New pool/spa owner in Minnesota as of September 2020. We have a 30,000 gallon vinyl, inground, heated pool and cover with a solar cover each night manually. Started with crystal clear pool in September 2020 which was being serviced weekly by pool company 1. After taking over in September, taking advice and using chemicals from Pool Company 1, pool turned green after just a few weeks. Switched pool companies late fall as their prices were very high on everything. Found Pool Company 2, winterized, opened, converted to salt chlorinator and had new sand filter & valve replaced this Spring as they were broken. Pool Company 2 did the installation of the salt chlorinator and the sand filter/valve. Following their advice, we were expecting to have a crystal clear pool and have been struggling with cloudiness this entire Spring. In the last few days with high heat, the pool is starting to turn green. I have water tested weekly, sometimes more and have been following the recommendations from the second pool company to a tee which has not been fixing cloudiness. I have high phosphates, tried phosphate remover twice, to no avail. Have been shocking, adding muriatic acid, metal remover, have flocked a few times and vacuumed to waste many times, added 6 more bag of salt. Today I brought a water sample into the second pool company, had them use 1/2 the water, then brought the other half from the same bottle to a third pool company and got slightly different results and different advice. Cleaning my sand tonight which the third pool company recommended since I didn't know to run sand cleaner after phosphate remover. Then I'm trying Pool Juice 911. I feel like I'm a clueless chemist dumping chemicals into my pool and then sending $$$ down the drain when I vacuum. I have a Polaris robot but only use her (Rosie) about once a week. I added skimmer socks which have been very good at containing the smaller particles and cottonwood seeds. Haven't had to backwash since I added the skimmer socks three weeks ago, pressure stays constant at 19.
I joined the FB Salt Water Pools group and have seen many people recommend TroubleFreePools, so here I am ready to SLAM before switching pool companies again. I've learned a lot in the last 9 months, but I'm not sure I'll ever trust a pool company again. Seems there only motivated to sell chemicals. I've read in several places not to be concerned with phosphates as long as free chlorine, and pH is good. Any advice is MOST welcome!
Below are the numbers from the two different pool companies from the same bottle today 6/16/2021 (pool is cloudy and starting to turn green):
I joined the FB Salt Water Pools group and have seen many people recommend TroubleFreePools, so here I am ready to SLAM before switching pool companies again. I've learned a lot in the last 9 months, but I'm not sure I'll ever trust a pool company again. Seems there only motivated to sell chemicals. I've read in several places not to be concerned with phosphates as long as free chlorine, and pH is good. Any advice is MOST welcome!
Below are the numbers from the two different pool companies from the same bottle today 6/16/2021 (pool is cloudy and starting to turn green):
| Factor | Pool Company 2 results | Pool Company 3 results |
| Free Chlorine | 2.63 | 2.5 |
| Total Chlorine | 2.84 | 2.6 |
| Combined Chlorine | 0.21 | |
| pH | 7.2 | 7.6 |
| Alkalinity | 177 | 123 |
| Hardness | 239 | 253 |
| CYA | 125 | 121 |
| Salt | 2520 | 2900 |
| Iron | 0.10 | 0.6 (combined metal test, they don't test separately) |
| Copper | 0.30 | |
| Phosphate | 5092 | 4000 (high as their equipment will go) |
