New pool owner

[Teresa66]

We just moved into a house with an IG pool about 8 days ago. The pool was opened on the second day we moved in, but it had an old cover on it and it was filled with polywogs and toads and the pool (after the cover came off) was brown. That all was cleaned up and the pool company that opened the pool said they added a lot of algae-cide and slammed it. We "slammed" it again the next day, and the next, and the next and every day since. We clean/brush it every day. It is a greenish-whitish-just a hint of blue and today we could see the third step on the ladder but can only see the bottom in the shallow end. We have a 28,000 gallon pool. The pH is 7.3, but after 6 days of slamming the FC=0, and the CYA=0. The pool company says we do not need to add CYA until the FC level is above 0, but from reading this forum it seems that's wrong? They also had us add a bunch of calcium, but since our pool is vinyl, that seems to have been a waste of time/money.

The DE filter is older, but is plugging away. I took it apart and cleaned it and added DE to the pool again - the pool company says I should clean it again with their "degreaser" if I want it to work better. I backwash it a few times a day and add a little DE each time.

So I have some questions - should I add CYA to the pool along with the chlorine (we are using store-bought 6% bleach now as recommended here to "slam" it)?

We have only one skimmer and we put in two 3-inch Chlorine tablets as recommended by the pool store, but they have dissolved very little if at all. Should I take these out?

We have found 3-4 dead toads in the pool each morning of last few days. Given the number of polywogs I'm not surprised to see toads, but dead?

Last question - the pool company says we should replace the DE filter with a sand filter as it would do a better job on our pool and if we had had one, we would be able to swim by now. Any thoughts? Sorry for all of the questions but we are very new to this. Appreciate your help very much

 

[triptyx]

"SLAMing" and the pool store's idea of "Shocking" a pool are two different things. Just to make sure that's clear. Algaecide can have a role in preventing algae, but once it's growing, only one thing fixes it - brushing, filtering, and maintaining an adequate shock level of free chlorine until the water is completely clear.

So let's go to your questions:
1. The DE filter. DE filters are some of the best on the market for extremely clear water and good filtering - if they're being maintained and used properly. Their downside is that they clean so well they can clog up quickly when you're trying to clear up an algae problem. I don't personally have a DE filter (I have a cartridge filter), so I don't know anything about degreaser or bumping it, etc. I'd be VERY skeptical of anything the pool store is trying to sell me if they're telling me that my DE filter isn't up to the job.

2. Bleach. Great! You're using the correct product - however, save yourself some bottles (and money) and see if you can find "concentrated" bleach - it should read as 8.25% and you'll get more bang for your buck (you'll also have less bottles needed to reach the same FC levels).

3. CYA - A CYA level of 30 would be good if you're going to SLAM. Otherwise, you'll be losing tons of chlorine to the sun instead of it being used to kill off your little green enemies (algae). You need a good approved test kit (a K-2006C or TF-100 with XL option from TFTestkits.net is recommended if you're going to follow the methods taught here). Get a good CYA test result from an approved kit, and then we can help you to use PoolMath to learn how much stabilizer (also called conditioner) you need to add. This is assuming you're not fighting an ammonia problem - see my question at the bottom of this post.

4. Not knowing your current CYA numbers, I'd pull the tabs if they're dichlor or trichlor. Let's assume it's 0, but we really don't know.

5. No idea on the dead frogs. Maybe the chlorine level is killing them, but I have no experience there. Definitely get them out as fast as possible so the chlorine isn't being wasted on their carcasses. Meanwhile, use your leaf rake to get as many of the eggs and swimmers out as well. Some folks put them in a bucket and dump them elsewhere, use your personal idea for disposal there.

6. The calcium was pretty much a waste of money on a vinyl lined pool.

So let's talk about your Free Chlorine. How fast does it drop to 0? How often are you testing it, and what test kit are you using?

 

[ckk81]

Agree with the above.
I have a DE filter on a similar size pool- surprise you don't need degreaser. Make sure you're adding the recommended amount of DE with each backwash.

Can you post some pics of what it looks like currently?

Chlorine will certainly kill frogs we have it happen regularly. RIP Kermit.