Algae - Not sure if I messed up

New pool owner (just joined the forum today...),

I have a salt water pool and turn off the filter for a few days (it was rainy) and noticed I had some algae. I shocked the pool, treated with algaecide and was left with a cloudy blue pool.

The pool store instructions said use a clarifier Floc and I followed the instructions to a tee. The water was absolute clear with a ring of floc at the bottom.

Here's where I screwed up, I tried to vacuum the floc but the manual hose got detached and I ended up stirring the floc around the whole pool (remember I'm a newbie).

Waited it to settle some more and was ablt to vacuum some of the floc out but there's still floc just sitting in the water that won't settle down to the bottom of the pool.

I turned the filter on to see if that would help and its removing some but I can clearly see particles just floating there.....

Wife said we should floc some more but I'm gun shy.

What should I do?

Don't floc your floc, unless you really want to a big floccing problem!

(Sorry about that!)

But, seriously, most flocs don't floc themselves well and in excess can actually result in suspending stuff so you can't get it out.

Filter and chlorinate, and don't dose with filter aids etc for at least a week or two. If you've got a sand filter, be careful to backwash ONLY when you see a pressure increase. You can add a little DE powder to help get the find stuff out -- but be careful, and make sure your filter will catch the DE instead of blowing it back into the pool. (So add a cup or two, and then watch your returns -- if the DE comes back into the pool, STOP. Otherwise, add a quart or two.

PoolDoc

Those of us who have been adding DE to our sand filters recommend that you add a little at a time. Start with 1/4-1/3 cup, add it through the skimmer and wait 20-30 minutes. If your pressure doesn't increase by 1bl, repeat. Repeat the process until the gauge shows that 1 lb increase and that's the amount to use, however much it is. If the pressure goes up too much (like by 5lbs) you've added too much and the solution is to back-wash and start again.

How much will be right seems to depend on a lot of factors, including just plain randomness!!

I shocked the pool and thought I had all cleared up but the algae's coming back.

I'll keep shocking until its all gone again but a quick question, I noticed that the ph levels are creeping up, does this matter when you're shocking or should I put some ph down to get it back to normal range?

You'll need to post some current water testing results taken with a drops-based kit for us to be able to advise you. Also tell us what type and volume your pool is and what size pump and type of filter you have. We also need to know exactly what all you have put in your pool --- meaning ingredients, not just "shock." Then, somebody here can try and help you.

When your chlorine level is above 10 ppm, the pH test can give false high results, so don't try to fix pH levels while shocking is in process. Sounds like you're either not shocking high enough for long enough to really get rid of the algae, or you're not maintaining high enough baseline levels of chlorine. As Watermom said, if you'll post your current numbers and what ingredient it is that you're using to shock, we can help you out.

Janet