New House with Pool - Water Analysis Report - HELP

[RajAtl]

Hi Guys,
I just recently purchased a house with a SALT WATER swimming pool (20k gallon). I had one of the local guys come out, and start the pool up .. Then after searching online - and keeping the regular test (Chroline, pH Balance) .. I didn't think much of maintenance .. I started seeing some algee at the bottom - even though the water was crystal clear and I had my pump running 8-9 hours a day as recommended .. I bought a Polaris 9300 to clean the pool .. and it did a good job but I could still see the algee .. so I got some algicide (20%) and added it to the pool .. I made a little bit of a mistake where I added a WHOLE lot of algicide .. let's just say 50 oz instead of 10 oz .. so the pool is foamy .. I have backwashed - and added water .. I will let it evaporate .. After all this - I was still not satisfied so I took a sample of pool water to the nearest Leslies.. results below ..

Free Available Chlorine - 1 (Should be 1-4)
Total Available Chlorine - 1 (Should be .2 difference)
Salt - 3000 (Should be 2500-3500ppm)
Calcium Hardness - 75 (Should be 200-400ppm) - Bought 45 lbs of calcium hardness and dumped it in the pool
Cyanuric Acid - 0 (Should be 60-99) - I bought one bottle of it .. dumped it in the skimmer .. They advised I repeat this in 3-5 days ..but it will take it 15 qt to raise the Cyanuric Acid level.
Total Alkanility - 100 (80-120ppm)
pH - 7.6 (should be 7.2-7.8)
Phosphates - 200 (Should be below 100ppb)

I am just curious how can the Cyanuric Acid be ZERO when I had the "Pool Opening" service ...
And on the regular test kit that I have - it just shows me to add acid .. nothing about the Calcium Hardness ..

All of your help is much appreciated .. Also, I am trying to clean the Salt Chlorinator for calcium deposit.. It's a Goldline Control .. Do I need to do anything special to unscrew it .. it's kinda between few pipes etc ..

[Watermom]

Those pool store recommendations are nuts.

What kind of pool do you have and what is the volume?

Get a kit so you can do you own testing. The test kit that we think is by far the best is the Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy). Not available locally but you can get it through this link that takes you to Amazon: http://pool9.net/tk/

But, in the meantime, go to Walmart and see if they have the HTH 6-Way drops-based kit (no test strips!) and get that. If they don't, get an OTO/Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops) instead. Use it to test and then post your numbers. Also while you are at WallyWorld, get several jugs of their generic 8.25% bleach, a couple of boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle) and a gallon of distilled water.

Repost with requested info and then someone here can try and help you.

(Until you registration is completed, you won't be able to see the rest of the forum while you are logged in. So, copy that link and then paste it into a browser window after you log out.)

[PoolDoc]

"Pool opening service" was what you paid for, and not necessarily what you received. However your service may have been equipment only, and may not have included any chemicals. Many, many guys who work on pools know NOTHING about pool chemistry, and avoid it like the plague.

Pool store testing is highly erratic in quality, but mostly bad. The only way to find out what's REALLY in your pool water, is to test it yourself. Once you do, you may well discover that your local store is one of the few that do provide accurate testing. But until then, you won't know.

However, the store is correct on at least one point: IF you have zero CYA, THEN you will not be able to maintain a consistent chlorine level. Without stabilizer, you can lose ALL the chlorine in your pool -- regardless of level -- in 4 hours of full sun.

. . . membership updated.

[RajAtl]

Gunite Pool - 18x36 custom design - Has spa with waterfall feature, and another water-feature.

I did buy a kit from Home Depot (closest store to my house)
What exactly am I suppose to do next? Thanks for your help.

[Watermom]

What kind of kit is it? Drops-based? Test strips don't count. Post some current numbers.