I hope I am posting in the right area. This is my third year of owning an above ground pool. I just purchased a Intes (?) 18' x 52". I live in the cold north which has had a very late spring and no summer to speak of to date. I leveled the ground and started filling the pool this week. I have a sand filter that I just started 2 days ago. It took about 3 days on and off to fill the pool from the hose. The hose from the house is not softened (not sure if that makes a difference or not). I also purchased a salt water chlorine thing that is supposed to make the chlorine (??). Maybe this goes without saying, but I am using a salt water system.
The water looked fine when the pool was filling. The weather was cool (60's) with occasional rain. I added the salt (about 200 lbs) and I have the salt level right where it says I should be at just a bit over 3000 ppm. Shortly after adding the salt (1/2 day or so) the water turned green. It looks clear but just has a greenish hue to it.
I will need to invest in a real test kit, I am seeing that. I have been using the strips and it says my PH and Alkalinity are both high. I believe my "free chlorine" was also high. In my former pool, I had a build up of what appeared to be iron? which was handled with a commercial iron remover (no idea what was in it).
I realized I had not been running the pump correctly so I have actually only run it correctly for about 36 hours. (I had the flow in a nuetral mode so I assume it was not going through the sand). I put in 2 small bags of commercial shocking stuff (again not sure what is in it) and added about 16 ounces of a commercial product from Menard's said to lower the PH. I also added the "iron out" product, perhaps 10 ounces in hopes that would clear up the green.
Here is my line of reasoning which may be completely unreasonable: since the weather was cold and the water was relatively cold and clear when I was filling the pool and it changed to green shortly after I added the salt, I am thinking it is not an algae problem but more likely an iron or copper problem??
Should I add more Iron Out, shock the pool, keep trying to bring the PH levels down, add a stabilizer or just plan on swimming in a green pool if the weather gets warm enough?
I appreciate any help and apologize that I have next to no technical knowledge about pool maintainance. My philosophy of last year with a smaller pool was to throw more chemical at it until perhaps the problem was solved or the problem was just masked.
Also, I am pretty confused on the whole chlorine generator thing. I bought the one that looks like a small guitar because of the customer reviews. I believe it was a Saltron something. Any help in this area would also be appreciated. I have to go through the manual more carefully.
I am finding this whole thing a little overwhelming.
Thanks
SH
The water looked fine when the pool was filling. The weather was cool (60's) with occasional rain. I added the salt (about 200 lbs) and I have the salt level right where it says I should be at just a bit over 3000 ppm. Shortly after adding the salt (1/2 day or so) the water turned green. It looks clear but just has a greenish hue to it.
I will need to invest in a real test kit, I am seeing that. I have been using the strips and it says my PH and Alkalinity are both high. I believe my "free chlorine" was also high. In my former pool, I had a build up of what appeared to be iron? which was handled with a commercial iron remover (no idea what was in it).
I realized I had not been running the pump correctly so I have actually only run it correctly for about 36 hours. (I had the flow in a nuetral mode so I assume it was not going through the sand). I put in 2 small bags of commercial shocking stuff (again not sure what is in it) and added about 16 ounces of a commercial product from Menard's said to lower the PH. I also added the "iron out" product, perhaps 10 ounces in hopes that would clear up the green.
Here is my line of reasoning which may be completely unreasonable: since the weather was cold and the water was relatively cold and clear when I was filling the pool and it changed to green shortly after I added the salt, I am thinking it is not an algae problem but more likely an iron or copper problem??
Should I add more Iron Out, shock the pool, keep trying to bring the PH levels down, add a stabilizer or just plan on swimming in a green pool if the weather gets warm enough?
I appreciate any help and apologize that I have next to no technical knowledge about pool maintainance. My philosophy of last year with a smaller pool was to throw more chemical at it until perhaps the problem was solved or the problem was just masked.
Also, I am pretty confused on the whole chlorine generator thing. I bought the one that looks like a small guitar because of the customer reviews. I believe it was a Saltron something. Any help in this area would also be appreciated. I have to go through the manual more carefully.
I am finding this whole thing a little overwhelming.
Thanks
SH