Another clueless new pool owner

[nicnut45]

Hi,
Ok, I just bought a house on a short sale. The pool hasnt been opened in 2 years. Details are in my signature. I had some pool guys come and open the pool. They said the water didnt look that bad. It was slightly green and you could see to the bottom. All they did was hook up the pump, install cartridge filter, vacuum once, and install ladder. They did not add any chemicals and neither did I at this point. Now that the pool is running it has turned a pleasent hazy green.
So, I go down to the pool store and give them a water sample. I told them the pool was a hazy green color. So they run an ammonia test on top of a regular test which took 30 minutes to complete. They tell me there is too much ammonia in the pool and I should drain half the water fill it back up and bring them a new sample. I dont like this advice so I go somewhere else and give them a sample. They tell me I dont need to drain any water and then they give me some chemicals to add to the water. The chemicals are, and to add in this order:
1.5.25 lbs. ?
2.1.5 lbs. ph increaser
3. 2.0 lbs Stabilizer
4.2 gallons pool shock
So I go add these chemicals because I like their advice better. I guess my questiones are: 1. Can I trust these pool places? 2. How long will it take for the pool to clear up? 3. I have read a little bit about chlorhine resistant bacteria, should I be worried about it?
Thanks in advance

 

[scott.MI]

Without actually test numbers no one can give advice on what should or should not be added.

TFP members do not trust pool store readings, or pool store advice. Now I'm not saying their advice is bad....but just the fact that you went to 2 places and got 2 different answers should say something. (Hence why everyone here owns a test kit and tests themselves.)

If you have the pool store test numbers you could post them, but people will be leery about adding anything based on their tests.

 

[kimkats]

If you were to go to a third pool store you would get a whole different answer/way to spend money! PLEASE do yourself a favor and order your own test kit. My siggy has a link to the different ones. It WILL save you money in the long run.

Read pool school over and over and over. It can be overwhelming but you will come to understand it with several readings AND asking questions here.

Post some pics of your pool and ask any questions you have.

First thing though order a real test kit! Please.

 

[cramar]

Dittos man.
Proper first steps: order a proper drop based test kit (no strips), read and re-read pool school, go to PoolCalculator.com to get recommended dosage levels.
No shortcuts on this, you need a test kit to tell you your levels, pool school will give the knowledge on how to balance. Anything else is flying blind.

 

[karmabiker]

Proper order of operations:
1: Dump a couple of gallons of bleach in to get the shock process (its a process not a product) started
2: Order a test Kit here http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html
3. Read pool school (upper right hand corner)
4: Dump a couple of gallons of bleach a day while waiting for the test kit just to stay ahead of the algae
5: Read Pool School Again
6: Repeat 4 and 5 until you get your test kit
7: Post up the results of your test in this thread


From there we can help you get to a clear trouble free pool. Key here is DONT TRUST THE POOL STORE: it's like a strip club, it costs a lot of money and you walk away frustrated.

The only chemicals you will likely use any time in the near future are bleach and Muriatic acid.