Very cloudy water

[wildhorse]

Hi everyone Im new here and have learned more than I wanted to ever know about pools. I had some very green water about 10 days ago we shocked it and added bleach as well as tablets in a floater. Super cloudy water. we have been trying to clear it up but not doing it the right way apparently. so. I know I need to get a new test kit and will order one asap but right now all I have is the little drop kit from wal-mart. I tested the clorine and my water didnt change there no yellow what so ever my ph was 6.8 range we added a box of borax and 6 gallons of bleach tonight. any other ideas??
Im thinnking I would be better off to drain it and start again hubby doesnt want to drain... Help us before the divorce lawyer is called....

Thanks so much for the help

Oh I have a 24 foot round above ground pool with a sand filter. rinsed out sand after the whole green episode and added more till we are good there.

[PoolDoc]

Clearing cloudy water with AG pools and sand filters takes a long time, unfortunately. We have suspicions why this is so, but haven't run the tests to prove it, yet.

Anyhow, do all this:

1. Keep dosing with bleach each EVENING to maintain a DARK yellow reading in the AM.
2. Check your pH in the PM before dosing, since very high chlorine can mess up phenol red pH testing.
3. If your pool pump is a 2 speed, run on LOW speed, 24/7
4. If it's a 1 speed, and you have valve that will allow you to slow the flow, do so.
5. Brush your entire pool AFTER dosing, to make sure all the cracks, crannies, and piles of algae are exposed to chlorine.
6. Do a WHITE bucket test to see if your algae will settle, if you turn the pump off:

=> Fill a CLEAN white 5 gal bucket with 4 gallons of pool water.
=> Add 1/8 cup of bleach and 1/4 cup of baking soda & mix till dissolved.
=> Cover and wait 24 hours. Check and see if sediment is on the bottom;
=> Recover and wait 24 more hours, and check again.
=> If the algae settles out -- you can do the SAME thing to your pool
=> If the sediment is any color other than light tan, your may have metals in the water.
6. Keep your pool's pH between 7 and 8. Use borax to RAISE your pH; muriatic acid (Lowes, Home Depot, Ace) to lower
7. Add 20 Mule Team borax (detergent section, Walmart) 2 boxes at a time, slowly to the skimmer. Wait 4 hours to retest. Once you see ANY pH increase, switch to 1 box.
8. To use muriatic acid, read the guide page linked in my signature.
9. If the Walmart's in your area have the HTH 6-way kit, get one. (Check availability (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668))
10. The regular online retailers at Amazon of the K2006 are out of stock -- try to order Tuesday or Wednesday once they have more. (Test kit page in my signature)
11. If your bucket test does NOT show settling, you can order some polyaluminum chloride:

GLB Pool & Spa Products 71408 1-Quart Drop n' Vac Pool Water Clarifier @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002KT6TY/poolbooks) Again, this is in stock only with a higher priced seller, so you may have to wait till Wed or Thursday. You may, or may not need this product. However, it will keep indefinitely, if you want to order some to keep your options open. If you buy it locally, be sure to get this EXACT product.

[wildhorse]

ok tested this evening and had High CL and BR pH is in the ideal range. still no change in clearness of water we did start the white bucket test this morning. so should have somthing on it tomorrow afternoon. I added 3 gallons of bleach just now anything else I should add? going to order test kits tomorrow...

[aylad]

Just so you know, this is a chlorine pool, so there won't be any bromine unless you've added it--so for reporting purposes, just ignore the bromine reading.

[PoolDoc]

3 gallons should add about 20 ppm of chlorine to your pool. That should take care of any free-floating algae, if your stabilizer is not too high.