Help! Rain ruined my algae clean up

[plpinkinsa]

So we just bought a house with an inground pool...The way it looked when we moved in last week...

Pool by plpinkinsa, on Flickr

Have no experience and have learned a lot thru trial and error but I'm about to throat punch someone if I can't get this pool cleaned! After a lot of talking to different pool guys and pool stores. From the advice of a pool guy, we used black algae killer and flocked the pool. The next day we could see the bottom!! and dead algae at the bottom...

Untitled by plpinkinsa, on Flickr
We vacuumed to waste once...The next morning, it started raining and has been raining for several days...

Yesterday the rain stopped and now the water looks like this...

Untitled by plpinkinsa, on Flickr
I'm not sure what to do now...I shocked the pool yesterday and have been running on filter for about 16 hours...I don't know if I should continue to keep my chlorine high and filter...I called the local pool store and the guy is telling me to shock and flock again and then vacuum to waste. Yesterday we tried to vacuum to waste and it wasn't doing anything but pushing the particles around the pool. It didn't seem to be picking anything up...I have a 20,000 gallon pool, with a sand filter...I've been reading a bunch of different methods. I had read before to keep running the filter and it would clear up.

 

[Butterfly]

Well, the pool doesn't care if it's raining

You should follow the SLAM process in Pool School to a T. It will cure the problem.

 

[duraleigh]

You are blending advice from different sources and are ending up caught in the middle. You should make a choice on a resource for information and then stick with that source....it'll prevent a lot of the confusion you are experiencing.

 

[plpinkinsa]

My chlorine test kit only goes up to 5 ppm ...Would this test just the chlorine above 5ppm? http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html

 

[JohnN]

Yes, that is what you need to SLAM the pool. You also need to know your CYA level. Do you have a test kit that can test for CYA?

 

[plpinkinsa]

Yes I do...I took a sample in the local pool store

CYA is 70
tc 8.5
fc 7.5
ph 7.8
TA 139
adj TA 118
TH 246

Just added some Muriatic Acid to adjust my PH before I start

 

[woodyp]

If your vacuum stopped picking up anything, sounds like you should backwash your filter to lower the pressure. And proabably at least a couple more times during the SLAM process. Nice polish btw!

 

[Zadd]

If the pool got it right, which is a big if, you need to hold your chlorine at a 24 for several day to go through the SLAM process to get rid of algae.

Get your own test kit and for get the pool store and read up on pool school in the top right corner.

Floc only clears up the current issue. Algae will come back until you pass the three SLAM goals.

 

[plpinkinsa]

Thanks for the help! I've been enjoying the pool Everything is cleared up and we're finally able to have family over for swimming.


Untitled by plpinkinsa, on Flickr

 

[linen]

I don't think you are done yet. Your water is still quite cloudy (the hose disappears). Review the SLAM process: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool Your are not done until all three criteria (also in my sig) are met simultaneously.

 

[crek31]

+1 what linen said. Great job so far, but if you quit before you have met all three requirements you will end up right where you started. Around here, clear means you can clearly see a quarter on the bottom of the deepest part of the pool. You'll get there if you keep following SLAM to a T.

 

[techguy]

Keep going until you can see what type of screw was used on the floor drain. You will get there.

My avatar is what a coin should look like on the floor of your pool.

 

[plpinkinsa]

Visability has significantly cleared up since I took the photo. Still a work in progress...I now have grass I need to fish out since we recently mowed but can see down to the bottom step. Deep end is still a little cloudy.

Untitled by plpinkinsa, on Flickr

 

[linen]

VDeep end is still a little cloudy.

From what I can see, shallow end still looks cloudy too. Regardless, since you are still cloudy in the deep end, I would post a full set of test results. Were you able to get a non-pool store cya reading?

 

[JohnN]

I didn't re-read the whole thread, so I have a few questions. First, have you gotten the recommended test kit yet? If so, have you passed the OCLT and is your CC <.5? If yes, you may want to try adding some DE to your filter.