My pool Mess

[lethalshine]

I am planning on opening my inground pool this coming weekend and want advice on where to begin with my mess. I live in NC and have had a ton of rain over the winter along with other stuff and had the cover fall in to the pool along with a bunch of leaves. Now that the weather is warming up I need to get this messed cleaned up. I also have some broken/cracked laterals in my sand filter and need to replace those. I haven't tested my water but know it is bad because it is green. I use the BBB method and will be filling the pool with well water. My plans were to gets as many leaves out before starting(can't see the bottom so who knows how many I have), filling the pool from my well, shocking, circulating, vacuuming, and when things start improving then change out the laterals and sand in the filter(or should I do that before start up). It is a 16x36 pool somewhere around 25000 gallons. I was thinking about getting a start up kit from somewhere like Doheny's but didn't know if that is a waste of money or not. typically I would just use bleach but this is my worst opening I have had so not being an expert, I am confused on where to start. The Doheny's start up kit comes with:
2 quarts Metal Out
1 quart Water Clarifier
2 qts. Spring Algaecide
4 lbs. Dy-Chlor Shock.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Follow the steps in the Pool School article: How to turn your Green Swamp into a Sparkling Oasis. Just follow the steps outlined there, and in "How to Shock your Pool".

Don't waste your money on "kits". You don't need the algaecide or the clarifier and without knowing your CYA level you might not want dichlor.

You want to get your filter working first.
Then get the plumbing hooked up and the water circulating.
Begin scooping as much solids as possible with a net or leaf rake.
After the water has circulated for several hours you'll need to test the water before adding any chemicals.
Add your sequesterant if your well water is not filtered first - get Jack's magic or Sequasol or any kind that is HEDP based. (Do this before adjusting chlorine levels.)
Adjust your PH/TA
Add CYA (if necessary) and Start shocking...
follow the process for "how to shock your pool" and you should be good to go...

Post back if you have any questions

 

[duraleigh]

Have you previously had iron in your well water? If not, you do not need the sequestrant.

 

[lethalshine]

No I haven't had any previous iron issues with my well water. So I think that will be good. Thanks for all the advice. One more question. what kind of sand do I need to put into the filter? Just regular pool filter sand from the pool supply store? They have differnt types. or does something from Lowes or Home Depot work as well?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Just make sure it's specifically for pool filters.