quick response!
I have the tf100 already Unfortunately I just had time to do the one test yesterday, though.
If I remove the cover today to start the cleaning process, will it be fine for the pool to sit uncovered until Saturday before I get the water moving? Or is that too long?

 

[woodyp]

It ain't gonna get much worse! Don't be in a rush to change that filter sand. See what you have and how it performs first. Backwash it before beginning the process since it's an unknown. Make PH the #1 priority before shocking.

 

[jblizzle]

Many people do not even have a cover ... makes no difference.