What am I doing wrong?!?!?!

[CaptainLinsey]

I drained to a bit less than a foot, actually. Dumped a ton of bleach in and watched the algae die, supposedly. It went from green to white.

I had a bucket of bleach water & scrubbed the walls and ladder.

Then refilled. Yes I'm very frustrated.

We just got the pool in May. I wanted to have a pool party for my daughter's birthday party in a few weeks, but at this rate I'll be better off ripping a hole in it and throwing it in the trash, along with the thousands I've spent since the date of purchase.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

Ok I went rogue on the pool yesterday. Dumped a ton of bleach in as a last ditch effort. Woke up to this

So I dosed it with clarifier and now I'm waiting to see if this worked once and for all.

 

[pacificwing]

Please update on your progress and if you manage to figure out a way to decloud your pool. I have had the green pool before, and the only way I could clean it was the same way you did. I had to throw out the book and stop using the testing kits and just went nuclear on the liquid chlorine. It finally went cloudy white (just like your picture) which is dead algae. I could see it floating around in bits the size of snowflakes. They never filtered out, even with clarifier. Apparently, sand filters can't catch dead algae no matter what you do. I tried to use a floc and let it settle to the bottom, but the vacuum kept kicking it back up before I could suck it to waste. I ended up having to drain.

I find the only way I can keep the algae at bay is use use an epic amount of chlorine. Once it starts even hinting at green, I'm pretty much done.

 

[mknauss]

Follow the SLAM Process process. If you have proper tests, test and add liquid chlorine at the proper amount often, keep your pump running, brush daily, your pool will clear. Sand filters are the slowest to clear. Follow Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter to help clear the fine debris quicker.

 

[Winnie-the-Pool]

Ok I went rogue on the pool yesterday. Dumped a ton of bleach in as a last ditch effort. Woke up to this View attachment 85464

So I dosed it with clarifier and now I'm waiting to see if this worked once and for all.

Not sure the clarifier was a good idea.

The fact that you overdosed and got such dramatic results tells me some of your numbers are off somewhere and I think maybe multiple things contributed.
When I calculate your pool volume I get 17200 gallons, it only makes about a 7.5% difference in dosing, but still a difference.

I'm sitting here second guessing whether I'm doing the test correctly. I use 2 flat scoops of the powder, the 10mL mark...I just got my kit last week & I've already got a reagent refill because I'm testing so often.

I'm wondering if you are doing the test correctly? What are you multiplying the number of drops by?

Also, it is NOT SAFE to swim in that pool, especially with small children, unless you can easily tell whether a quarter sitting on the bottom is heads or tails.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

The photo was before I dosed with clarifier. I followed the test directions explicitly. 10ml sample, each drop is 0.5ppm.

My pool is 26ft in diameter by 52 inches tall. It's not full to 52 inches, only 48.

Also, no one is swimming in my pool until I get it clear. I'm well aware of pool danger.

Here's an update from this morning. It's slowly clearing up.