Bluish green after doing everything here

[peeples]

OK so I've been lurking for 3 weeks reading everything here. We bought a home two months ago with a swamp green pool that had not been cleaned in a couple years. We have gotten it to the bluish green cloudy color and it won't get any better. So before I go on here is all my info.
24 by 48 above ground pool with a sand filterand a new pump that works well. Sand is also new.
My stats are finally holding over night they are:
Total chlorine 2
free chlorine 3
PH 7.2
Alk 100
I admit I broke BBB a couple times out of frustration. I have used algecide and shock. Total in 2 weeks we have added 22 bleach 12 shock bags 24 pounds baking soda and one box of borax. We added cellulose fiber because it seems that all parts of the pool are clean but it's all tiny particles floating in my water. Problems are that it seems no matter how slow we add it clogs our filter and we're forced to back wash due to no flow. We are frustrated and just want our kids to swim but we've spent so much on it we are about done with pool money. Please help. Sorry for any grammer issues. I am posting this through my phone. I know it's long but wanted to make sure I provided all info possible.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

With algae, 2 or 3ppm is much too low for your chlorine, though the fact that it held overnight is a good sign. You should be at shock level all of the time. What is your CYA level?

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum. :lol: If you shock the pool according to the article published in Pool School, it doesn't give you the option of letting your chlorine down to it's present level. Chlorine, Chlorine, chlorine. Once you realize that you must make a sustained application of shock level chlorine (and follow the other procedures in the article) your pool will clear..

 

[Smykowski]

Welcome!

Unfortunately you aren't quite completely following BBB yet. No matter what your CYA is, your FC is far too low for shocking. During the shock process remember that chlorine kills algae, then the filter clears out the carcasses. That clearing process can take awhile, so you have to stay at it and be patient.

Reread the Shock Process in Pool School.

 

[peeples]

I should have added that we had it at shock level for over a week. Stabilizer is at about 50 now. We used pool calculator to get to shock levels which we maintained for 8 days. Do we just keep it at shock level until it turns clear?

 

[Richard320]

I should have added that we had it at shock level for over a week. Stabilizer is at about 50 now. We used pool calculator to get to shock levels which we maintained for 8 days. Do we just keep it at shock level until it turns clear?

Yep. 8 days is a long time, but there's been people here who have fought for three weeks or more.

Have you been dragging out waterlogged compost from the pool with a leaf rake? Have you been vacuuming blind? You should be. Anything organic you can remove manually reduces the amount of bleach and the length of time this process takes.

And the filter clogging - that's GOOD! That means it's filtering out that crud that's clouding the water! I'd add some more cellulose and then toss the hose in to raise the water level in anticipation of the impending backwash.

 

[peeples]

Yes we vacuum even though we can't see. We have gotten in the nasty pool to scrub the floors and walls. Removed all large debris by hand. So we just keep at shock level indefinitely until clear?

 

[Richard320]

Yes we vacuum even though we can't see. We have gotten in the nasty pool to scrub the floors and walls. Removed all large debris by hand. So we just keep at shock level indefinitely until clear?

What is the CC level? And have you tried an overnight loss test? And like I said above - I'd go back to the cellulose because it's obviously catching a lot of stuff if it's clogging the filter within hours.

 

[SRWillis]

I would encourage you to stay with the bleach and the shock process and don't put anything in it that will raise your cya further. We are in a simular situation as we just purchased a home with a pool and are newbies. If it's bluish green and cloudy you are making progress. Keep vacuuming to waste, brushing and filtering and it will clear. I got serious with ours just less than 2 weeks ago and I was just able to see the bottom of the deep end a couple days ago. It's exciting to see the water start to clear. I found adding DE to my sand filter helped, you just don't want to add too much or leave it unattended too long after adding it as pressure can rise quickly. Just one of the great tips I found here. Be thankful you found this site (as I am), or you could really run into problems.

 

[peeples]

Thanks all. Yesterday I broke down and drained the pool. When we first started this process there were lots of beer cans and bottles at the bottom. I started wondering if there was more junk down there we weren't getting. We drained to 10 inches and discovered there were lots of cigarette butts, tacs , and Christmas lights. We got them all out. We are now almost done refilling but it is still basically the same bluish green cloudy color. Hoping with all the trash gone it will be easier to get clear. Now off to get more bleach. Very excited about a sale! Only $1.55 a bottle!

 

[JohnN]

So, how did the pool turn out? Got any pictures?

 

[peeples]

I can see bottom! Cloudy but all levels are good. We are seeing progress daily! The Bobby method seems to be working slowly but surely!