New to Pools..Algae and Filter Question

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I will have to pick up a vacuum for the pool probably tomorrow. We just moved into this house and the pool has been sitting and the people that lived here before took all of the pool maintenance items and I have been having to buy everything as needed. Do you think I should go ahead and add some more bleach this morning or wait until after church when I get back and test again?
 
It is still green, but a lighter shad and it seems it has a blue tint to it. I still can only see about 6" below the surface. I have been watching the pressure. It is only about 5 PSI higher than it was previously. We done a thorough cleaning of the filter yesturday before starting the process and got the algae on it off.
 
Ok. I will add 2 more jugs which is about 2.48 gallons. I have not ordered the suggested kit yet. I plan to though. I have been using the one I bought yesturday and dilluting the water. It shows total bromine, free cholorine, pH, and total alk.
 
Sounds good. When you are ready to complete the shock process (you are not there yet, lol) you will need the FAS-DPD chlorine test. The kit you have won't tell you what you need to know at that point. As you continue adding bleach, you'll begin to see a noticable color change as the algae is killed off. If you are maintaining the FC where it should be, you will eventually see the green turn to grey or blue and cloudy, and then the cloudy will begin to clear. If you continue to see green then it's possible the FC isn't reaching your target/goal yet. Having the FAS-DPD test confirms 100% if you are reaching your target for dosing. That's why we tend to harp on the good kit... :)
 
You are doing great. Keep in mind there are millions and millions of little algae cells in there and they dont all die at once. It's a bit of a process.

Things you should expect -

It might stay green for awhile , but gradually get better
It may turn a really cloudy non-green color. That's all the dead algae waiting to be filtered out.

There's really no way to tell how long it will take - but plan on seeing gradual improvement day to day.
 
Once I got home from church today the water looks more of a teal color and cloudy (still unable to see the bottom, but to be expected I suppose since it is cloudy and still in progress). I checked the chemicals again and am still getting a high FC reading, so I will continue to keep a check on that and the PSI on the filter. It is still about the same. I will try to brush it today if I can get out there between the rain starting and stopping. I will also go ahead and get a vacuum tomorrow and go ahead and vac it out, I guess?
 
I have been doing a lot of reading on here and have realized that I do not need to add the Mineral Springs Beginnings to get my salt levels up and I don't need to add the Mineral Springs Renewal each week as instructed at the pool store. Once I get all of the green out of the pool and get it "sparkling", do I need to then work on bringing up the levels in the pool, such as the salt so that the Mineral Springs system will start to function? I have not been able to see what exactly I need to do this, but I am sure all of you will be able to help!

I definitely feel like I have learned enough on here and will be able to continue to learn that I can maintain the pool this season on my own without relying on the money sucking pool store.

So, my next step is I am going to order the test kit and get the pool cleared up. Then I will post in a new thread my new numbers for some direction on how to achieve the salt levels and other levels without the Mineral Springs, Bioguard, etc. products. Thanks!
 

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If you order the tf100 from tftestkits.net, make sure to add an order of aquacheck salt test strips. That will tell us your current salt level and then you can just put your info into the poolcalculator.com to figure out how much salt or other chemicals you will need to add to adjust your water chemistry :goodjob:
 
Is the salt reading on the MS system accurate or should I still get the salt test kit? Is the only thing I need for the Beginnings substitute just regular pool salt from a pool store?
 
I have ordered the TF-100 test kit, borates test strips, and the salt test strips. I am in Goldsboro, NC so I don't think it will take too long to get the kit since it seems they are located in east NC as well. I have tested the levels again and the FC is staying up, which is a good sign from what I can tell. I will check it again first thing in the morning and see if it is still up. I will keep you all updated and I greatly thank everyone for all of the great help so far!! :whoot:
 
Wow! You could just walk down the road and pick them up! :)

It is a good sign when the FC starts holding but don't get lax in testing and adding just yet. In fact you should keep it up until you get your TF-100 and run the FC & CC test.
 
I checked again this morning and it seems to still be at a good level, but I went ahead and added some more bleach since I will not be home until after 5 today and we are supposed to have fairly warm temps today.
 
Ok, I think we are making progress. The water is mostly blue with maybe a hint of green and very cloudy. I have posted two pictures of the water in its current state and one of it before any chemicals. I brushed the pool today and added one more jug of bleach when I got home to hopefully hold it over until I get my test kit (hopefully it will be here tomorrow :-D ).

I got the vacuum items I needed today, but it was too dark to start that when I got home and I am not quite sure what to do. I know I set the filter to waste, but what else do I need to do at the skimmer to connect it all?

One more question. I looked at Lowe's today at their salt and they have two different bags. I have put the link below for the site and I am trying to figure out which bag I need to get. Do I need the pellets (99.8% pure salt) or the solar salt (99.6% pure salt)? Also, when should I add the salt that is needed to bring the SWG into operation? Thank you!

http://www.diamondcrystalsalt.com/Water-Softening/Products/Products.aspx

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