help, brand new to pools!!!

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Albert

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May 20, 2008
53
Minnesota
ok we recently moved into a house with a 20k galllon pool and now that it is nice out we had it opened and took a sample of the water to the local pool store and they told us how much of what we needed and what order and how long to wait before adding. now that we have done everything they said the water still is not clear its a dark gray/green. there is tons of stuff sitting on the floor of it and i was vaccuming it for about an hour and still didnt notice the difference. we were told to add 14lbs of acalinity increaser, 6lbs of stabalizer, 2 bags of powder shock, 1lb of ph. decreaser and also treat it with algee killer. that still didnt help. so anyone think they can help?

sorry forgot to say what kind of filter i have its a sand filter and the pump is a hayward vari-flo pro series
 

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Sure we can help. First, ignore what the pool store told you. For the most part, they do not have a clue. Start reading Pool School, particularly How to Clear a Green Pool

Get your own test kit so you can understand your water. Dave "Duraleigh" Smith, a member here sells a really good one at TFTestKits or you can buy a Taylor K-2006. It is the best money you can spend, and will pay for itself the first year you own it. Dave usually will have it in your hands in a few days.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Albert,

Hold on until the experts correct me but a few things I can add:

-Please post a full set of numbers. A good test kit is essential to proper pool care. I have the TF test kit sold through links on this website and love it.
-Shocking will kill most everything wrong with a pool. You need to keep your chlorine level stable overnight to ensure that you have killed everything.
-If you vacummed and did not notice a difference, I would assume your filter needs a cleaning. Again, please post what type of filter so we can provide a proper response.
-Once done vacumming I would scrub the pool with a pool brush to help the shock access the lower levels of anything growing on the surface of the pool.

Be patient an expert will provide better instructions.
 
Hey, Albert,

Welcome to the forum. Craig and John have given good advice.

Essentially, what we're all gonna' recommend is that you clean as much gunk out of your pool as you can physically. Leslies (and others) have a good leaf rake that has a rubber blade in front of it that will really help get the muck off the bottom. Get the very best one as it needs to be sturdy.....mucking the bottom is pretty hard work.

After you've gotten up as much as you can, your pool is gonna' be all stirred up and look worse than ever!! :shock: :shock: No worries! Next your gonna apply massive doses of chlorine at a steady pace into your pool. Usually takes about 4-5 days and 30-60 gallons of bleach and lots of filter cleaning but it's the only way to clear your pool.

That where a good test kit becomes almost essential. Hopefully mine, but the Taylor K-2006 is a good one, too. You'll need one of these for their ability to test VERY HIGH levels of chlorine and, importantly, CYA after your pool clears. You'll get tons of informative help here. This forum has some of the best folks on the planet when it comes to understanding pool water chemistry....(I wish I was one of them but I can help some, too :lol: )

In the end, you'll have weaned yourself from the ineffective, pricey products at the pool store, gained a new understanding of your pool that will last you a lifetime, and done it all for less money than any other way to clear your pool.

Ask lots of questions. Lots of people here will help.
 
Albert said:
alcalinity level of 110
pH level of 6.4
hardness level of 90 ppm
and chlorine level is pretty low i tried testing it and it was a very faint color of yello
Click to expand...

Hi Albert and Welcome! :-D

First, you need to raise your pH level to between 7.2 and 7.6!

Please post a full set of test #'s and we can go from there. If you do not have a kit, take a sample of your water to the pool store, but we need numbers!!
 
i took some water to the store and the print out sheet says
total alkalinity of 110
shock treatment 0
pH 6.4
cyanuric acid 0
total hardness 90
total chlorine was like 1.3
free chlorine was 0
and water balance index of -1.6
 
we took about 1 1/2 ft of water out so we can actually se the bottom and see what were getting im not sure if thats what i was supposed to do but thats the only way too get it done because i couldnt see anything when i first purchased the leaf rake. the guy at the local pool store was stupid so we stopped in at a pool care company and they reccommended we do this untill all the gunk is out. and input guys?
 

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Albert i was in the same spot you are in, probably worse! My water was the same as yours, listen to these guys they know what they are talking about!
I went BBB, cheap and easy! Have patience, and buy the tf-100, my best purchase so far!


Good luck!
Joe
 
yes i got the pH level up then took some water out. after i get as many leaves as i can out should i get my vac and just get the rest out with that or what do i do? this thing is becomming more of a problem than i thought it would be haha.
 
Just rack as much of the gunk out as you can. If you don't get it all at first, thats ok as the water clears you will be able to see more and get it then.

You want to get as much of the gunk out with the rack because it will speed up the water clearing process. With the gunk in the pool the chlorine attacks the gunk as well, slowing it all down and using more chlorine. So it saves you time and money.

Don't give up, it will clear and you'll be loving it.
 
Any approach to removing gunk that works is a good idea. The rake is the simplest, but vacuuming will work also. Vacuuming can get tricky because it is best to vacuum to waste when there is serious muck in the pool, but that lowers the water level fairly quickly. If you vacuum through the filter, instead of to waste, it can fill the filter and raise the pressure quite quickly. That can be resolved by backwashing/cleaning the filter, but again it is more work. Still, if you can get most of it with the rake, finishing off with the vacuum is a good idea.

If you have a pool robot that can also work well, though the dirt bag can fill up quite quickly. If there are lots of leaves then a skimmer net can often work well.
 
well i purchased a rake yesterday and started getting a lot of what i could see out and the shallow end is pretty much cleaned but i seems like there is some dirt or something that i cant seem to pick up with the rake. so today when i get home im going to continue to rake teh bottom untill the net doesnt get anything up. then from there what do i do? i hate using the vac. to waste because its already low in water because i drained it. so is it possible for me to just vac. to the filter or what do i do? and thank you everyone for your input im glad i found this website because i was just going to close it again haha.
 
To prime the pump: Open the pump strainer basked and fill the basket with water. Close the basket again and turn on the pump. It should prime at that point. If the pump is several feet above the water level you may need more dramatic procedures.
 
Sometimes i have to stick the hose into the pipe that feeds the basket and let the line fill up. The basket will overflow, ignore the overflow and run the water for 45 secs or so, then close basket, start pump. Believe me, you are in the situation i was in. Some trial and error is how i learned alot of stuff!

Good Luck!
 

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