Shocking

[dagostafamily]

This will be my first full season on the BBB method.
I have an above ground 24 ft diameter circular, 4-ft deep pool with a sand filter.
I started opening up the pool yesterday. Right now I have an algae swamp.
My initial tests using a Taylor K-2006 results (FAS-DPD for chlorine using 10ml sample):
0 FC
.2 CC
7.0 PH
70 TA
300 CH
0 CYA (unable to come close to obscuring the dot with a full tube of water)

I had closed the season last year with about 40 CYA, so I naturally assumed that the #1 on the common springtime problems at http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/spring-swimming-pool-startup-problems.html applied to me.

What I have done:
I have added borax to raise the ph to 7.4-7.5
Last night before sundown I added 3 gallons (2 jugs) of bleach to try to raise to a 12+ FC level.
I remeasured the chlorine levels about 30 minutes later (0 CC and 3 FC) and added another jug of bleach
This morning I measured the chlorine again. (.5 CC and 1.5 FC) and added 2 more jugs of bleach.
This afternoon I measured (.5 CC and 2 FC) and added 3 more jugs of bleach since I'm not seeing the FC number getting anywhere close to 10.
I have not added any stabilizer as I'm under the impression that will only feed the algae.
The color of the pool has changed from a dark green to green-blue. The water is cloudy but I can see the vacuum head as I vacuum the pool. The filter is running constantly.

All that background to ask these questions,
Is the reason that I'm not reaching shock level because of excess ammonia in the pool that is destroying the chlorine?
Should I continue adding chlorine throughout the day, knowing that the sun is going to wreak havoc on the chlorine since I have little to no cyanuric acid, or should I hold off until evening and only fight the algae through the night?
Should I be adding this much bleach at a time? It seems kind of excessive but I'm not seeing any dangerous levels of chlorine when I measure.
How long should I wait between adding bleach and measuring chlorine?

Sorry to ask so many questions at once, but I don't want to compound any problems

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

Some quick answers to just some of your questions:

1. Regardless of the exact problem, adding 10 ppm of chlorine each night (2 gallons of plain 6% household bleach) is a good idea.
2. Raising the pH with borax to 7.6 - 7.8 is ALSO a good idea, since you MAY have ammonia.
3. The color change tells you the algae in your water is dead, but you may still have algae on the bottom.
4. Add 2 gallons of bleach, and brush the pool: if it turns green, add 2 MORE gallons.
5. keep filtering 24/7.
6. If you have a valve that will allow you to SLOW down the water going thru the filter, you'll get better results. AG pools almost always have pumps that are too big and filters are too small. Small sand filters and big pumps are especially problematic for algae cleanup.
7. Your OVERNIGHT chlorine consumption could be ammonia AND / OR algae. Your daytime chlorine loss could be either of those PLUS loss to sunlight.
8. Adding 2 - 3 gallons of 6% bleach is NOT too much. Just avoid having FC>15ppm until you have stabilizer in the pool.

[dagostafamily]

I have a cutoff valve between the pump and filter. I have partially closed this valve to decrease water flow into the filter, which is a Sand Dollar SD40.
The pump could very well be overpowered. I couldn't find the Service Factor on the pump but it lists HP 1.5 SPL on it.

Should I hold off adding any more bleach until the evening?
My current #'s since adding 4.5 gallons of bleach are:
3 CC and .5 FC

I don't want to just throw bleach away with the sun breaking it down quickly, but i also don't want to give the algae a chance to recover either.

[PoolDoc]

If you add bleach daily each evening, that should work fine. If you are nervous about the algae, go ahead an add 1/2 gallon now.