Im so glad I found this site! A little overwhelmed but excited.

[Cem9532]

Hi Everyone!

So this is my 4th year as a pool owner. We have a 24 foot above ground pool. Im not gonna lie, I have just barely winged it for 4 years. I basically just threw shock in it every once in a while and towards the end of the season it would always go green. Then I would either wrap it up for the year or go give a pool store my paycheck.
So last year it went greener than ever, I couldn't afford to fix it so we called it done, attempted to tarp it, and decided to deal with it at opening time this year. So here I am now regretting that choice. However, we had issues with the tarp and it was almost as if it was uncovered all winter with lots of leaves at the bottom.
So last Thursday I got the pump going and went off to the pool store with my swamp water sample. $140 later I was told I should be able to at least see the bottom in the next day or 2 so I can get the leaves that I know are there but cant see. (Im still scooping them out blindly but dont know how much is left).
On Saturday I felt like progress had stalled so I put in 5 more pounds of shock from Home Depot.
Oh the pool people for the $140 sold me, 1 Gallon of conditioner, 10lbs of shock, 15lbs of baking soda, and a container of algaecide. It went from black, to emerald green, now its a pea soup green. I was actually gonna head back to the pool store today until I checked my bank account and decided I needed to wait. That's when I found this site. I am so glad i did. I'm so intrigued by this BBB method. I will admit all this info and chemistry has me nervous but i'm gonna give it a shot. I actually don't have a chemical testing set anymore (told you I was winging it). I work at a place with an indoor pool so Im gonna take a sample to work with me tomorrow and test it. I will buy my own on Friday.
I did by 2.5 gallons of bleach today though. I know I dont know what Im doing yet but I dont want my pea soup green to go back to black on me before I figure it out.
I am looking forward to chatting and learning with everyone here, and maybe one day I will be able to help out a newbie.

Thanks

 

[n240sxguy]

Welcome to TFP! Make sure you get either a Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100 test kit. Those are the only ones that have the free chlorine test you will need to take control of your pea soup. Read through pool school and some of the swamp threads and you'll see what you're in for. With the $140 the pool store got you could have a test kit and sparkly water by now. [emoji22]


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[YippeeSkippy]

I would say get the TF-100 XL since you have a mess to deal with. It has more reagents for the tests you're going to be running most.
The speed stir device is a treat- makes testing faster and easier, but strictly optional.

TF-100 is available from TFTestkits.net which ships from NC so it will be fast.

Return all that other mess you bought, and instead stock up on liquid chlorine aka bleach. Plain, unscented, no special types, 8.25%. I'd venture to say you should start with about 15 gallons. You'll use them.

Read Pool School, so you'll understand why all that other stuff they sold you is actually the cause of your problems but not the cure!

Maddie

 

[chiefwej]

Step one is to get a good test kit. Everything we do here is based on reliable consistent testing. That means you testing your own water. As said there are only two test kits we recommend TF-100 and Taylor K-2006. The TF-100 is the better buy. It has more of the reagents that a pool owner will use the most.

While waiting for your new test kit to arrive get all the "gunk" you can out of the pool and add about a quart of plain non scented bleach per day to the pool. That should hold things in check until we get some test results to work with.

Spend all your spare time reading "Pool School", that's the button at the upper right on this page. It may seem overwhelming at first, but with some time and study it will all begin to make sense. Add a signature with the info described in Pool School and once you have a test kit there's lots of friendly folks here that will help you make your's a TroubleFree Pool.

 

[Cem9532]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and already with the advice
Since reading into pool school and the SLAM procedure for algae, I decided not to bother bringing a sample to work today and test. I figure I need just wait till I have my own kit so I can test frequently. So I be back on here as soon as I get my kit. Thanks already and Ill talk to you soon.

 

[Richard320]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and already with the advice
Since reading into pool school and the SLAM procedure for algae, I decided not to bother bringing a sample to work today and test. I figure I need just wait till I have my own kit so I can test frequently. So I be back on here as soon as I get my kit. Thanks already and Ill talk to you soon.

Welcome, Cindy!

Keep vacuuming/scooping, even if you have to do it blind. The less debris in the pool, the faster you will clear it when you do have a test kit and can attack the green with the proper weapons.