I want BLUE water!!!

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Lrgbohler

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Jul 13, 2012
5
Ever since I put my pool up almost 2 months ago, I have yet to get my clear blue sparkling crystal clear water!! We have been able to swim in it, but I still want it to be CLEAR BLUE. I have an Intex 16x48 pool with almost 5,000 gallons in it. I am just estimating that. The pool was given to me, so I do not have any instructions or the box the pool game with.

The levels right now are...

FC. 0
pH. 8.4
TA 240

I KNOW these are not right at all, but I am having a horrible time getting them right. It has just rained several days where I live (Arkansas). I put in some Algae Concentrate 3x and a shock treatment yesterday. When you walk out to the pool there is a strong odor. I have attached pictures to show the green/yellow that is still left in the pool. I have the pump running right now as well.
I have a new filter in as well.

Please help.
 

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Stop dumping stuff in your pool unless you know that's what it needs.
You're just wasting money. You may as well try painting a portrait in a darkened room; you'll get paint on the canvas, but the end result is just going to be a mess.

You need a test kit so you have reliable information. And the pool store testing isn't good enough. Nor are the cheap test strips. There's a good write-up in Pool School comparing test kits. Read it. Read all of Pool School at least once, so you have some idea what's in there. Then go back and study the parts you will need: basic chemistry, recommended chemicals, and how to perform the shock process.

There's no instant miracle cure. It needs to be approached logically.
 
That green is algae on the floor and walls of the pool, it is NOT from the algaecide. FC is 0, so it's blooming happily right now. Plus it smells.

For the OP, do read Pool School, follow the information contained within precisely, and get yourself a proper test kit. You also need a pool brush, badly. When you shock your pool (according to Pool School), brush the floor and sides to get that algae stirred up and mixed with the water.

It should be noted that shocking the pool is not a one time event, nor is it a product that you can purchase. Shocking is a process, and it requires time, regular testing, re-dosing to shock level frequently (hourly at first), and filtering. You will continue to shock your pool until you meet ALL three criteria:

1-Combined Chlorine is .5ppm or less (you need a FAS-DPD test kit to determine this)
2-Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT) shows 1ppm or less loss (you need a FAS-DPD test for this too)
3-Water is CLEAR

We'll help you get your pool sparkling clear, but right now you've got to educate yourself in Pool School and get your test kit on order.

We can help you limp along until the kit arrives, but we need a full set of test results. You can take your water to a pool store to be tested but keep in mind that pool store results are very often all kinds of wrong and can only be used to guestimate but it'll give us a decent idea of what's going on so we can recommend some steps right now.
 
Aside from the test kit, which is needed, stop using the bags and puck and just use plain old bleach or liquid chlorinator. They are the same stuff with different amounts of water. I like the large GV stuff at Wal-mart but I also buy the 10% stuff at HomeDepot. Skip the pool store, they will either sell you the wrong stuff for $$$ or the right stuff for more money.

The pool stores will tell you to add this and that... but today... you mainly need bleach. The test kit and PoolCalculator.com will tell you how much you need to add, otherwise you are just guessing and guessing is what got you a green pool. I know your pain.

Trust the PoolSchool, trust your test kit, and trust the people here to help you get it fixed without adding pucks or bags of expensive chemicals.
 
I took all of your advice...I have read Pool School and got a new testing kit. I got a 6-way test kit from Wal-Mart (only place we have where I live).
My readings are as follows...
CL....0
BR...0
PH....8.2
TA....200
Total Hardness...the water never turned red like it said it would just stayed purple so I'm thinking there is no Hardness.

So, I'm thinking I need to add HTH pH Minus for adjustment of the pH level. Then I need to add Clorox bleach for the chlorine. According to the pool calculator I need to add 41 oz. of 6% bleach of a 96 oz bottle.

What about the total hardness?
How can I get rid of the green on the bottom of my pool? I know I can scrub it out but then it makes the water cloudy. I'm not sure my vacuum that I have will get it out.

Advice please?
 
Lrgbohler said:
I took all of your advice...I have read Pool School and got a new testing kit. I got a 6-way test kit from Wal-Mart (only place we have where I live).
My readings are as follows...
CL....0
BR...0
PH....8.2
TA....200
Total Hardness...the water never turned red like it said it would just stayed purple so I'm thinking there is no Hardness.

So, I'm thinking I need to add HTH pH Minus for adjustment of the pH level. Then I need to add Clorox bleach for the chlorine. According to the pool calculator I need to add 41 oz. of 6% bleach of a 96 oz bottle.

What about the total hardness?
How can I get rid of the green on the bottom of my pool? I know I can scrub it out but then it makes the water cloudy. I'm not sure my vacuum that I have will get it out.

Advice please?
Click to expand...
You need to know the CYA level, then you'll know what shock level is for your pool. Then you add enough bleach -lots and lots - to get FC up to shock level and you test and add more bleach every couple hours until the green is gone and the water is clear. Until you kill all the algae, it will keep reproducing, and you'll never get rid of it all.
 

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Aha! We have a clue!
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Lrgbohler said:
I did the CYA test that my kit had and it said to record when the black dot was not longer able to view and the black dot never went away. So I'm not sure of the CYA levels.
Click to expand...
With little or no CYA, your chlorine is being destroyed by the sun before it can do its job.

Adjust pH down. If you haven't already bought the HTh pH minus, don't. Just buy muriatic acid. While you're at the store, buy enough CYA granules ("stabilizer") to raise it 30ppm per Pool Calculator. Tie it up in a sock and hang it in front of a return. Then dump enough bleach in to get to 12.

It's all in Pool School.
 
you have no cya is what the test is telling you, if your pool was mine the first thing i would do is order one of the recommended test kits on here and then use the pool calculator and see how much miratic acid i needed to add to get the ph down to 7.5. and once that is done i would then add the amount of cya (stabilizer ) in a sock in front of the return with the pump running 24/7 and then add the correct amount of bleach for the amount of cya that you just put in, for your pool to get to 30 ppm you need to use 20 0z by weight in a sock in front of the return jet and knead it every now and then. and as soon as you are done doing that add 124 oz of bleach to get up to shock level for a cya of 30ppm which is 12 ppm fc......
 
Lrgbohler said:
I already have some stabilizer and conditioner but it says to adjust chlorine levels before adding it. It also says to add to skimmer of which I do not have. This is so frustrating!
Click to expand...

If you'd just go read Pool School....basic chemistry, definitions, defeating algae....all these basic questions would be answered already.
 

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