I just registered today with TFP, and need some guidance. Got a neighbors pool for free last fall, set it up couple of weeks ago. I know the pool is probably 5-6 yrs old, but the prior owners that put it in originally took pristeen care of it while they lived there, so its only been mistreated and allowed to go algae green for the past 3 summers.
I had an 18ft easy set intex pool for about 5 yrs, and did fine with keeping it clear, no problems, then pitched it in 2007 because had to keep inflating the ring every couple days and couldn't find the holes (think it was from birds claws landing on it, impossible to find/fix).
I'm a little unsure with having a skimmer now, and need to find the manual on the Hayward pump/sand filter so I know all the ins and outs of running it, using it properly and keeping it maintained, etc. but feel confident I will figure it out, now that I've found this forum
I filled it up with city water thru the hose, and we have a lot of metals in our water, as every time in the past when the chlorine or shock hits it, it turns muddy brown color. Local pool shop suggested Revive, so several days ago before I had the pump hooked up and running, I put it in. Sunday, we hooked up the pump, and skimmed the leaves/bugs off the top that had accumulated. There were little brown shadows on the bottom of the pool floor, and the pool store said it was the Revive reacting to the metals pooling them so I could vacuum them out. So Tuesday we ran the pump, hooked up the vacuum and I vacuumed the pool floor. It became cloudier the more I did, prolly because it stirred it up. After I was done, I put the pool store bag of Booster shock in, mixed in a bucket of pool water and poured around the perimeter. And wouldn't ya know it, this morning YEP its muddy brown. They told me the Revive would prevent that, guess not. Knew I needed MetalFree, just as in the past.
So I used a pool store test strip and the PH and TA was off the color chart, so at his suggestion, I added 1/2 a gallon or so of muriatic acid around the perimeter of the pool, and checked it again 2 hrs later bringing a sample of water to the pool store. That brought all the levels to more normal #'s he said. They are as follows:
TC 2.6
FC 2.6
PH 7.6
TA 135 he said this was a little high, but allright for now
Calcium Hardness 325 (normal is 200 - 400)
CYA 20 (this is stabilizer, right?)
He sold me a bottle of MetalFree and told me to pour 3/4 of it around the perimeter, and wait till tomorrow, and we'll check with the test strips again to go from there.
The water was a bit cloudy after vacuuming before it turned brown after the shock overnight. I don't know how old the sand is in the filter. Was unsure if it was ok after going green 3 summers in a row, so opened it up expecting it to be slimy, green and nasty foul smelling, but surprisingly it wasn't. Just some small leaf debris but still white sand, albeit a little more coarser looking not as fine.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Shell
I had an 18ft easy set intex pool for about 5 yrs, and did fine with keeping it clear, no problems, then pitched it in 2007 because had to keep inflating the ring every couple days and couldn't find the holes (think it was from birds claws landing on it, impossible to find/fix).
I'm a little unsure with having a skimmer now, and need to find the manual on the Hayward pump/sand filter so I know all the ins and outs of running it, using it properly and keeping it maintained, etc. but feel confident I will figure it out, now that I've found this forum

I filled it up with city water thru the hose, and we have a lot of metals in our water, as every time in the past when the chlorine or shock hits it, it turns muddy brown color. Local pool shop suggested Revive, so several days ago before I had the pump hooked up and running, I put it in. Sunday, we hooked up the pump, and skimmed the leaves/bugs off the top that had accumulated. There were little brown shadows on the bottom of the pool floor, and the pool store said it was the Revive reacting to the metals pooling them so I could vacuum them out. So Tuesday we ran the pump, hooked up the vacuum and I vacuumed the pool floor. It became cloudier the more I did, prolly because it stirred it up. After I was done, I put the pool store bag of Booster shock in, mixed in a bucket of pool water and poured around the perimeter. And wouldn't ya know it, this morning YEP its muddy brown. They told me the Revive would prevent that, guess not. Knew I needed MetalFree, just as in the past.
So I used a pool store test strip and the PH and TA was off the color chart, so at his suggestion, I added 1/2 a gallon or so of muriatic acid around the perimeter of the pool, and checked it again 2 hrs later bringing a sample of water to the pool store. That brought all the levels to more normal #'s he said. They are as follows:
TC 2.6
FC 2.6
PH 7.6
TA 135 he said this was a little high, but allright for now
Calcium Hardness 325 (normal is 200 - 400)
CYA 20 (this is stabilizer, right?)
He sold me a bottle of MetalFree and told me to pour 3/4 of it around the perimeter, and wait till tomorrow, and we'll check with the test strips again to go from there.
The water was a bit cloudy after vacuuming before it turned brown after the shock overnight. I don't know how old the sand is in the filter. Was unsure if it was ok after going green 3 summers in a row, so opened it up expecting it to be slimy, green and nasty foul smelling, but surprisingly it wasn't. Just some small leaf debris but still white sand, albeit a little more coarser looking not as fine.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Shell