Opened for first time with old loop loc mesh cover green swamp

[Gretzky99]

Hi
My first time using this pool. (18x36 vinyl) The cover is worn heavily, green pieces of the mesh are still in the pool and stuck in the filter grids and the pool opened dark green..I've gotten it to light green now 10 days later with 20 gallons of liquid shock, some algecide, soda ash and I just tried some stabilizer and pool perfect...why not...it was already in the shed...and I just filled the chlorinator with hth tabs 3 days ago..but the chlorine is still zero. How do i know the chlorinator is working? Is the algae eating it all?
I know the de filter grids are ripped..I'm going to replace the whole hayward DE 3600 with a 3620 on Tuesday.

Until then I'm operating an old filter that always reads over 20 psi...which is why i opened it up to clean the grids and check it out.

Will the new filter help clear the water or will balancing the chemicals do it? Am I wasting chemicals if the filter isn't working 100% correctly?
Also why do I find my pool have floating suds in the deep end each morning now?

I'll test again in the morning..I'm using the strips.
I can assure you I'll be buying a new cover for next year. My neighbors pools are crystal clear

[lstinthot]

I would not use the "why not its was already in the shed" method. I have stuff still in the shed that I no longer desire to have in my pool after reading on this forum. Sounds like you need to start with getting a good test kit, drop based Taylor. http://www.poolsolutions.com/testkits.html talks about the test kits. I have the Taylor 2006C. I would think as long as you are circulating water and you are keeping your chlorine levels in the right range you will see some improvement until you can get the filter changed. I would not use any tabs until you know what the stablizer level is at. The couple of pools that I took from swamp to clean were swamps due to high levels of stablizer from always using stablized Cl` and low levels of Cl`. Liquid bleach or Liquid pool shock from BJs or Costco (BJs around here has box of 4 1.5 gallon for $13 where pool store wants $13 for one 1.5 gallon jug) seems to be the cheapest. Look at best guess guide to determine chlorine levels once you know the stablizer level. It may take a few days or weeks to get it clean, especially if you do not keep CL` levels right. Its really hard to help with out a good set of test results.

[Gretzky99]

The stuff in the shed did zippo..lol....oh well..
I am kind of letting it go until I put the new filter in. I don't want to waste more chemicals.
But I did a test...same...
Chlorine zero to low ..not sure why. What is a stabilizer level? All the shock in the world won't get me a chlorine reading it seems..
PH and Alkalinity Normal
Cyanic zero to low
Hardness zero to low
Will stick with the strips for now I have 40 left. Don't I have to test the morning each day I want to go in?
My dad is a retired chemist. He said
the test is more accurate when done by machine (still uses color for analysis, but it’s done using a spectrophotometer which doesn’t rely on eyesight),..so drops or paper still rely on looking at a color.

[Spensar]

Hi
... the pool opened dark green..I've gotten it to light green now 10 days later with 20 gallons of liquid shock, some algecide, soda ash and I just tried some stabilizer and pool perfect...why not..

The algecide, and perhaps the pool perfect, likely used up chlorine that could have been whacking algae instead. At its simplest, going green to clear is getting the chlorine up to a shock level and keeping it there until the water is clear again. I suspect that the chlorine level over 10 days fell fairly low at times and the algae got a chance to bounce back at bit. It takes a surprising amount of chlorine to kill off all the algae. You are correct that the algae is using up the chlorine going in.

Do you know how much water is in your pool? http://www.poolforum.com/zxq/BleachCalc262.exe is useful to calculate the amount of bleach required to get to a target chlorine level.

[Gretzky99]

So the chlorine tablets aren't fighting the algae? I need to use more liquid shock daily? I'm not sure if it's 8ft or 10 in the deep end so it is probably between 20 and 30,000 gallons.

I couldn't figure out the calculator. It said I need one gallon of bleach to get it up to 3ppm?? which is the ideal level?

[Watermom]

The ideal chlorine levels depends on how high your CYA level is. Take a look at the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below for more about that.

[Gretzky99]

I don't know what the chart is supposed to do. If I don't dump something else in there my readings won't go up from zero or zero - low.

[sabres07]

My advice to you is this.....read all the stickys in this forum and take the time to really understand the chemistry of a pool and how each number affects the other. Once you understand that, just follow the BBB method. Get a good test kit (Taylor 2006c) and whack away with the chlorine. It's simple but difficult at the same time until you understand the process.

[TomC]

I too have a loop-loc mesh cover, this is my 2nd season with it. My pool has been a swamp both times I opened it. Previously I had a regular solid winter cover, held down by water bags. I got tired of pumping off the cover, and cleaning off the leaves. That's why I went with the all mesh cover. Do not replace your old cover with an all mesh cover. There are 2 other loop-locs you can buy, one has a couple of mesh panels that let water through, the other is a solid cover with a pump. Either of these will prevent your pool from turning into a swamp over the winter.

Tom

[BigDave]

... Will stick with the strips for now I have 40 left. Don't I have to test the morning each day I want to go in?
My dad is a retired chemist. He said
the test is more accurate when done by machine (still uses color for analysis, but it’s done using a spectrophotometer which doesn’t rely on eyesight),..so drops or paper still rely on looking at a color.

Throw the strips out. They are not better than nothing, they are giving you an excuse to put-off buying a test kit that will help. I'm sorry but you dad is wrong here, the strips are innacurate and unreliable whether read by eyes or machine. FWIW you can tell your dad that (with the exception of pH) the tests in the Taylor K-2006 are not color matching, they are titration tests and the results are quite clear.

[Gretzky99]

Yes I will go with the Ultra Loc II with the panels as long as it doesn't turn the water green upon opening..why should I get the loop loc solid with a pump? the pump will proabably break many times and why do i want to be outside pumping snow off my pool when my driveway is full of it?

[TomC]

In retrospect, for me, pumping out the cover is preferable to opening to a swamp that takes me a week to totally clear. I'd probably go with the mesh panel cover next time, just pointing out the options.

Tom

[Watermom]

Another option is to not cover the pool at all. I no longer cover mine and haven't for years because I hated the hassle of dealing with a cover. In the fall, I just scoop out leaves. By the time I close my pool, the leaves are already off the trees. I shock the pool and adjust the pH to around 7.8 or 7.9 to allow for some drop over the winter, lower the water level a little, disconnect pump, etc. and I'm done. I do get a little dirt in the pool over the winter, but that is easily vacuumed out in the spring. The water stays clear. I do open the pool pretty early because our temps get hot pretty quick and I want to be able to start chlorinating so algae doesn't get started. This works for me. I don't ever plan on using a winter cover on my pool again. Just wanted to throw this out there as an another option for you to think about.