Semi new pool owner that can never keep a crystal clear pool

[shannonmccabe]

Hi all I’m so happy to have found TFP I’m confident this site can help me get on track. I’ve owned my house almost four years and each summer we have dumped so so so much money into the pool with minimal results and end of season finally switched from cartridge filter to sand filter. Now at start up it was so green filled with algae, currently though it’s been so cloudy but blue can’t see more then a foot or so and now realized my CYA is at 90 so probably why it’s so cloudy and not holding the chlorine and that I was also using 72% granule shock which apparently was just adding to my problem. Currently I’m draining my pool to about half I am hoping that will be enough and refilling. My ph is at 7.2 TA 100 Free chlorine only at 1 right now my CH is 250.
Also over the past two days I’ve put two boxes of Borax to raise my ph which had been about 6.8

Do I seem to be on the right track partially draining and refilling?
Store was out of liquid chlorine so I bought 12 bottles of regular bleach 7.5% sodium hypochlorite and 3 boxes of borax on hand.
What’s my next best step?

 

[Bperry]

Hi all I’m so happy to have found TFP I’m confident this site can help me get on track. I’ve owned my house almost four years and each summer we have dumped so so so much money into the pool with minimal results and end of season finally switched from cartridge filter to sand filter. Now at start up it was so green filled with algae, currently though it’s been so cloudy but blue can’t see more then a foot or so and now realized my CYA is at 90 so probably why it’s so cloudy and not holding the chlorine and that I was also using 72% granule shock which apparently was just adding to my problem. Currently I’m draining my pool to about half I am hoping that will be enough and refilling. My ph is at 7.2 TA 100 Free chlorine only at 1 right now my CH is 250.
Also over the past two days I’ve put two boxes of Borax to raise my ph which had been about 6.8

Do I seem to be on the right track partially draining and refilling?
Store was out of liquid chlorine so I bought 12 bottles of regular bleach 7.5% sodium hypochlorite and 3 boxes of borax on hand.
What’s my next best step?

How are you testing the water?

Be very careful of regular bleach. It has to be super plain, no clorox, no perfumes or cloromax, or fabric softeners. Home depot and walmart carry chlorinating liquid thats generally cheaper and higher concentration,

 

[Deb04]

I live pretty close to you. I was in Merrimack this week to shop the outlets.

You can get 12.5% chlorine for $5.99/gal at Ocean State. They don't ever seem to run out and its always fresh.

To treat the algae, you need to SLAM. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2018/12/12/slam-shock-level-and-maintain/

How are you testing your water. You need one of the recommended test kits. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/test-kits-compared/
to be able to do a SLAM.

If you're using another test, test strips <pearl clutching>, or pool store testing <pearl clutching + gasp>, stop using that and order a recommended test kit. Add 1 gal of 12.5% liquid chlorine each day until the test kit arrives to stop the algae from getting worse. When your test kit arrives, do all the tests and report results. We'll help you from there.

If you've already started draining, then go ahead, but if you haven't, I would wait until you can test with your own test kit. (I'm assuming you're not already.) Pool store tests and strips are notoriously inaccurate.

Don't use the Borax now. Maybe it will make sense to use at some point, but not now.

 

[shannonmccabe]

How are you testing the water?

Be very careful of regular bleach. It has to be super plain, no clorox, no perfumes or cloromax, or fabric softeners. Home depot and walmart carry chlorinating liquid thats generally cheaper and higher concentration,

Unfortunately I had to door dash it ran into some car trouble and was supposed to be receiving 12% liquid pool chlorine but this was the next best thing available so I opted for 12 bottles. I hope it’s plain there’s no mention of softener or splash free and not scented.. currently I’m using the hth 6 way home test kit along with strips which I know are not very accurate. I need to get one of the Taylor test kits moneys just really tight this week.

 

[shannonmccabe]

I live pretty close to you. I was in Merrimack this week to shop the outlets.

You can get 12.5% chlorine for $5.99/gal at Ocean State. They don't ever seem to run out and its always fresh.

To treat the algae, you need to SLAM. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2018/12/12/slam-shock-level-and-maintain/

How are you testing your water. You need one of the recommended test kits. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/test-kits-compared/
to be able to do a SLAM.

If you're using another test, test strips <pearl clutching>, or pool store testing <pearl clutching + gasp>, stop using that and order a recommended test kit. Add 1 gal of 12.5% liquid chlorine each day until the test kit arrives to stop the algae from getting worse. When your test kit arrives, do all the tests and report results. We'll help you from there.

If you've already started draining, then go ahead, but if you haven't, I would wait until you can test with your own test kit. (I'm assuming you're not already.) Pool store tests and strips are notoriously inaccurate.

Don't use the Borax now. Maybe it will make sense to use at some point, but not now.

I would have definitely gone to ocean state if I wasn’t out a car this week
I’m currently partially draining it I have done a lot of vacuuming and scrubbing nearly every day the past couple of weeks, lots of back wash and rinsing, I went from an extremely green nasty pool to blue in color just very cloudy. I realized now how high my CYA is and wish I just drained from the start

 

[shannonmccabe]

I would have definitely gone to ocean state if I wasn’t out a car this week
I’m currently partially draining it I have done a lot of vacuuming and scrubbing nearly every day the past couple of weeks, lots of back wash and rinsing, I went from an extremely green nasty pool to blue in color just very cloudy. I realized now how high my CYA is and wish I just drained from the start

Also to add.. I LOVE the outlets they’re great and yes I’m already draining I wasn’t going to do a full drain though I really felt replacing about half would be helpful to knock down that high CYA level I had been using the Clorox super shock the 75% I believe and apparently that and the pucks all have stabilizer in them.. I wish I found this sight before dumping hundreds into shock packs and all the other random chemicals.

 

[Bperry]

Unfortunately I had to door dash it ran into some car trouble and was supposed to be receiving 12% liquid pool chlorine but this was the next best thing available so I opted for 12 bottles. I hope it’s plain there’s no mention of softener or splash free and not scented.. currently I’m using the hth 6 way home test kit along with strips which I know are not very accurate. I need to get one of the Taylor test kits moneys just really tight this week.

Thats expensive bleach around here at dollar general.

 

[Bperry]

Also to add.. I LOVE the outlets they’re great and yes I’m already draining I wasn’t going to do a full drain though I really felt replacing about half would be helpful to knock down that high CYA level I had been using the Clorox super shock the 75% I believe and apparently that and the pucks all have stabilizer in them.. I wish I found this sight before dumping hundreds into shock packs and all the other random chemicals.

The supershock does not have CYA, but does have calcium. You dont want too much of that in the watwr either though.

If the water is green, replacing some of it will help woth the clean up, juat beware that those test strips will wind up costing you more in the long run.

 

[shannonmccabe]

Thats expensive bleach around here at dollar general.

Bleach should be must cheaper then it was I just didn’t have anymore options at the time

 

[shannonmccabe]

The supershock does not have CYA, but does have calcium. You dont want too much of that in the watwr either though.

If the water is green, replacing some of it will help woth the clean up, juat beware that those test strips will wind up costing you more in the long run.

This one has dichlor it’s the Clorox super blue shock

 

[Bperry]

This one has dichlor it’s the Clorox super blue shock

Dont use that. Anything that says “blue” likely has copper in it.

 

[shannonmccabe]

Dont use that. Anything that says “blue” likely has copper in it.

Good to know thank you. Do you think later in the summer once I have everything completely clear and under control I could use it here and there or just completely avoid it.

 

[Bperry]

Good to know thank you. Do you think later in the summer once I have everything completely clear and under control I could use it here and there or just completely avoid it.

Do not allow it to touch the water ever. Unless you want ugly black stains and lots of foam and uour pool to smell like the laundry room. I’m being a little bit funny but seriously save that stuff for the laundry.