Still have green, cloudy water after following pool store advice

[Jess09]

Oookay.. Here goes..
About 2 weeks ago I tested the water in my above ground pool. The Ph was low so I added a increaser. As it turns out, my test strips were no good. I created an algae bloom.

So I took the water to the pool store. She gave me some shock, something called defend plus. She said within 48 hours the pool water would be clear again. I waited the 48 hours and it's still green. The water, not the sides or the bottom. They're clean, I've cleaned them several times just to make sure that wasn't why the water is dirty. The water is green and cloudy.

I tested the water today and it tested like this:
Alk 180 ph 7.2 Chlor 1 stabilizer 100
It is an above ground pool, vinyl liner, 8900 gallons.

Please help me! I'm just about to drain this thing and start all over. I'm just about over it.

[topher]

you need to increase your chlorine level..and keep it at a high level until your pool clears up. use bleach or liquid chlorine to do it.. you need alot.. if your stabilizer level is truly 100.
there is no such thing as "dump this in and it will clear tomorow"

[Watermom]

What are you using to test with? Hope it is not test strips; we put no faith in their results. The kit we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C (test kit link in my signature below).

If your stabilizer result reads 100, that means it could be anything 100 or greater. You will either need to do a partial drain and refill (never totally drain a pool) or run higher than normal chlorine levels. See the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature. It explains the connection between CYA (stabilizer) and needed chlorine levels.

What are the ingredients in the shock that you used?

Go to Walmart and pick up a bunch of jugs of their generic plain, unscented bleach, an OTO/Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops) unless you have a drops kit already, a couple of boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax (landry aisle) and a jug of distilled water.

Add a cup of Borax slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running, breaking up any clumps. Then, add 2-1/2 gallons of bleach (Do these things this evening if you can.) You can do the bleach slowly right into the skimmer as well after you add the Borax. You don't have to wait. Run your pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear the water.

What kind of filter do you have?

Repost with the requested information and someone here will try and help you get this cleared up.

[Jess09]

I am using test strips.. Honestly, this is my first pool and we jay moved here in October so I'm super new at this. I did a 30% water change right after I realized I had caused an algae bloom. I have a sand filter and I added 50 pounds of sand last Thursday. I went to the pool store today and the lady gave me some stuff called Algimycin Yellow. She says to add that then two bags of shock 5 minutes later then in the morning add a half a bottle of stabilized chlorinator. You think that's going to help? I already added the first two things.. This pool stuff is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

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Oh.. The shock ingredients that I used tonight were calcium hypochlorite 78%, other ingredients 22%.
It's poolite brand.
They said not to buy the pool chemicals at Walmart (because that's where I was getting my shock and Ph increasers and decreasers). I don't know if that was a sashes pitch or if it is true but since I'm at my wit's end with trying to get the pool clean I got the stuff at their store.

(Note by moderator: Two posts waiting in the queue were combined.)

[PoolDoc]

Algimycin Yellow is sodium bromide. This means you now have a partially bromine pool, and will loose chlorine VERY rapidly when the sun is out, probably for the next month. Using sodium bromide is a 'trick' to overcome the high stabilizer. A better trick is simply to raise chlorine levels.

But, it's too late for that: unfortunately, you've already been "pool-stored". So . . .

1. STOP buying and using goop. No blended chlorines. If you use cal hypo, make SURE it has a chlorine content of 65% or higher. Otherwise, do not buy it.

2. Purchase and use a cheap OTO / phenol red test kit (yellow / red drops).

3. Begin treating your pool with 1 gallon of PLAIN Walmart bleach each evening -- that's about 7 ppm of chlorine. Skip the next dose, ONLY if the OTO test shows a dark yellow result in the evening. On the 3rd dose, brush and vacuum your pool.

4. Continue treating the pool this way for at least 1 week after all sign of algae is gone. If you do not see distinct improvement after 3 doses, go to 2 gallon doses.

5. You *CAN* swim in the pool, so long as the OTO does not give an orange result.

6. Once the algae is gone, you can drop back to 1/2 to 1/4 gallon of bleach each evening. BUT, because of the bromide, you will need to be sure to add SOME chlorine each day. After a month of sunny days, the bromide may be gone (converted to bromate), but ONLY if you have been chlorinating consistently. Once the bromide is gone, chlorine consumption will drop off.

7. Read the Best Guess page, linked in my signature. Because of the bromine, that page will not apply immediately. But once you see the chlorine lasting through a sunny day, it DOES apply, and you must follow the dosing on that page, to avoid a recurrence of the algae.

Good luck!

[Jess09]

Lol.. We're going to chalk this up to a beginners error.. After hundreds and hundreds of dollars spent at the pool store, I'm going to do what you say... But my question is.. When do I start putting the bleach in it? I added the stabilized chlorinator this morning. The pool this morning is blue but it's silk really cloudy, which the chick at the store said it would be.

[PoolDoc]

But my question is.. When do I start putting the bleach in it?

This evening.

Glad you can still laugh about it!

Good luck!

[Jess09]

You were right. I got one of those testing kit things and when I got home I tested it. No chlorine at all. Thank you for your help.

[PoolDoc]

You're welcome.

Keep at it -- learning to do pools well does take some time and effort. We can make it easier, and help you cut through all the pool chemical company BS and deception. But we can't make it effortless. It is worth it though, if you or your family enjoys the pool!

[Jess09]

So I've been adding bleach every night like you said and testing it daily. During the day, the chlorine is high, which from what I understand, is expected. The Ph is low today and the water is cloudy. Is there something else I should be adding or is that expected as well?

[PoolDoc]

=> Has the pool been cloudy since June, or did it clear and then get cloudy again?

=> Do you have a K2006? What are your test readings?

=> What sort of filter do you have (type / mfg / model)?

=> Is the pool cloudy green, or cloudy blue/gray?

=> Are the side walls slippery?

[Jess09]

Ok.. It cleared up really well, water was actually sparkling. I haven't ordered the test kit that I recommend yet, I just bought one from Walmart to make due for now. The chlorine and Ph are both in the ok zone at this minute. I have a sand filter and walls are not slippery at all. You can see through to the bottom, just not clearly. It just looks a little cloudy but still blue.

[PoolDoc]

You can't manage a pool well, unless you know what your CYA (stabilizer) level is. Test strips don't tell you; they are too inaccurate. There are three kits, all made by Taylor, that will give you fairly accurate CYA readings for less than $150:


Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIIG/poolbooks) @ Amazon (recommended)]
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIJ0/poolbooks) @ Amazon (recommended)

HTH 6-Way Test Kit (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668) @ Walmart - made by Taylor [ workable ]

Taylor K2005A (3/4 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001DNXK78/poolbooks) @ Amazon (NOT recommended)

The K2006 is the only one that will ALSO let you measure chlorine levels above 5 ppm accurately. The HTH has an OTO tester that will indicate -- not really measure -- higher levels. The DPD test in the K2005 is inaccurate and may read false zeros at high chlorine levels.

With any other commonly available kit, you are just hoping you'll get lucky. Some do. Most don't. Many spend more than the cost of a K2006 cleaning up a single algae episode.

[Jess09]

Ok I'll order one. Thank you again. When I get it and test it I'll let you know what it tests at.. Since you're my pool guru lol