I am at work and need help...

[beaming90]

We are flocking the pool this weekend. My filter is about 10 years old (got it in Sept. 2000) and I know it is a Hayward and that is all I know since I am at work. I know I am supposed to set the filter on recirculate for a little while. I have whirlpool. Is that the same thing? And we don't have a slot that says waste. What would be another word for waste on our sand filter? Thank you all. I love this board.

[Watermom]

I'll let someone else talk to you about your filter but I am just wondering, why are you floccing the pool this weekend? That is something that we seldom recommend. Maybe give us some current water testing numbers taken with a drops based kit, tell us what type and size your pool is and tell us what problem you are having. Someone here can take a look and see if floccing is the way to go for the situation you have there.

EDIT -- Also tell us exactly what all -- meaning ingredients --- you have put in the pool.

[beaming90]

We have a horrible algae problem that has been ongoing now since June 7. We have not yet gotten to see the bottom of the pool. I do not have the numbers here at work, but I can tell you that last weekend after I put a pound of shock from walmart and an hour later a gallon of liquid shock in it still showed no chlorine. We have done cheap algaecide, expensive (30.00 bottles) algaecide, about 30 gallons of bleach, borax, baking soda, 4 bottles of liquid shock, I have no idea how many packages of granule shock, and 2 buckets of 3" chlorine tablets. This is the last straw before I poke holes in the swamp. We cannot vacuum when we are not in the pool (It is too hard for either of us to get the vacuum head in the skimmer from the outside) and neither of us can stand getting in that deep water when we cannot see more then a couple inches down. So...We are trying to clean it up enough to get in. Make any sense?? Thanks!

18 foot round above ground pool that is 48" tall

[beaming90]

Sorry, Jacuzzi not Hayward sand filter. And drain is the one on our filter that you use since there is no waste on it.

[aylad]

I hate to tell you this, but floccing the pool is not your answer. It may take out some of the active algae growth, but it is not going to solve your problem. The algae has to be killed, not just partially removed. This problem CAN be solved, with a lot less money than you've already put into it, but it requires a systematic approach. Throwing things at the pool hoping it will fix the problem is making it worse, not better. As Watermom mentioned, if you could get a water sample tested, with a drop-based kit--NO STRIPS-- (even if you have to get the pool store to test it) and post your numbers here, I'm pretty sure we can help get it straightened out so you can swim in it, instead of planting flowers :)


Janet

Edit: I see that you posted back in late June about the problem with the algae, but you stopped posting so we all assumed you had it cleared up. I sure wish you had come back to let us know how it was going before now!

[BigTallGuy]

Have you considered draining the pool completely and refilling? How big is your pool in gallons? You can probably rent a submersible pump from your local pool store for a lot less money than you have already spent and empty your pool in a few hours. Once empty, You can clean any remaining algae much easier. I drained mine and my water bill was only $50 - $60 for an 11,500 gallon AG pool.

[Phillbo]

I was thinking fresh water may be the best next step as well.

[CarlD]

Draining a pool can be very dangerous for anything but a donut pool or other pool designed to be taken down every season. It can destroy the liner, or, in the case of a concrete pool, actually destroy the pool. How? If there's a lot of ground water, a high water table, then an empty concrete pool can turn into a boat and actually FLOAT out of the ground. VERY expensive to fix.

A 10 year old vinyl liner should NEVER be drained completely unless you are planning to replace the liner.

HOWEVER, there are steps you can take, but they involve leaving SOME water in the pool.

1) You can use Poconos' plastic sheet method: You create a plastic sheet with heavy clear plastic sheeting, hopefully a single sheet the size of the pool or bigger, and put your new fill water on top of the sheet while draining the old water under the sheet. There may be SOME mixing but this will be minimal. This allows you to change all the water at once.

2) If you have a flat-bottomed AG (like a circle or oval with no deep end), you can usually safely drain you water down to about 1' deep without risking your liner (in a 4' deep pool that means you replace 75% of your water). You should chlorinate the heck out of that remaining water and clear out any leaves or other debris.

Also,with most AGs, you'll want to reinforce the walls so they don't fall in--the water is a supporting component. You can do this by staking them out with guy lines like you would a tent.

3) With a vinyl IG, you may be able drain it down to 1' in the shallowest part, but here my knowledge is not sufficient to advise you. Curve-sided pools may not do well--I don't know.

4) With an IG concrete pool you must first make sure there's no ground water that can float the pool. It may take french drains, or even a pump going continuously during the process to get rid of the ground water.

Still, there's rarely an algae problem that can't be cleared up by lots of chlorine and persistence.

[Watermom]

Get us some good current testing numbers and we can help you get this cleaned up.