Hello,
I am the frustrated owner of a 11 month old above ground pool.
Last year, I maintained the pool with little issues really only throwing a bag of shock in once a week or so and keeping a 3 inch chlorine tablet in the skimmer. I picked up these products at Walmart, and they were effective therefore never realized not all products are created equal!
This year we opened the pool to find a fairly green swamp. I shocked it over the course of a few days, using maybe 5 lbs of shock and it got clear very fast although it remained cloudy. I couldn't see the bottom at all. I took a sample to my local store and had water tested to discover that I needed 25 lbs of something for alkalinity. I did that while maintaining the chlorine tabs and it literally turned green in one hot day.
My kids insisted on swimming despite the green and told me there was sand in the bottom, lots. But it wasn't slippery. (Lack of algae on the floor?) I called the pool company I purchased the pool from and they said it sounded like a lateral broke. Repair man came, fixed it under warranty and said I had no sand in the filter which would explain why it got green so fast, I guess. He also added that my motor sounded like it was working too hard and that he would put in an order for that. My light is also out and he would be back with that. (Irrelevant to pool chem but just to show what a nightmare this has been). Additionally, my gauge is broken. We are pending repairs of all of these things. It does appear that the filter is working despite the inability to monitor the gauge. Ughhhh
The varying yellowish-green, green, and now dark- green has not let up now in 3 weeks even since the lateral was repaired. In the past two weeks I've added approximately 18 lbs of shock, 2gallons of bleach, used 25 or so 3 inch (broken up) chlorine tablets and continue to keep one in the skimmer at all times.
I've gotten in (yuck) and blindly vacuumed to waste three times and feel no more than a few specks of sand here and there.
A trip to the pool store yesterday, again, where I bought "good" shock, 3 lbs, floc, and a test which reveals the following:
FC: 0
TC: 0 (!!!!)
PH: 7.9
TA: 89
CH: (would that be total hardness? If so, 116)
CYA: 68
Also,
Green algae: no
Swampy: no
Black algae: no
Mustard algae: no
(Are those test results or just q&a? Seems like I do have green algae if it's green)
Ok, so I've learned WAY more than I thought I would need to know but feel like I know nothing at all.
I have test strips but they are just about useless so I've relied on free testing from the store. From reading for 2 hours tonight on here I gather it's very important to have a reliable kit at home.
I added three pounds of shock last night and two more 3 inch tablets. Flocked it this morning while running the filter for two hours then turning off. It gave instructions to put it on recirculation but I don't have that setting.
Please help! I would be forever grateful! I'm ready to just drain and start over or give up completely. I've dumped $300 dollars into it in one month and have only a green pool to show for it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I am the frustrated owner of a 11 month old above ground pool.
Last year, I maintained the pool with little issues really only throwing a bag of shock in once a week or so and keeping a 3 inch chlorine tablet in the skimmer. I picked up these products at Walmart, and they were effective therefore never realized not all products are created equal!
This year we opened the pool to find a fairly green swamp. I shocked it over the course of a few days, using maybe 5 lbs of shock and it got clear very fast although it remained cloudy. I couldn't see the bottom at all. I took a sample to my local store and had water tested to discover that I needed 25 lbs of something for alkalinity. I did that while maintaining the chlorine tabs and it literally turned green in one hot day.
My kids insisted on swimming despite the green and told me there was sand in the bottom, lots. But it wasn't slippery. (Lack of algae on the floor?) I called the pool company I purchased the pool from and they said it sounded like a lateral broke. Repair man came, fixed it under warranty and said I had no sand in the filter which would explain why it got green so fast, I guess. He also added that my motor sounded like it was working too hard and that he would put in an order for that. My light is also out and he would be back with that. (Irrelevant to pool chem but just to show what a nightmare this has been). Additionally, my gauge is broken. We are pending repairs of all of these things. It does appear that the filter is working despite the inability to monitor the gauge. Ughhhh
The varying yellowish-green, green, and now dark- green has not let up now in 3 weeks even since the lateral was repaired. In the past two weeks I've added approximately 18 lbs of shock, 2gallons of bleach, used 25 or so 3 inch (broken up) chlorine tablets and continue to keep one in the skimmer at all times.
I've gotten in (yuck) and blindly vacuumed to waste three times and feel no more than a few specks of sand here and there.
A trip to the pool store yesterday, again, where I bought "good" shock, 3 lbs, floc, and a test which reveals the following:
FC: 0
TC: 0 (!!!!)
PH: 7.9
TA: 89
CH: (would that be total hardness? If so, 116)
CYA: 68
Also,
Green algae: no
Swampy: no
Black algae: no
Mustard algae: no
(Are those test results or just q&a? Seems like I do have green algae if it's green)
Ok, so I've learned WAY more than I thought I would need to know but feel like I know nothing at all.
I have test strips but they are just about useless so I've relied on free testing from the store. From reading for 2 hours tonight on here I gather it's very important to have a reliable kit at home.
I added three pounds of shock last night and two more 3 inch tablets. Flocked it this morning while running the filter for two hours then turning off. It gave instructions to put it on recirculation but I don't have that setting.
Please help! I would be forever grateful! I'm ready to just drain and start over or give up completely. I've dumped $300 dollars into it in one month and have only a green pool to show for it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!