Can NOT get this off the bottom of my pool! HHEELLPP!!!

[malloryccase]

I Have spent much time reading and trying to find a solution to this problem, so far I have be unsuccessful.

I bought the HTC Green to Blue 24 hour kit. Instead of reading the box I just randomly dumped a package in the pool here and there assuming I had purchased a value pack of shcok. (stupid, I know) so when I got to the last one when I dumped the bag in it was brown! There was nothing I could do at this point. I left the pump on. Still, all of it sank and settled on the bottom. I went and bought a good vacuum to try and suck it up all that did was stir it up and make the water cloudy. When it settles the pool is clear except for what is settled on the bottom. ANY HELP WOULD BE EXTREMELY APPRECIATED!
I have attached a picture so you can see what it looks like.

 

[POPPA S]

Bummer, I use the TFP method, stopped buying boxed product or going to pool store. Is it gritty or a brown glob???

 

[malloryccase]

it is just a mushy pile on the bottom but when I try and get it out it just gets stirred up and makes all the water cloudy. Im am thinking that draining it is my only option.

 

[Texas Splash]

Mallory, welcome to TFP. By the look of things, you have algae in your pool. If it's laying there and just stirs-up to make a cloudy mess, that's probably it. From the look of that vinyl floor, you appear to have an Intex pool. Am I close? Let's address a few things in order if you want to fix this without draining.
#1 - The proper test kit (i.e. TF-100 – link below) is the foundation of your pool care. Why this kit? We've learned through personal experience that you cannot reply on pool store testing, test strips, or simple over-the-counter kits. They simply do not read Free Chlorine (FC) or Cyanuric Acid (CYA) levels accurately or to the high levels we need. If you do not have a TF-100 or Taylor K2006 test kit, it should be your #1 priority.
#2 - Avoid the pool store for testing, advice, or products. You simply won’t get the advice/service you deserve and you will waste money on products your pool doesn’t need. Do not add anything to your pool other than what is advocated by the TFP site or its experts. You’ll have a happier pool, spend less time maintaining your pool, and probably save some $$ in the process. The following are short articles from this site that you will see linked in my signature below: Pool School, Recommended Levels (for YOUR pool), PoolMath Calculator, SLAM, and the Chlorine/CYA Chart.
#3 - Rely on regular liquid bleach for right now until you get one of the recommended test kits and can give us your own readings. Then we can take you through the steps to fix this.

In the meantime, you can simply add about 1/2 gallon of bleach to your water each evening until your kit gets here - just to try to keep things 'in-check". Once we have your test numbers, we'll guide you through a SLAM as follows:

SLAM is the term used when we “Shock” our pool to a higher “Level” of Free Chlorine (FC) and “Maintain” it that way until 3 objectives are met:
1. Water is clear
2. You do not lose any more than 1ppm of FC overnight (that's the OCLT)
3. CC (Combined Chlorine) is <.5
** You MUST meet ALL 3 items above to properly do a SLAM. Simply “spiking" the FC higher than normal isn't SLAMming, therefore there’s a good chance your algae will return.

At the same time, continue to run your pump 24/7. Remove any “muck” and debris, scrub all parts of your pool to expose any algae, and vacuum/clean (or backwash) filter as necessary. You may have to do this several times. It's a lot of babysitting, but with patience and consistency, you will succeed.

Having said all of this, you have to want to do it. If you do, and follow this guidance, you will have clear water again. Let us know if you have any more questions.

 

[jwhop3]

Try this, I swear by these!

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/31784-SlimeBag-for-1-10-of-the-price-yes-you-can!

 

[duraleigh]

No matter how hard you try, you cannot filter algae out of a pool. Filtering the water to 1 billionth of a nanomicrometer (yeah, I went to a small college) will not do a thing for removing algae from your pool.

OP has dead algae on the floor and, when you vacuum it up and feel all proud of yourself, more algae is killed that night and the "junk" (dead algae) settles again back to the floor. The process repeats until you finally decide to take charge of your pool and get it clean once and for all. Filtration is not the issue or the solution. The solution is chlorine.

malloryccase, stay the heck out of the pool store and stop buying the magic potions they so willingly sell to you. Instead, order yourself one of the GOOD testkits and read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. It'll get you started.

 

[chem geek]

As noted in the thread HTH Green to Blue Shock System - PROBLEM!!, the first step of the system adds calcium hypochlorite (i.e. chlorine that also adds calcium) and the second part of the system is an alum flocculant. They expect you to then vacuum-to-waste to filter out the floc'd algae.

However, in your situation the algae does not appear to be killed since it is still green. You need chlorine to kill the algae first, but how much depends on your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level. I suspect your CYA is high which is why the Cal-Hypo didn't work to kill the algae. Get a TFTestkits TF-100 or Taylor K-2006 test kit, report the results, and we can go from there.

 

[DarrelB]

To get the gunk out of the pool, need to vacuum to waste.