Newbie with Algae and vacuum side leak

[DallasJ]

Hello TFP folks,

I have spotty green algae on the plaster and tiles. Water is perfectly clear. Been using chlorine tabs in two pool floats for a couple months then blindly shocked heavy with HTH calcium hypochlorite -- four one-pound bags three weeks ago that helped a little. Then HTH Super Algae Guard to no effect. Dumped three more bags of HTH calcium hypochlorite last weekend. Have also brushed and vacuumed twice a week and cleaned the filter grids then recharged with DE.


Now I'm getting serious. HTH test strips tell me:
pH 7.5
Hardness 600ppm
Alkalinity 120ppm
TOTAL Chlorine (off the chart, estimated to be ~40ppm by testing a 10X dilution)
FREE Chlorine Unknown
Cyanuric Acid 80ppm
I can come back with better chlorine numbers on Monday: I work at a lab so can do free testing. ATM these are test strips results.

Tonight I drained three inches of water and added four inches back, then dumped two gallons of 8% hypochlorite bleach into pool after brushing.
We're having drought here in N Texas so I don't want to drain/refill any more water for now. So what to do about the algae?

Next problem: Apparently there's a leak on the vacuum side. I get bubbles coming out the jets and even after bleeding the DE tank they won't stop. When the pump stops the basket has to be re-primed every time to start up again, or run pump dry for 30 seconds which I assume is very hard on the pump.

Thanks for any advice and replies. This pool came with the house so time to learn...

 

[PridgNYC]

First step, order a proper test kit. Test strips tell us nothing, they are very inaccurate.
Second step, read pool school, especially the section on the relationship between FC and CYA

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Algae and high CYA can be fixed with water replacement and bleach. But a good test kit will be needed. 'nuff said. You've probably been reading in pool school about that.

For the air leak, start with the easy things. The water level in the skimmer. Sticking flapper. When the pump is on, you shouldn't see a vortex in the water. If you do, there's your air source. Then open up the pump basket and check that big O-ring. Even a tiny hairline crack will cause a huge air leak. So, no cracks, no grit or blades of grass, plenty of pool lube on it. Feel the drain plugs on the bottom of the pump and be sure they're good and snug. If you still haven't found it, start coating the pipe connections with shaving cream. If the bubbles stop and/or you see a gap in the foam where it's being sucked in, you found it. Good luck.