Hello. I need your help

[Deltakilo7]

Hi. We got this pool six years ago for the grandkids but this is my first year to care for it myself after losing my husband and son a year apart. The water is green and my hired handyman has been adding chemicals willy nilly. Now I’m taking over. I had the water tested today.

TC - off the charts at 15
pH - 8.1
CYA - 150
TA - 192
Adjusted TA - 147
Total hardness - 155

It’s a 27 ft round, 52 in deep, (18,000 gal?) above ground pool with vinyl liner and cartridge filter. Located in the Midwest. The pump has very strong flow, and it has a bottom drain. We’ve been cleaning the filter1-2 times a day. I wonder if ir needs to be cleaned with acid ??
I have all these chemicals on hand
Liquid chlorine
Muriatic acid
Blue Clarifier liquid
Shock-X Extra from Walmart
Stabilizer

The pool started out nice and clean this summer and then we ran out of chlorine tablets that go in the chlorinator pump thing. I didn’t even know there weren’t any tablets in there. It got cloudy. I shocked it with powdered shock. When I bought new tablets I didn’t get the real expensive ones that my husband had bought at the pool store. I bought them at Walmart instead. Everything has gone downhill from there and it slowly turned green in this heat. Handyman shocked it with 4 gallons of liquid chlorine last night which didn’t seem to help so I got the water tested today. The guy who tested it had no advice for me. I would be so appreciative for any guidance. Thank you.
Del

 

[sammckin]

Hi. We got this pool six years ago for the grandkids but this is my first year to care for it myself after losing my husband and son a year apart. The water is green and my hired handyman has been adding chemicals willy nilly. Now I’m taking over. I had the water tested today.

TC - off the charts at 15
pH - 8.1
CYA - 150
TA - 192
Adjusted TA - 147
Total hardness - 155

It’s a 27 ft round, 52 in deep, (18,000 gal?) above ground pool with vinyl liner and cartridge filter. Located in the Midwest. The pump has very strong flow, and it has a bottom drain. We’ve been cleaning the filter1-2 times a day. I wonder if ir needs to be cleaned with acid ??
I have all these chemicals on hand
Liquid chlorine
Muriatic acid
Blue Clarifier liquid
Shock-X Extra from Walmart
Stabilizer

The pool started out nice and clean this summer and then we ran out of chlorine tablets that go in the chlorinator pump thing. I didn’t even know there weren’t any tablets in there. It got cloudy. I shocked it with powdered shock. When I bought new tablets I didn’t get the real expensive ones that my husband had bought at the pool store. I bought them at Walmart instead. Everything has gone downhill from there and it slowly turned green in this heat. Handyman shocked it with 4 gallons of liquid chlorine last night which didn’t seem to help so I got the water tested today. The guy who tested it had no advice for me. I would be so appreciative for any guidance. Thank you.
Del

If your cya is 150 you might as well drain it and start over. At least partially, you need to bring that way down. Get the cya and tc is check then tackle the ph and ta. Lost of threads about lowering cya in here.

 

[DorsalSpine]

Please read the Pool School section. It will explain the chemistry behind keeping your water clear. You will also need one of the recommended test kits. The short answer is that the pucks you are using are probably adding CYA to the water. Too many pucks and you have a CYA issue. High CYA lowers the effectiveness of your pool shock which makes cleaning up an algae bloom difficult.

The first step is a good test kit so you trust your numbers. While you wait for that read the Pool School section. You will probably have to replace a lot of water as well. It's tough to hear that but if you continue as you are right now you will just keep pouring money into the pool with little or no results.

There are lots of good people here who will be glad to help. A great many of us have been where you are now. That's how we ended up here.

 

[Jeff J.]

Hi. We got this pool six years ago for the grandkids but this is my first year to care for it myself after losing my husband and son a year apart. The water is green and my hired handyman has been adding chemicals willy nilly. Now I’m taking over. I had the water tested today.

TC - off the charts at 15
pH - 8.1
CYA - 150
TA - 192
Adjusted TA - 147
Total hardness - 155

It’s a 27 ft round, 52 in deep, (18,000 gal?) above ground pool with vinyl liner and cartridge filter. Located in the Midwest. The pump has very strong flow, and it has a bottom drain. We’ve been cleaning the filter1-2 times a day. I wonder if ir needs to be cleaned with acid ??
I have all these chemicals on hand
Liquid chlorine
Muriatic acid
Blue Clarifier liquid
Shock-X Extra from Walmart
Stabilizer

The pool started out nice and clean this summer and then we ran out of chlorine tablets that go in the chlorinator pump thing. I didn’t even know there weren’t any tablets in there. It got cloudy. I shocked it with powdered shock. When I bought new tablets I didn’t get the real expensive ones that my husband had bought at the pool store. I bought them at Walmart instead. Everything has gone downhill from there and it slowly turned green in this heat. Handyman shocked it with 4 gallons of liquid chlorine last night which didn’t seem to help so I got the water tested today. The guy who tested it had no advice for me. I would be so appreciative for any guidance. Thank you.
Del

My condolences on your terrible losses.

Most of us here think the TF-100 is the best test kit, available at tftestkits.net. It will save you money by preventing you from adding expensive pool chemicals unnecessarily. While you are waiting for it, you can add liquid chlorine every day if you want, to keep it from getting worse. Use PoolMath on this site to calculate how much chlorine will add 5ppm to your pool. Don't put anything else in it until your test kit comes.

 

[Texas Splash]

Delta, all of this may seem overwhelming right in light of everything you've been through, but stay close to us and use proper testing as recommend above and we'll make pool care much easier for you. If you have any questions about the equipment or water testing, please let us know. Have a nice weekend.

 

[Newdude]

Hey DK and Welcome !! You landed in a great spot. With 230k+ members we probably even have folks that can help with your chickens if need be.

 

[Deltakilo7]

If your cya is 150 you might as well drain it and start over. At least partially, you need to bring that way down. Get the cya and tc is check then tackle the ph and ta. Lost of threads about lowering cya in here.

Thank you. I’m okay with draining it down. How far down can you drain an above ground pool before the sides cave in? That would be the last straw. I’m this close to giving the pool away as it is.

 

[Newdude]

. How far down can you drain an above ground pool before the sides cave in

You can go down to 6 inches. You only don't want the floor to shift/wrinkle. The walls won't cave in unless hit with strong wind. If you think about it, the pool was filled originally, which took many hours with only a little water in it.

Depending on your water costs it is far easier to drain the pool than it is to fight the battle. To get to a 40 CYA from 150 you will need to drain almost 75% of your pool. At that point, you might as well just go down to the 6 inches and only have to clear that much 'bad water once it fills back up.

 

[Jeff J.]

Thank you. I’m okay with draining it down. How far down can you drain an above ground pool before the sides cave in? That would be the last straw. I’m this close to giving the pool away as it is.

I think you should wait until you get a proper test kit. You don't really know what your CYA is now. If it was tested with strips or at a pool store, those are considered very unreliable.

 

[Deltakilo7]

If your cya is 150 you might as well drain it and start over. At least partially, you need to bring that way down. Get the cya and tc is check then tackle the ph and ta. Lost of threads about lowering cya in here.

Okay. Thank you so much. I’ll let you know what happens.
del

 

[sammckin]

Okay. Thank you so much. I’ll let you know what happens.
del

Check in and keep us posted. The folks here helped me clear a green pool in under a week for my daughter's birthday party last year. They won't steer you wrong.

 

[Deltakilo7]

You can go down to 6 inches. You only don't want the floor to shift/wrinkle. The walls won't cave in unless hit with strong wind. If you think about it, the pool was filled originally, which took many hours with only a little water in it.

Depending on your water costs it is far easier to drain the pool than it is to fight the battle. To get to a 40 CYA from 150 you will need to drain almost 75% of your pool. At that point, you might as well just go down to the 6 inches and only have to clear that much 'bad water once it fills back up.

Please read the Pool School section. It will explain the chemistry behind keeping your water clear. You will also need one of the recommended test kits. The short answer is that the pucks you are using are probably adding CYA to the water. Too many pucks and you have a CYA issue. High CYA lowers the effectiveness of your pool shock which makes cleaning up an algae bloom difficult.

The first step is a good test kit so you trust your numbers. While you wait for that read the Pool School section. You will probably have to replace a lot of water as well. It's tough to hear that but if you continue as you are right now you will just keep pouring money into the pool with little or no results.

There are lots of good people here who will be glad to help. A great many of us have been where you are now. That's how we ended up here.

I am so grateful to have found this forum. I’m draining the pool, it’s down to 2 feet and I’m getting nervous, ready to stop. I’ve ordered the TF100 test kit.

 

[mknauss]

I’m draining the pool, it’s down to 2 feet and I’m getting nervous, ready to stop.

You can stop at any point. When you get your test kit, you will test the CYA and then do another drain/refill, if necessary.

Continue to add chlorine to the pool while you wait for the test kit.

 

[magiteck]

I am so grateful to have found this forum. I’m draining the pool, it’s down to 2 feet and I’m getting nervous, ready to stop. I’ve ordered the TF100 test kit.

You’re doing great! Assuming your CYA number is close to accurate (big assumption without a reliable test kit, but) - you should be able to stop when it’s about 12 inches and start refilling. That would get your CYA below 40 which is good.

Let us know when you’re refilling, you’re going to want to get some bleach into the water sooner than later then.

 

[DorsalSpine]

You will want to use liquid chlorine until you receive your test kit. Once we know your numbers we can decide what to do with any other chemicals you have. You might take and inventory and post it so we know what you have to work with. You might need the stabilizer. I'd hold off on the Shock-X since it has other stuff in addition to the chlorine.

 

[Deltakilo7]

Should I get in there with socks and a broom and stir it up and scrub the green spots off the bottom?

 

[Flying Tivo]

Did you order the speedstir? it makes testing easier and more consistent.

 

[Flying Tivo]

Should I get in there with socks and a broom and stir it up and scrub the green spots off the bottom?

You could but not necessary, i would wait until you have it full again and start your Slam, then you start brushing.

 

[mknauss]

Should I get in there with socks and a broom and stir it up and scrub the green spots off the bottom?

If you have any large debris (leaves, sticks, etc) remove them. But algae, etc will get readily cleaned out with chlorine later.

 

[Deltakilo7]

Did you order the speedstir? it makes testing easier and more consistent.

I didn’t know about it when I ordered. Maybe I will get that next.