HELP!!!

[AngieWilt]

I am new to having a pool, and this site has been extremely helpful in helping me figure out what to do for my pool, however my pool is still green after a month!!!

We just bought a house with a 24 foot round intex pool. It has a Krystal Clear 633 intex pump. I know, not the best, but for my 11 year old, I thought it would be great!! When we took the cover off, it was almost black.. went to the pool shop bought tons of shock and chlorine and everything else they said we would need. After weeks of every few days triple shocking and adding phos-free, bleach, green to clean, more shock, clarifier, algaecide.. I clean the filter every few hours which is almost yellowish orange when I pull it out... its a cartridge filter size B. The pump and filter have been running for almost 3 weeks straight... even at night and during the rain. The pool shop told me today that with Intex pools, you have to drain them and refill... I have already put $500 into doing what they have told me to do, and the thought of draining all that away and putting another $800 into refilling it make sme think that I am going to have to get rid of the pool... Some people have told me a bigger and better pump and filter would work... Please help!!!!

2 days ago, they had me raise my PH levels high then add this Green to Clean chemical that is supposed to make the shock work better. I then added to bags of shock, waited 12 hours, added 2 more bags of shock, waited 12 hours, then added 2 more bags of shock... as of today, my pool still minty green and these are the chem levels. When I went in today, they told me they were at a loss and had no idea what to do... they called the manager who said only option is to drain it. Oh, and today was also the first time that metal showed up in it... they have tested my water for me several times, including 2 days ago...

Free Chlorine - 5ppm
Total Available Chlorine - 5ppm
Calcium Hardness - 220 ppm
Cyanuric Acid - 50ppm
Total Alkalinity 100ppm
pH - 7.4
Copper - .2
Phosphates - 100

Please help... I would like at least other expert opinions before I throw away almost $500 down the drain... Thanks so much!!!

 

[Richard320]

Your story is not uncommon around here. You've been pool-stored.If you want to take charge and clear the mess and never have to go to the pool store again except to buy obscure bits of pool hardware, we can help. No quick fixes here; that's the pool store's job to make extravagant promises.

First (and you know this I think) stop trusting that pool store. That free test is worth just what you paid for it - nothing. With the amount of snake oils you've dumped in that thing, I'd doubt all the readings. Which means you need some readings you can trust, which means your own test kit.

Since you're no stranger to spending money on your pool, spend some more, but wisely for a change. http://tftestkits.net Order a TF100 with the XL option. I also recommend a speedstir. You won't regret it.

Then get yourself a large drink of some sort and settle in to study Pool School

Some inspiration:
pretty-black-pool-t58442.html
first-time-pool-owner-t61565.html
a-little-encouragement-for-those-with-algae-and-new-to-bbb-t57137.html
frog-filled-green-swamp-to-oasis-work-in-progress-t48213-20.html be sure to look at page 2
before-and-after-t36785.html
a-final-picture-set-of-how-well-the-bbb-method-works-t33199.html

 

[macgulley]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. You've come to the right place, though. Step 1- fire the pool store. Step 2- order a good test kit http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html Step 3- read Pool School while you wait for your test kit to arrive, especially focus on How to: The Shock Process pool-school/
You may have to partially drain if your CYA is too high (very likely since you've been dumping in "shock" from the pool store) but you need to get accurate measurements before you do anything more than maintaining pH and cleaning the filter regularly. Pool store measurements are notoriously inaccurate.
Read this thread: turning-your-green-swamp-back-into-a-sparkling-oasis-t4147.html
I would bet you can get to a sparkling pool for less than $100 by following the recommendations in Pool School.
Read some success stories and be encouraged: 5-days-from-green-swamp-to-clear-thank-you-t57939.html
Hang in there, you can make it and the folks on TFP are always available to help if you get stuck.

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! I'm glad you found us and sorry you had to look for us! The algaecide is the likely source of the copper that showed up in your pool. I am going to echo the recommendation for the TF 100 test kit. Doing your own testing is the best way to stay on top of the water chemistry in your pool. While it may seem expensive, it will save you money in the long run and is essential for clearing a green pool. It is also something you will use on a daily basis after the pool is clean.

I doubt you need to drain the whole pool. If you can tell us the brand and names of products you have added so far we can look up the major ingredients and see if a drain is needed or if things can be managed where they are.

 

[AngieWilt]

Hello again, I did buy a test kit at the pool store... a Deluxe Poolcare DPD Test kit... tests for Free and Total Chlorine, pH, Acid demand and total alkalinity... was only a $30 kit and they said thats all I would need... Anyways, I just tested using this kit until I get the recommended one and here are the results:

FC- 5+ (its turned very red)
TC- 5+ (No change in the color red)
the test for Combined chlorine then was 0 I assume since there was no change... instructions said to subtract FC from TC..
pH - 7.2
TA - Never did get it to turn red after approx 30 drops.. got as far as yellow...

(Im thinking this kit is no good)

Anyways, the products I have added are as follows:

5lbs Soda Ash by Leslies Swimming Pool Supplies
Green to Clean by Coral Seas a Division of Coral Chemical company
Pool Perfect + PhosFree by Natural Chemistry
Metal Free by Natural Chemistry
countless bags of Chlor Brite by Leslies Pool Supplies
Algea Control by Aqua Chem
I think in total 10 gallons of 8.75% bleach (was strongest I could find)

Thanks a lot for the help! I will be getting the recommended test kit!

 

[Richard320]

Re-do the TA test. With really high FC it goes from green>pink to blue>yellow.

The pH test is questionable. With really high FC, the colors shift. If CYA is also high, that tends to negate that effect, but its impossible to say by how much. If TA is high, pH will rise fairly quickly, so ignore pH for now.

Until you get a FAS-DPD test for the chlorine, you're sort of stalled.
You could try mixing 1 part of pool water to 2 parts bottled water, mix that, then use that to test FC. Multiply the result by 3 for a loose estimate.

Chlor-brite is dichlor - there's a very good chance the CYA is far higher than the 50 ppm the pool store tested.

 

[zea3]

The FC may be high enough to bleach out the TA test. Try running the test again when the shock process is complete. Adjusting TA is at the bottom of the list if it is needed at all.
For the products you have used so far:
Green to Clean- basically adds ammonia to the pool. Marginally helpful with high CYA levels.
Read more about it here.
Pool Perfect+PhosFree- is to remove phosphates, however phosphate levels are not an issue when enough chlorine is used on a daily basis.
Metal Free- is to manage the copper from the Algae control
Chlorbrite- is a dichlor which contains CYA. Your CYA level may be higher than you think. It takes about a week for it to register on the test after it has been added to the pool.

Its not that your test kit is no good, it just doesn't have the right tests. You need the FAS-DPD test for high levels of FC and the CYA test to measure CYA.

Plug your current test results into the pool calculator and use liquid chlorine or bleach to bring the pool to shock level and keep it there. It will be easier to test for shock level once you get the correct test.