This is going to be a really long post. Sorry in advance! And I just want to say thank you to anyone who reads and offers help! I appreciate it very much!
Let me start by saying I have an 25,000 gallon in-ground, vinyl lined pool with a sand filter and live in Georgia (just south of Atlanta). I use the Clorox brand test strips and the accompanying app to scan and record chemical levels (all I have at this time).
I am in need of help/advice. We moved into our rental home Oct 2022. Sometime in the week between us signing the lease and moving into the house, the electrical lines for the pool filter got ripped out and the pool looked like a swamp when we moved in. The landlord took about another 6 weeks to fix the filter and get it up and running. Then he spent another week or 2 cleaning the pool up (beginning of December before it was right). He never closes the pool in winter (doesn't have a cover of any kind for the pool). Between December and April of 2023 the filter stopped working 2 more times and he left the pool sitting for long periods of time without fixing so always turned swampy again. Then he would spend another week or so cleaning the pool up. Each time ran up OUR water bill because whenever he vacuumed/backwashed it dropped the water level too low. When swim season started, I took over cleaning, adding chemicals, etc...because we didn't want to have to be on his time schedule to swim and enjoy the pool with the kids. All season 2023 the pool stayed clean (never crystal clear - picture #1) but it was nice and we were able to enjoy it. I maintained the chemicals, etc...throughout the winter and beginning of spring (shock 1 time a month, 1 chlorine tab a week per the pool store). When we signed our new lease in Oct 2023, the landlord decided he didn't want to provide chemicals any more, so it is now our responsibility to buy shock and chlorine tablets and any other chemicals needed (he is responsible for "hardware"). We just ran out of what he had purchased last year (Bioguard Basic Tabs and just a basic powder shock but I can't remember what brand it was) within the last couple of weeks. I have since purchased Poolife Turboshock and Biogurad Basic Tabs (recommendation from my brother who has a pool and by the local pool store).
Fast forward to this year and getting the pool ready for the season. Because we live in the country with lots of trees and no cover on the pool, it gets A LOT of leaves and sticks and debris in the pool throughout the fall and winter. I did the best I could through the winter to keep the leaves out but it was hard with weather. I started in March getting the pool clear of leaves and debris (took nearly 2 weeks) and started back up with chemicals and cleaning (vacuuming, scrubbing, etc...). Pictures 2 and 3 show the pool the end of March. It was on a good path to being ready. Then pollen season hit. Not sure if anyone is from Georgia in here but I can tell you that pollen season in the spring is awful!!! Everything turns green for weeks. Even though I was cleaning and adding chemicals regularly to the pool, it was no match for the pollen. Picture 4 shows the pool the end of April. The pool gets a lot of direct sunlight and as soon as May started and the temps shot up into the 90s (gotta love Georgia weather), the pool was full of algae. On 4/27 and again on 5/8 I added 1 gallon each day of Clorox Algaecide/Clarifier which did seem to help a little. I tried for a few weeks vacuuming it at least once or twice a week (always to waste), adding water to bring it back to level, scrubbing it down, backwashing the filter, testing the water, shocking once a week and keeping chlorine tablets in it, but I could not get it to clean up. The local pool store recommended that I do a "power" shock treatment and flocculant and recommended HTH Green to Blue. I used this kit on May 30th (pictures 5 and 6 show the pool that day right before I added the product). I followed the directions exactly to the letter and even chatted with a representative on the HTH website to make sure I understood exactly how to use the product. I left the filter turned off for a couple of days to let all of the flocculant fall to the bottom like was supposed to. It started working within a day or so (pictures 7 and 8 are June 1 after 48 hours). I wasn't able to get down to vacuum the pool until June 5th (it actually took almost 4 days for it to all settle to the bottom and then it rained for 2 days straight). I spent about 1 hour vacuuming the pool to waste but it wasn't getting it all up and seemed to be mixing it back up into the water more than vacuuming it out. I talked with the representative at HTH again and was advised to let it settle again over night (filter off) and try again. They told me that it might take a couple of times vacuuming the pool to get it all. I did this for 3 days straight but it didn't seem to be doing any good (picture 9 is after vacuuming for 3 days). I had to turn the filter back on and let it start running around the clock because without it on it was getting worse.
Each time I was going down to vacuum (always to waste) and work on the pool, I was testing the water and having to add fresh water to raise the water level back up. On 5/30 total and free chlorine were at 0. After the "power" shock treatment the total went to 10 and free was at 3 (held steady through 6/13) but my alkalinity and pH were low (40 and 6.8 steady across the board). During this time I learned that if the free and total chlorine were far away from each other the chlorine tabs and shock weren't doing any good in the pool. On 6/14, trying to clear up the pool and bring chlorine levels closer and raise alkalinity and pH, I vacuumed, scrubbed, skimmed, backwashed, and added fresh water. I also added 10 pounds of baking soda (not all at once, I spread it out over a few hours) and 1 gallon Clorox algaecide/clarifier, but did not add any additional shock or tabs. On 6/17 (around 7pm) alkalinity and pH were up to good levels per the test strips (7.2 and 120) and both total and free chlorine registered 0. I skimmed, scrubbed, let the filter run to waste as I scrubbed the pool, backwashed the filter, and added fresh water. I then added 1 pound of Poolife turboshock to the water and 2 chlorine tabs to the skimmer (this was per the local pool store). I left the filter running and when I went to check the levels on 6/18 after 24 hours the total and free chlorine both registered a 3, alkalinity 120, pH 7.2, and stabilizer 100 (all in the ideal range per the strips and the app). But unfortunately, the pool is still green!!!!
In some of the photos you can see pool floats in the pool. Those have since been removed and scrubbed down with bleach and/or replaced. They are not
At this point I am so frustrated and just want to cry. I don't know what I am doing wrong or how to fix it. I have followed the advice of everyone I have talked to (HTH, pool store, etc...) and what I have seen on a hundred videos on YouTube. I cant afford to keep shelling out tons of money on stuff for the pool or to hire a pool company. I also can't afford to have the landlord raise my rent because he takes over with the pool chemicals and cleaning. I just want my pool to be clean so that we can enjoy it...my kids are begging me everyday to go swim!!! What can I do?
I have been talking with other pool owners and some professionals and have been learning a lot more about pool chemicals and test strip readings. I was pointed in the direction of your website and told to read up on SLAM. It sounds like that is what I need to do. I am going today to purchase the liquid chlorine and I was planning to start the process tomorrow. But before I do, I wanted to run my plan by you and make sure that I am understanding everything and planning correctly. I also have a few questions (I wasn't sure of these after reading up on SLAM on your website).
I wanted to make sure I had all of the steps right and see if my timeline and plan seems correct and good to you. I don’t want to rush it, but I don’t want to wait to long and end up back where I started.
To SLAM
1. Today - test water, calculate the amount of chlorine needed and purchase chlorine (using the PoolMath app), brush walls and shallow end towards deep end, vacuum to waste (after letting it settled for a few hours), backwash filter
3. Sunday morning - pour in the needed amount of liquid chlorine (do I leave the pump on filter or turn to recirculate? if recirculate, how long do I leave it on this setting?)
4. Sunday midday - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
5. Sunday evening - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
6. Monday morning - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
- brush and vacuum daily
- backwash as needed
- run pump 24/7 until finished (should the pump be on filter or recirculate?)
***Continue this until water is clear with no visible algae, CC is 0.5 or lower, overnight chlorine loss is 1.0 ppm or less
Questions…
1. Will rain affect this process at all? We are supposed to have rain starting monday evening and rain just about for a full week. 4. Sunday midday - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
2. Should I add tablets during this process or when should I add tablets again?
3. After this (pending that it works for me and praying that it does) when can I start using the granular shock again?
4. How long after all of this should the water/chemical levels be at an acceptable amount for us to use the pool?
Let me start by saying I have an 25,000 gallon in-ground, vinyl lined pool with a sand filter and live in Georgia (just south of Atlanta). I use the Clorox brand test strips and the accompanying app to scan and record chemical levels (all I have at this time).
I am in need of help/advice. We moved into our rental home Oct 2022. Sometime in the week between us signing the lease and moving into the house, the electrical lines for the pool filter got ripped out and the pool looked like a swamp when we moved in. The landlord took about another 6 weeks to fix the filter and get it up and running. Then he spent another week or 2 cleaning the pool up (beginning of December before it was right). He never closes the pool in winter (doesn't have a cover of any kind for the pool). Between December and April of 2023 the filter stopped working 2 more times and he left the pool sitting for long periods of time without fixing so always turned swampy again. Then he would spend another week or so cleaning the pool up. Each time ran up OUR water bill because whenever he vacuumed/backwashed it dropped the water level too low. When swim season started, I took over cleaning, adding chemicals, etc...because we didn't want to have to be on his time schedule to swim and enjoy the pool with the kids. All season 2023 the pool stayed clean (never crystal clear - picture #1) but it was nice and we were able to enjoy it. I maintained the chemicals, etc...throughout the winter and beginning of spring (shock 1 time a month, 1 chlorine tab a week per the pool store). When we signed our new lease in Oct 2023, the landlord decided he didn't want to provide chemicals any more, so it is now our responsibility to buy shock and chlorine tablets and any other chemicals needed (he is responsible for "hardware"). We just ran out of what he had purchased last year (Bioguard Basic Tabs and just a basic powder shock but I can't remember what brand it was) within the last couple of weeks. I have since purchased Poolife Turboshock and Biogurad Basic Tabs (recommendation from my brother who has a pool and by the local pool store).
Fast forward to this year and getting the pool ready for the season. Because we live in the country with lots of trees and no cover on the pool, it gets A LOT of leaves and sticks and debris in the pool throughout the fall and winter. I did the best I could through the winter to keep the leaves out but it was hard with weather. I started in March getting the pool clear of leaves and debris (took nearly 2 weeks) and started back up with chemicals and cleaning (vacuuming, scrubbing, etc...). Pictures 2 and 3 show the pool the end of March. It was on a good path to being ready. Then pollen season hit. Not sure if anyone is from Georgia in here but I can tell you that pollen season in the spring is awful!!! Everything turns green for weeks. Even though I was cleaning and adding chemicals regularly to the pool, it was no match for the pollen. Picture 4 shows the pool the end of April. The pool gets a lot of direct sunlight and as soon as May started and the temps shot up into the 90s (gotta love Georgia weather), the pool was full of algae. On 4/27 and again on 5/8 I added 1 gallon each day of Clorox Algaecide/Clarifier which did seem to help a little. I tried for a few weeks vacuuming it at least once or twice a week (always to waste), adding water to bring it back to level, scrubbing it down, backwashing the filter, testing the water, shocking once a week and keeping chlorine tablets in it, but I could not get it to clean up. The local pool store recommended that I do a "power" shock treatment and flocculant and recommended HTH Green to Blue. I used this kit on May 30th (pictures 5 and 6 show the pool that day right before I added the product). I followed the directions exactly to the letter and even chatted with a representative on the HTH website to make sure I understood exactly how to use the product. I left the filter turned off for a couple of days to let all of the flocculant fall to the bottom like was supposed to. It started working within a day or so (pictures 7 and 8 are June 1 after 48 hours). I wasn't able to get down to vacuum the pool until June 5th (it actually took almost 4 days for it to all settle to the bottom and then it rained for 2 days straight). I spent about 1 hour vacuuming the pool to waste but it wasn't getting it all up and seemed to be mixing it back up into the water more than vacuuming it out. I talked with the representative at HTH again and was advised to let it settle again over night (filter off) and try again. They told me that it might take a couple of times vacuuming the pool to get it all. I did this for 3 days straight but it didn't seem to be doing any good (picture 9 is after vacuuming for 3 days). I had to turn the filter back on and let it start running around the clock because without it on it was getting worse.
Each time I was going down to vacuum (always to waste) and work on the pool, I was testing the water and having to add fresh water to raise the water level back up. On 5/30 total and free chlorine were at 0. After the "power" shock treatment the total went to 10 and free was at 3 (held steady through 6/13) but my alkalinity and pH were low (40 and 6.8 steady across the board). During this time I learned that if the free and total chlorine were far away from each other the chlorine tabs and shock weren't doing any good in the pool. On 6/14, trying to clear up the pool and bring chlorine levels closer and raise alkalinity and pH, I vacuumed, scrubbed, skimmed, backwashed, and added fresh water. I also added 10 pounds of baking soda (not all at once, I spread it out over a few hours) and 1 gallon Clorox algaecide/clarifier, but did not add any additional shock or tabs. On 6/17 (around 7pm) alkalinity and pH were up to good levels per the test strips (7.2 and 120) and both total and free chlorine registered 0. I skimmed, scrubbed, let the filter run to waste as I scrubbed the pool, backwashed the filter, and added fresh water. I then added 1 pound of Poolife turboshock to the water and 2 chlorine tabs to the skimmer (this was per the local pool store). I left the filter running and when I went to check the levels on 6/18 after 24 hours the total and free chlorine both registered a 3, alkalinity 120, pH 7.2, and stabilizer 100 (all in the ideal range per the strips and the app). But unfortunately, the pool is still green!!!!
In some of the photos you can see pool floats in the pool. Those have since been removed and scrubbed down with bleach and/or replaced. They are not
At this point I am so frustrated and just want to cry. I don't know what I am doing wrong or how to fix it. I have followed the advice of everyone I have talked to (HTH, pool store, etc...) and what I have seen on a hundred videos on YouTube. I cant afford to keep shelling out tons of money on stuff for the pool or to hire a pool company. I also can't afford to have the landlord raise my rent because he takes over with the pool chemicals and cleaning. I just want my pool to be clean so that we can enjoy it...my kids are begging me everyday to go swim!!! What can I do?
I have been talking with other pool owners and some professionals and have been learning a lot more about pool chemicals and test strip readings. I was pointed in the direction of your website and told to read up on SLAM. It sounds like that is what I need to do. I am going today to purchase the liquid chlorine and I was planning to start the process tomorrow. But before I do, I wanted to run my plan by you and make sure that I am understanding everything and planning correctly. I also have a few questions (I wasn't sure of these after reading up on SLAM on your website).
I wanted to make sure I had all of the steps right and see if my timeline and plan seems correct and good to you. I don’t want to rush it, but I don’t want to wait to long and end up back where I started.
To SLAM
1. Today - test water, calculate the amount of chlorine needed and purchase chlorine (using the PoolMath app), brush walls and shallow end towards deep end, vacuum to waste (after letting it settled for a few hours), backwash filter
3. Sunday morning - pour in the needed amount of liquid chlorine (do I leave the pump on filter or turn to recirculate? if recirculate, how long do I leave it on this setting?)
4. Sunday midday - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
5. Sunday evening - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
6. Monday morning - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
- brush and vacuum daily
- backwash as needed
- run pump 24/7 until finished (should the pump be on filter or recirculate?)
***Continue this until water is clear with no visible algae, CC is 0.5 or lower, overnight chlorine loss is 1.0 ppm or less
Questions…
1. Will rain affect this process at all? We are supposed to have rain starting monday evening and rain just about for a full week. 4. Sunday midday - retest add chlorine as needed to keep at SLAM level
2. Should I add tablets during this process or when should I add tablets again?
3. After this (pending that it works for me and praying that it does) when can I start using the granular shock again?
4. How long after all of this should the water/chemical levels be at an acceptable amount for us to use the pool?
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So before you go into the 
