Need some guidance

[bomberger]

Hi, all, I'm normally a lurker and like to figure things out on my own but I need additional help. I live around central PA (Palmyra) and recently became a first time homeowner with a pool in November. Coming into this I had -1 knowledge about pools and thought it was a good idea to open the pool in late May--when the weather is nice enough to take a swim. Ended up calling a local pool company to open our pool but they scheduled us for mid June. The cover was removed and our pool was fluorescent green with chunks of algae floating everywhere. We were told the pool wasn't properly winterized despite the previous owner claiming it had been. I've been struggling to clear up our pool since then.
I also feel like everything about this pool and the system is outdated. I don't think we have floor drains but haven't confirmed since the water is super cloudy to the point that I can't tell how much gunk is sitting at the bottom. We bought a vacuum kit and have blindly tried sucking it up but it just appears like brown/green algae was stirred and the pool became greener again. I don't know how to filter to waste and am not even sure if our outdated-looking pump is even capable of this (Pentair S7M120). Husband an I have cleaned the pump and cartridges twice already.
I'm including a pic of our most recent levels from the TF pro kit.
My current question: What's the best way to raise pH without also raising alkalinity?
Thanks in advance!

 

[PoolGate]

Yiikes! PH is not your issue. You need to start the SLAM process. Please fill out your sigline with your pool details. A couple pics would be great too! https://www.troublefreepool.com/account/signature

If you have a cartridge filter you won't be vacuuming to waste. That is something sand and DE filters have.

Pool Care Basics

SLAM Process

 

[bomberger]

Thanks for the quick reply!
I thought pH had to be in optimal ranges before starting the SLAM process. I've tried adding over 14 gallons of liquid chlorine already, shocked with at least x8 stabilized chlorine powder, and have been attempting to clean the pool of gunk. Every morning my FC levels are 0.5.

 

[bomberger]

Pictures from this morning. The pump has been running 24/7 since we opened it on the 18th.

 

[PoolGate]

Setting PH to range is done because when chlorine levels are over 10, the PH reading becomes unreliable. Your is already within range.

Get yourself a lot of chlorine to start and follow the SLAM chlorine levels. You may have to add chlorine several times per day. You should increase your CYA to 30 before starting if possible. If not, you may burn off chlorine faster and need to add more chlorine to maintain SLAM levels.

I opened to a mess this year but within a few days it had mostly cleared up and within a couple weeks it was crystal clear.

 

[bomberger]

Would you suggest I use pure cyanuric acid or some dichlor to best increase my CYA levels? I was planning on using some of the stabilized chlorine powder I still have but am afraid of wasting further chemicals. I'll need to run out to the store again to buy either option!

 

[PoolGate]

Would you suggest I use pure cyanuric acid or some dichlor to best increase my CYA levels? I was planning on using some of the stabilized chlorine powder I still have but am afraid of wasting further chemicals. I'll need to run out to the store again to buy either option!

Pure CYA. You can use the dichlor but it will take way too long to dissolve.

 

[bomberger]

I finally got blue water this morning! Thank you!! It was discouraging seeing such low FC each morning, buying hundreds of dollars worth of chemicals thinking it was going to waste, but our FC was finally 11 this morning. My CYA is currently 40 so I've been maintaining a level of 16 all day.

 

[dereksanders]

What was your OCLT?

 

[bomberger]

Not sure yet, I was gonna get an official OCLT level once the pool looks clearer. It's still got visible dead algae floating around and is still cloudy.

 

[dereksanders]

Fair enough. This is a process that just can’t be shortchanged.

 

[bomberger]

Before and after.
June 18 vs July 1st

 

[PoolGate]

Looking much better. The cloudiness will clear up. Mine took around a week.

 

[dereksanders]

Nice progress!