No Chlorine! Opening pool- new here

[Steph927111]

Hi, new to the forum. Glad to see all the awesome advice. Hoping for some guidance. I'm tired of being recommended to take my water to a pool store. It feels scammy.

I have 2 young kiddos and a 16ft x 54 in above ground pool (the kind you buy in a box). This is the 4th year using it, but the first 2 yrs I drained it. Ive always been able to maintain a clear, blue pool, but im struggling. This is the first year opening after keeping water in over the winter. To make a long story short, the cover came off, leaves got in the pool and it got messy. I started 2 weeks ago with removing the remaining cover, got in and got all the leaves and gunk out. Shocked and treated for algae, used clarifier.

As of today, pool water is blue, algae is gone. It is very cloudy. TC is reading 0, pH 7.2, Alkalinity 40. I have 3 chlorine tabs in the floater. I just added another half gallon liquid chlorine last night and it may be up to 0.5. Pool has a cartridge filter and cartridges are getting full within a few hours. I keep changing them out. I assume due to the cloudiness and how fast filters are filling up that maybe the chlorine can't keep up?

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! The fact your water is cloudy from opening tells is you still have shae to contend with. To eradicate algae completely you need to follow the SLAM Process. You also need a proper test kit, either a TF-100 out The K-2006. With a full set of water test results from one of those were can coach you through the
SLAM Process. If you have any questions about either let us know. Glad to have you in the gun.

 

[clambert1273]

First, get your own real test kit. See here
Test Kits Compared I prefer the tf-pro from tftestkits.net

Second here's some good reading to learn about proper pool care

Pool Care Basics
FC/CYA Levels

Get this!
PoolMath

Once you get test kit, post your test results & we got you from there

 

[clambert1273]

Welcome to TFP! The fact your water is cloudy from opening tells is you still have shae to contend with. To eradicate algae completely you need to follow the SLAM Process. You also need a proper test kit, either a TF-100 out The K-2006. With a full set of water test results from one of those were can coach you through the
SLAM Process. If you have any questions about either let us know. Glad to have you in the gun.

And again same time

 

[PoolStored]

Welcome to TFP!!!

I'm tired of being recommended to take my water to a pool store. It feels scammy.

Welcome to #TeamPoolStored.

 

[Newdude]

It feels scammy.

I like you. You saw the light about the 'free test' that recommends $179 worth of things each week.

Don't do anything else to the pool, all week, and then come back for another free test.

Yeah. No.

Get your own, reliable test kit, which costs less than one poolstore visit and It will keep you out of the poolstore every week. That's a truck ton of coin saved by investing a little.