I made the mistake of not winterizing or closing my 24x52 above ground pool this winter. Luckily it is not situated around any trees so no leaves just disgustingly dirty water. Will I be able to bring it back without draining the pool or will I need to drain it and refill?
Too drain or not to drain???
- Thread starter asias99
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You'll be able to bring it back. Just follow the instructions on Defeating Algae and you should see clear water inside a week.
Welcome to tfp, asias99 
Hopefully you have not had significant freezing weather so that your equipment and plumbing is not damaged. Have you?
Yes, you should be able to get it clean in the spring, but having a full set of test results will be required for us to help you effectively. See this link for an appropriate test kit and get one on order (they usually can't be found locally): http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/124-pool-test-kits-comparison
In the meantime, make sure you spend some time studying in Pool School, the link is always near the upper right of each forum page.
Hopefully you have not had significant freezing weather so that your equipment and plumbing is not damaged. Have you?
Yes, you should be able to get it clean in the spring, but having a full set of test results will be required for us to help you effectively. See this link for an appropriate test kit and get one on order (they usually can't be found locally): http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/124-pool-test-kits-comparison
In the meantime, make sure you spend some time studying in Pool School, the link is always near the upper right of each forum page.
Welcome to TFP!!!You can certainly get it cleared up without draining ... there are countless threads in the forum as examples.
You will need one of the Recommended Test Kits and then follow the SLAM Process.
Here are more details: Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis
Although before you start to SLAM, you should post up a full set of test results so we can see if any water replacement is necessary due to very high levels of CH or CYA. If you have not found it already, you may want to read Pool School to get a feel for the chemistry and the methods we teach.
Thank you. I drained the pool below the skimmer and emptied the filter just never covered the pool. I will definitely use that link because she looks so sad with all that green. Definitely will winterize and cover this year.
Without a lot of leaves, it's often easier not to cover an above ground pool if you close late and open early.
Help too drain or not to drain
We have a 24ft round ag pool. I did not winterize or cover over the winter. BIG MISTAKE!!!!! I drained to below the skimmer and left it as was. Of course it turned murky. Now I added water hooked up filter and started shocking but the best it got was a cloudy blue green. So I went and got a scrub brush thingy and hooked it up to the pole. I started running it along the bottom and huge thick algae chunks started float up. There is no way I will be able to reach the whole pool with that pole and little scrubby attachment. Do I have to drain my pool all the way or can I take it down like 3/4 and get it to scrub and then fill n shock. Please advise its about time for her to open but with her bottom covered I don't think any amount of shock will work?
We have a 24ft round ag pool. I did not winterize or cover over the winter. BIG MISTAKE!!!!! I drained to below the skimmer and left it as was. Of course it turned murky. Now I added water hooked up filter and started shocking but the best it got was a cloudy blue green. So I went and got a scrub brush thingy and hooked it up to the pole. I started running it along the bottom and huge thick algae chunks started float up. There is no way I will be able to reach the whole pool with that pole and little scrubby attachment. Do I have to drain my pool all the way or can I take it down like 3/4 and get it to scrub and then fill n shock. Please advise its about time for her to open but with her bottom covered I don't think any amount of shock will work?
Re: Help too drain or not to drain
Sounds like a job for a leaf rake
Or a vacuum
Some folks have reported success with hooking a vacuum head to a hose, then starting a siphon, essentially vacuuming to waste. But that will only work if there is someplace lower than your pool floor to siphon to.
Sounds like a job for a leaf rake
Or a vacuum
Some folks have reported success with hooking a vacuum head to a hose, then starting a siphon, essentially vacuuming to waste. But that will only work if there is someplace lower than your pool floor to siphon to.
Re: Help too drain or not to drain
I have a leaf rake I might try that but as far as vacumn we had an auto matic polaris last year dear hubby for got to put up the net part and the dogs got it. So I have no vacumn as of right now. What about if I drain it 3/4 get in there and scrub the bottom real good add the shock and start refilling. Will the shock eat my liner until it fills to filter level?
I have a leaf rake I might try that but as far as vacumn we had an auto matic polaris last year dear hubby for got to put up the net part and the dogs got it. So I have no vacumn as of right now. What about if I drain it 3/4 get in there and scrub the bottom real good add the shock and start refilling. Will the shock eat my liner until it fills to filter level?
Re: Help too drain or not to drain
Around here, "shock" is not a product that you use one time and let it go. Read in Pool School about how to rid your pool of algae, link in upper right of this page.
We call it SLAM, which stands for Shock Level And Maintain. For some pools, it only takes a few days, others a bit longer. Explicit instructions are in Pool School.
Around here, "shock" is not a product that you use one time and let it go. Read in Pool School about how to rid your pool of algae, link in upper right of this page.
We call it SLAM, which stands for Shock Level And Maintain. For some pools, it only takes a few days, others a bit longer. Explicit instructions are in Pool School.
Tested treated still cloudy whats next
Ok I'm back guys....I posted earlier this month about my green swamp swimmig pool. Had not been winterized or cosed last season. I was told to SLAM it. I did that and it turned cloudy blue. I vacumned the bottom the best I could without being able to see it. And took the water to be tested. The results were as follows : Free & Total Chlorine were 17.2 ppm. Combine was 0ppm. PH 6.3 , alkalinity & hardness 0, CYA 39, Copper & Iron 0. They rexommended Drop & Vac. I did that and vacumned yesterday. I have added 19lbs of baking soda, 28lbs of cqlcium flakes (pre dissolvd in buckts of water) and 4 lbs of shock (the store told me to double the computer recommendation on the shock). Today the pool is a tad bit clearer but still cloudy blue still cannot see the bottom. I noticed the return jet was a little weak so I backwashed and rinsed. Do I just need to give it some time to filter the rest of the dead algae or is there something else I need to do.
Ok I'm back guys....I posted earlier this month about my green swamp swimmig pool. Had not been winterized or cosed last season. I was told to SLAM it. I did that and it turned cloudy blue. I vacumned the bottom the best I could without being able to see it. And took the water to be tested. The results were as follows : Free & Total Chlorine were 17.2 ppm. Combine was 0ppm. PH 6.3 , alkalinity & hardness 0, CYA 39, Copper & Iron 0. They rexommended Drop & Vac. I did that and vacumned yesterday. I have added 19lbs of baking soda, 28lbs of cqlcium flakes (pre dissolvd in buckts of water) and 4 lbs of shock (the store told me to double the computer recommendation on the shock). Today the pool is a tad bit clearer but still cloudy blue still cannot see the bottom. I noticed the return jet was a little weak so I backwashed and rinsed. Do I just need to give it some time to filter the rest of the dead algae or is there something else I need to do.
Well, you did not SLAM to completion or your water would have been clear. You are trying to blend pool store advice with our advice.......that almost never works.
You should choose one or the other and stick with it to get your pool clear.
You should choose one or the other and stick with it to get your pool clear.
I merged all your threads to keep the story together.
First, you need to realize that pool store testing is notoriously inaccurate and inconsistent. If you want to take control, invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits.
Second, those results do not make any sense. It is impossible for the TA to be zero with a pH of 6.3.
Also, you have a vinyl pool, so the hardness level does not matter, so there was no reason to spend money on calcium flakes.
What kind of "shock" did you use? That is either adding a LOT of stabilizer (CYA) or a calcium (CH).
You might get lucky and not have damaged anything and your pool may clear, but if you want to be 100% sure the pool is safe and the algae is gone, then you need to follow the SLAM Process exactly, and that requires a good test kit.
How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
First, you need to realize that pool store testing is notoriously inaccurate and inconsistent. If you want to take control, invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits.
Second, those results do not make any sense. It is impossible for the TA to be zero with a pH of 6.3.
Also, you have a vinyl pool, so the hardness level does not matter, so there was no reason to spend money on calcium flakes.
What kind of "shock" did you use? That is either adding a LOT of stabilizer (CYA) or a calcium (CH).
You might get lucky and not have damaged anything and your pool may clear, but if you want to be 100% sure the pool is safe and the algae is gone, then you need to follow the SLAM Process exactly, and that requires a good test kit.
How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
OMG.....now I am so mad...I spent 44 $ on those stupid flakes. Please understand this is only my second year having a pool last year I used the pool store as well but it was under differnt management. I also had no issues lastvyear. It was great I'm guessing cause it was new. I thought using the computerized system would have been the most accurate. I am going to have to order a good test kit. I only have one of those rinky dink aqua chem chlorine/ph kits. Definitely no where near an experienced pool owner. So I thank you all for your advice. Guess I just have to wait until I get a reliable test kit from the recommended list.
Believe me, you are not the first person and will not be the last that spend a bunch of money at a pool store for stuff you just do not need. Keep reading here and ask questions as they arise and you will have a better balanced pool for a LOT less money than you would spend trying to follow the stores advice.
The best thing you can do for your pool and your wallet is to buy a good test kit and stop going to the pool store. You can buy your chemicals from a grocery store or a big box store.
Yes I was getti g the shock and the algecide from lowes but the lady in the pool store said that stuff is **** and made of nothing but paper for fillers and would tear up my pump and filter. The shock I got is aqua chem I bought 6 boxes tgat contain 5 1lb bags in each box.
I'm fairly new and was lucky enough to stumble on this site months before I needed to dive into a pool of my own. It's totally understandable with having moderate success with pool store advice over the short term. Then when that advice fails, you still cling to it because it worked for a time. However, that advice is not rooted in what's best for your pool or for you. It's based on a system or group of products from a business, trying to make money with commitments to vendors and/or investors. In some cases, those products actually compete chemically with each other without you or even the pool store knowing it. It's not going to work for you over the long term.
TFP method is based on chemistry. What is best for your pool. What your pool needs to be healthy. That's it. The more I read, the more that became clear.
Please be more specific about what the the "shock" is. Aqua Chem is a manufacturer, what is the product or better yet what is the ingredient. Like Joel said, we care about the chemistry, not what name is on the package.
The ingredients per pack are as follows: Active Ingredient Trichloro-s-triazinetrione 53.5%, other 46.5%, available chlorine 48.6%. And thanks sooooooo much for all of your input. I am SO very pool illiterate.
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