Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and clueless..

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bozack

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Jul 26, 2012
4
So bear with me as I don't know anything about pools...anything.

I have a 12' x 30" Intex metal frame pool that I set up a number of weeks ago, had one last year (the easy set) but had a similar problem with algae and just let it go.

So far I have tried to be dilligent and followed the instructions on some kit that the pool store sold me and here I am again with Algae.

To date what I have added to the water was a half of a jug of conditioner, three treatments of 2 oz of granulated power powder pro plus shock, and a number of twice a week treatments of what I presume to be additional shock in again Power Powder something...the twice a week was only 1 oz each time.

And to make it worse I only have strips (which I gather aren't that great) for testing purposes.

I don't want to sink a ton of money into keeping this thing up, but I also want to get it clean for my kid.

I have no clue about pools so anyone who can be as basic and exact with what I have to buy/do would be appreicated.

Thanks
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Your pool should be about 2100 gallons. Do you have to pay for your water? I am asking because in a pool that small, if you have algae, it is easier (and more than likely quicker) to drain it and refill it than to clean it up. And while it is draining and refilling you can stay online here to figure out how to maintain it. Post your reply and we'll start from there.

P.S. Do NOT follow pool store instructions. That's why you ended up here.
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Good Morning bozack:

Welcome to TFP :wave:

Not sure what your water cost is, but it might be cheaper to drain & refill it for a pool that size. If water is expensive or you do not want to drain & refill it, then read on...

You need to shock your pool to get rid of the algae. Shocking is a process, not a product (contrary to the marketing claims). Here's how to do it: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool. You will need a the following good in order to properly shock.
  • 1. A good test kit. See the Test Kit Comparison link in my signature. Any of the kits discussed in that article will work. A good test kit is an investment, not an expense. Will save you lots of $ by helping you avoid future problems.
  • 2. Need to know your CYA level to determine shock target (see Chlorine / CYA Chart link in my sig)
  • 3. Before you shock, lower pH to around 7.2, but don't go below 7.0. Chlorine sanitizes better at a lower pH. Once you begin the shock process, forget about pH until the shock process is complete. pH will spike up during the shock process, which is normal. Avoid temptations to over-correct this. Retest pH when done shocking and chlorine levels drop below shock level and adjust if needed.
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

You have a common problem that most of us know to avoid...the pool store and their magic potions that will fix your problem.......wrong they are there to make a living off of you....so avoid the pool store. Secondly you need a great test kit like the tf100 or the k2006 and you need to read pool school a few times knowledge is power and that is what this site does it empowers us by giving us knowledge and you put that together with the test kits recommended above you will have a trouble free pool in no time
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Bozack,
The part of your post that stands out to me is "I don't want to sink a ton of money into keeping this thing up"...I maintained the exact same pool last year without the fancy test kit. You will need one for the future for sure. But it's not impossible to run your pool for a few months without the kit. If you drain your pool and refill, then we would know that your CYA level is zero. We can tell you how much stabilizer to add, and then you can get yourself a chlorine and pH test kit from Walmart to measure those levels. We can tell you how much bleach to add, how to test for its presence, and when to add more. Is this the approach you want to try?

P.S.
When you do get a good test kit, don't go shopping around. Get the TF-100 test kit.
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Welcome to TFP!

It's good that you recognize the fact that you need to have clean water for your kids to swim in. Dirty, improperly managed pool water is a common source of illness with people. To do this, you need a good test kit that has a FAS-DPD chlorine test. Until you get a good kit, there isn't much that we can do to help you. I would suggest the TF-100 kit at tftestkits.net. You can only buy it at the website. It is not available in stores.
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Hi bozack and welcome to TFP! :)
I ended up here from fighting the same things last April!
The methods taught here work very well and even though the test kit my seem expensive, they will not only save you $$ in the long run, better yet you'll learn what keeping pool water chemistry in balance.
Here at TFP, it's a free college education and that is priceless! :-D
Go here and get the smaller kit and you won't regret it.

TF-50 kit
http://tftestkits.net/TF-50-Test-Kit-p55.html

Read this and follow instructions here:
what-we-need-to-know-to-answer-your-questions-t10341.html

Have a great day! :cheers:

Chuck
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Hey thanks all, so if I drain it agian my wife will probabily throw me out of the house..its not huge but we had a fiasco this year where I filled the old one we had only to find it was junk and now have filled this one....

If there is a kit I could get locally that works reasonably well and can get me close to where I need to be then that would be great, at least for now...

Also there isn't much algae in the water, really just a few small spots, I have been using the strips and they say I am close to whatever acceptable levels are but from reading here it seems that they are junk.

Just didn't know what I should use to shock the pool with, if it is regular bleach that one would get from a grocery store or something different.

Thanks
 

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Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

It still boils down to you needing a FAS-DPD test kit.
Did you read here in Pool School?
pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison.

Your post started with this...
So bear with me as I don't know anything about pools...anything.
Click to expand...
The first step is knowledge of YOUR pool water then add the right chemicals to balance the water.
Using test strips and putting in a start up kit doesn't teach you anything very well.
A lot of us can help if you posted a full set of proper test results.
See this:
what-we-need-to-know-to-answer-your-questions-t10341.html

Chuck
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

bozack said:
So if it helps this is what I was using: http://www.lesliespool.com/Home/Pool-Ch ... 14817.html
Click to expand...
The Power Powder Plus is 65-70% Calcium Hypochlorite (a.k.a., Cal_Hypo). It is a form of chlorine that has calcium which remains in the water after the chlorine dissipates. With an above ground pool, you likely have a vinyl liner. Vinyl liners really don't need calcium. It is probable that your fill water has some calcium in it. Weekly indiscriminate use of this product will lead to high calcium levels which could result in calcium scaling.

Power Powder Pro also contains Calcium Hypochlorite, but at a higher concentration (73%). Adds to the scaling risk described above.

Stabilizer is CYA. This protects Free Chlorine (FC) from sunlight but lowers the effective strength of the FC by holding some of it in reserve. You need some CYA (30-50 ppm), but not more than that.

Regarding test kits...I'm not sure where you are located, but if it's north of the Sunbelt, you probably have about 6 weeks or so of the pool season remaining. You could make a case for purchasing the TF-50 which has everything you need except the pH test and use the test strips for pH. However, if you will need to purchase additional test strips before the season's done, then I would step up to the TF-100. The cost differential between the TF-50 and another round of test strips narrows the cost differential between that and the TF-100 to around $10-15. For that difference, the TF-100 is a much better value. Not only will the TF-50 and TF-100 help you prevent problems, it will give you insight into what to measure and you will soon gain knowledge on the chemicals you add and their effect on the water. Think of it this way...the maintenance kit you are using costs around $30. By using liquid chlorine or unscented bleach for chlorine maintenance and testing with a good kit, you may not need to shock your pool for the remainder of the season, thus saving you the cost of maintenance kits and/or "shock products".
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

If you get the Leslie's kit, look on the Leslies website for a "commercial" location. My understanding is they can appear to be the same as a normal retail store but have different inventory. When you buy the kit, you need the FAS-DPD test and not the DPD (similar sounding, no FAS, no powder or small blue scoop in the box) is not a replacement and will not meet your needs. When you buy the kit, open it and confirm the small container with the scoop is there, if not, do not buy the kit. The TF100 kit recommended here will have the about same tests but have larger bottles of reagent so the number of tests you can complete of each test is higher.

6199916302p
 
Re: Intex 12 x 30 Pool with Small amount of Algae and cluele

Hey thanks, I will see if they have that locally, also I know it is frowned upon but what if I were to take a sample to the pool store? would that be ok for my reporting back here or are they usually very unreliable.

Thanks
 
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