Hello!
I recently purchased a home with my boyfriend which includes a large in ground vinyl lined pool and an above ground hot tub, the promise being that I would take care of both (it's not that i'm not trying- I just keep failing). We haven't moved in yet but I am there daily to check the pool and attempt to manage it (please bear with me I am so new to all the terminology and have yet to memorize the pool school links!) The pool is 20' x 40' with a sand filter (i will have to get back to you on the type) and we have well water.
Things were running smooth for a while but now my pool looks contaminated with mountain dew.
Just through surfing through some relevant threads, I've learned I need a more reliable testing method rather than the aqua chek strips (open to suggestions!)
(I went to the pool store because with my aqua chek strips i was getting normal alkalinity, pH and stabilizer readings with NO chlorine despite the filter running 24/7 <- my attempt to get the chlorine up... water was clear but then boyfriend put in phosphate stuff (recommendation from a different pool store to boost chlorine levels?) and a stain remover (previous owners bleached the pool liner and there were some reddish stains on the bleached part (probably cause it's well water?) I've also brushed and vacuumed the pool daily with a little bit of algae but it doesn't seem to be taken over...
The most recent water reading from sunday was:
FC: .14 ppm
TC: .14ppm
CC: 0ppm
pH: 7.6
Hardness: 83ppm
Alkalinity: 146 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 146 ppm
Copper: .4 ppm
Iron: .1 ppm
Pool store told me to put in 48 oz of Les Iron wait 24 hours then put in 25 lbs of hardness control @ 5 pound doses in 30 minute increments and then to retest. I work late so I was unable to get another sample to the pool store before they closed but the water is still green ( i can see to the bottom but it's a smidge cloudy). So now I am screwed cause I can't get another water sample to the store before they close due to work conflicts until Saturday AM...
What is my best bet to try and get the chlorine up now and the water clear? Should I shock it or continue to leave everything running until Saturday?
I recently purchased a home with my boyfriend which includes a large in ground vinyl lined pool and an above ground hot tub, the promise being that I would take care of both (it's not that i'm not trying- I just keep failing). We haven't moved in yet but I am there daily to check the pool and attempt to manage it (please bear with me I am so new to all the terminology and have yet to memorize the pool school links!) The pool is 20' x 40' with a sand filter (i will have to get back to you on the type) and we have well water.
Things were running smooth for a while but now my pool looks contaminated with mountain dew.
Just through surfing through some relevant threads, I've learned I need a more reliable testing method rather than the aqua chek strips (open to suggestions!)
(I went to the pool store because with my aqua chek strips i was getting normal alkalinity, pH and stabilizer readings with NO chlorine despite the filter running 24/7 <- my attempt to get the chlorine up... water was clear but then boyfriend put in phosphate stuff (recommendation from a different pool store to boost chlorine levels?) and a stain remover (previous owners bleached the pool liner and there were some reddish stains on the bleached part (probably cause it's well water?) I've also brushed and vacuumed the pool daily with a little bit of algae but it doesn't seem to be taken over...
The most recent water reading from sunday was:
FC: .14 ppm
TC: .14ppm
CC: 0ppm
pH: 7.6
Hardness: 83ppm
Alkalinity: 146 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 146 ppm
Copper: .4 ppm
Iron: .1 ppm
Pool store told me to put in 48 oz of Les Iron wait 24 hours then put in 25 lbs of hardness control @ 5 pound doses in 30 minute increments and then to retest. I work late so I was unable to get another sample to the pool store before they closed but the water is still green ( i can see to the bottom but it's a smidge cloudy). So now I am screwed cause I can't get another water sample to the store before they close due to work conflicts until Saturday AM...
What is my best bet to try and get the chlorine up now and the water clear? Should I shock it or continue to leave everything running until Saturday?