Pretty blue, cloudy water after a swamp

[mamalou23]

We started our pool pump last Saturday evening after removing multiple dead animals and scooping as much as we could off the bottom of a dark green, algae-laden pool. Used 1 bottle of copper algaecide and 7 bags of shock extra blue from Wal-Mart on Saturday. Used some form of shock, bags or liquid (12.75%), every day this week in the evening. Vacuumed to waste every day this week. Back washed and have brushed at least once and sometimes twice a day every day this week. Filter pump is running 24/7. Pool strips finally showed a chlorine reading on Thursday evening but has not held over night.

Water is now a pretty blue but can only see a few feet down the side of the shallow end, not the bottom. The most recent readings from the last pool place I had the water tested an hour ago are:

FC .14 ppm
TC .45 ppm
CC .31 ppm
pH 6.6
Hardness 136 ppm
Alkalinity 23 ppm
CYA 51 ppm
Copper 1.1 ppm
Iron .1 ppm
Phosphate 300 ppb

3 different readings from 3 different pool places, 1 yesterday and 2 today but that one is the most current. Have bleach, borax, and baking soda on hand and interested in maintaining our pool with the BBB method. Have ordered Taylor K2006 and K1000 pool test kits which should be here one day next week. Have Aqua-chem pool strips on hand from last year. Also have a big tub of 3" chlorinating tablets bought new this month as well as a bottle of Sink and Swim flocculant. What should I do next to get it clear?
Thanks

 

[woodyp]

You've already done the best thing you can do which is to order a GOOD test kit. At this point, I'd just raise the PH into the mid 7's range, wait on the test kit, and look for a bleach sale. Welcome to the forum.

 

[mamalou23]

Thanks for the welcome. This should be very helpful for us. How do I raise the PH in to the mid 7's range with the borax? What amount at what rate and put in where?

 

[Richard320]

For amounts of chemicals, use poolmath. It will crunch the numbers and tell you how much.

Here are the directions for using poolmath
Here are the directions for how to add each chemical

Do not use any more algaecides or shock powders or flocculents. You don't want to end up like this poor guy: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/74854-How-do-I-fix-this-Foam-Ice-Bergs-plus-Green

 

[woodyp]

By using PoolMath at the top of the page, you can either add 160 ounces of washing soda or soda ash.....OR.........318 ounces of Borax to raise your PH to 7.5 for your gallons. OR..........the cheapest.........aerate the pool until your PH naturally rises. Broadcast either of those in and just brush it.

 

[mamalou23]

So I am waiting on the test kit I ordered to come in one day this week hopefully. In the meantime, I have run out of test strips and the pool stores are all closed on Monday. I have no idea what levels I have right now. Safest thing to do is just bleach for right now? Have put in 2 boxes of Borax since Friday and two 4 lb. boxes of baking soda and lots of 8.25% bleach (probably 4 gallons total). Still a pretty blue but unable to see the bottom of the shallow end.