Struggling to get water clear

[Mm_putnam]

We are new pool owners of an old pool (bought an old house with an old pool). We opened the pool about 3 weeks ago. Had a local shop open and turn all on. Theool stayed green and cloudy and very slowly began to clear but after 3 weeks still could not see much past shallow end. Chlorine and pH seem to be correct. The pool has a DE filter and I added some DE on Friday and the familyrorted it looked better o. Saturday and could see bottom of deep end (12 ft) on Sunday. They swam a bit and when I got there it was cloudy again. A few questions:
1. I got the K2006 test kit to measure CYA and it appears to be 0. I ran the test and the black dot didn't come close to disappearing. Would a 0 reading be correct possibly? And if so, I need to add stabilizer, correct? Is there a non-pool store alternative?
2. When I've added DE I mixed about 16oz in a bucket of water and sucked it into system with vacuum hose. Our pool has no skimmer so I added at the pipe the vacuum attaches to (not sure of name). After adding I can see some DE blowing into pool. Would some of this be normal or should there be none coming back in?)
3. This pool is 50k gallons according to previous owner. 48' x 18' and 12 feet deep. How long should I expect ittotake to clear?

[PoolDoc]

1. It's very common for pools in spring to have 0 ppm CYA; contrary to what most in the pool industry believe, bacteria can eat it.
2. DE filters should not leak DE into the pool;
3. Depends on all sorts of things to which I don't yet know the answer.


4. Take a COMPLETE set of K2006 readings, except CYA (don't waste it -- you haven't suddenly developed a CYA level) and report them

5. Go to Sams Club and buy a 50# container of PoolBrand dichlor. Do NOT get dichlor elsewhere; all the companies are blending and diluting dichlor and some of the additives cause problems. If you can't get it there, order this: Kem-Tek Dichlor 22.5# @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0030BEHZA/poolbooks) Dichlor adds chlorine AND stabilizer.

6. Report your make/model of pump and filter. If they're old, get what you can, but send pictures to poolforum@gmail.com. Don't size them down; I can do that. Try for large hi-res pics.

7. Report general details on your pool, including piping. I'm guessing this is some sort of really old concrete pool, possibly with metal pipes? Is there ONLY a main drain? If so, consider it a SERIOUS threat to the life of your children; do NOT let them near it! Single drain pools rip the guts out of people . . . literally, as in your kid's intestines could end up in your pump strainer. I'm not kidding about this!

[Mm_putnam]

Chemical test results:
FC - .4ppm
CC - .6ppm
pH - 7.2
Total Alkalinity - 50 ppm
Calcium Hardness - 270ppm

Pump - Challenger PacFab2. *Will send photo of sticker with stats. Not sure it has detail that helps.*

Filter - Nautilus FNS48. *Will send photo.*

Plumbing - lots of galv pipe visible in pump house as well as PVC. There are two PVC pipes in pool pulling water to filter. *One goes into deep end and is on the wall under diving board. *Is this called a main drain? *The other is on the side wall about half way between shallow and deep end of pool. Its intake is about 12" under surface and it can be swiveled up. The vacuum attaches to this one. *There are two stainless pipes with water flowing into pool (called returns?). *These were pouring/splashing into pool so I added a rubber elbow*and a PVC piece with elbow to each so water flows into pool in a clockwise pattern. This has helped the circular flow of surface water.*

Pool - concrete/gunnite. I believe it was built in the 50s. No skimmers and it has a gutter that runs around the perimeter in the vertical wall above the water line. This gutter has drains for overflow that go to street.*

Let me know what other details on pool are needed. And a tremendous thanks for the website and any guidance. We're excited about the pool and I'm thrilled not,to be under the thumb of a pool service guy.*

[Mm_putnam]

Getting the dichlorvos from Sam's today. What is my target FC? And can anyone suggest a starting quantity? Assuming it takes some time between application and testing I don't want to overdue it or waste time but underdoing.
I checked FC today and it's showing nothing - added powder and no red at all. My readings from two days ago were as posted earlier.
On a positive note we can officially see the bottom now. So it's coming around but very slowly. If i can make the time this wknd I'll tackle opening, cleaning, and re-charging the DE in the filter.

[PoolDoc]

50k gallons => 10 ppm dose of dichlor => 8 - 9 lbs

1. Add a 10# (12 measuring cups -- not the little scoop in the bucked) dose to start. Broadcast it over the pool, but check the wind, and don't let the dust blow back on you, and especially, do not breath the dust!

2. Dichlor has little initial effect on the pH, but will lower it a lot as it breaks down. With no skimmer, I'm not sure how best to add it, but you should add a box of borax with every 10# of dichlor. On a pool that large, you'll need a lot of borax, so clean out the Walmart shelves when you find some there. If you can't get borax, you can use 1/2 box of washing soda for every box of borax . . . but you'll end up with higher alkalinity, and that *may* be an issue.

I put the photos on Picasa, but I'm not linking them in. You have a Hayward CL200 tab feeder -- which restricts flow tremendously and a PacFab (Pentair) Challenger II pump. Otherwise, the labels weren't readable. The motor label was very clear, but most of the data needed was below the camera. The Challenger labels appear to be readable, but the photo was out of focus.

[StevenHB]

I've had DE leak into the pool when I had a rip in a filter fin and another time when the filter manifold cracked. If DE is leaking, something's wrong in the filter.

[Mm_putnam]

We found Borax at local grocery so I'm good there.

On the tab feeder, would it be best to remove it to improve flow?

[PoolDoc]

On the tab feeder, would it be best to remove it to improve flow?

I'm not sure. You may not WANT more flow; your filter performance will be better if the flow is under 50 GPM, but with a 2" multiport, and a PacFab Challenger, you may run 80 GPM if you take the feeder out.

Take some better pictures, so the whole motor and pump labels are legible, and also take some overall pictures of your equipment layout. You may need to replace the impeller on the pump -- which will reduce flow AND electrical usage