New pool owner--need some quick help to salvage last weeks of season

Ok, first off....this looks like a great resource and look forward to contributing. By way of background, I just bought a new house which came with a 33,000 gallon in-ground Anthony sylvan pool with spa...and I am very new to this...it's like becoming a chemist.

To start:

I under appreciated the work necessary to maintain a beautiful pool but AM committed to it. For the past 5 weeks, I have gained an appreciation of regular maintainence, brushing, vacuuming, chemicals, backwashing, etc.

Problem--no matter how hard I try, I can't keep ph above 7.0. When I take water to get tested, alkalinity is ok but am told I have a nitrate level of 80 which is eating my ph and need to drain the pool. Is this bs? At this point, I rather just close the pool and start over next year as I live in NJ and only have a few weeks left.

Second issue--constant reoccurrence of pinkish/brown algae on walls. I use a general algaecide which seems to help and try to keep chlorine levels of 2-3. I add anthony sylvan super pool treat and algaecide as regular maintenance and shock after heavy rains.

I also notice a level of "silt" in areas of the pool and when brushing concrete walls. Thought it was DE being discharged into pool but it is not as I got new filter grids. Is it bleached algae?

Any help appreciated. I know I haven't provided enough chemistry details but tell me what to test for at store and I will do so this week and reply with details to this post.

Thank you!

Hi NJ;

----------- Advice below assumes a chlorine or 'salt' pool -----------------

A new pool is overwhelming at first, and unfortunately, pool stores make it worse. Let's see if we can make it easier!

#1 - Forget about nitrates and phosphates. (If they haven't mentioned phosphates, they will, sooner or later.)

#2 - Learn to test your own water -- it's not that hard, and will save you $1,000's of dollars and hours and hours of time. Pool store testing is designed to sell chemicals, not solve problems!

#3 - You can keep your pH above 7.0, and it isn't too hard. Go buy 10 boxes of borax -- 20 Mule Team brand, in the detergent section of Walmart and many grocery stores. Add 2 boxes at a time, slowly, through the skimmer, with the pump running. Wait 4 hours, and retest pH. Repeat till pH is above 7.0. THEN, drop to 1 box per dose, and repeat till the pH is 7.4 - 7.6. If you go a little high, don't worry.

#4 - While you are at Walmart, buy 20 gallons of plain 6% household bleach. Begin adding 5 gallons of bleach each evening, and then brushing any algae spots.

#5 - Also, while at Walmart, buy a cheap OTO / phenol red testkit, and use it to test chlorine & pH.

#6 - Also, go by your pool store and have your water tested for chlorine, pH, stabilizer, calcium and alkalinity. Do NOT buy any chemicals! Report those numbers here. Notice whether they test with strips or drops, and tell us which they used.

#7 - And, if you are not already doing so, operate your pump and filter 24/7 until your water is perfect.

Those steps should get you started. Let me caution you again, do not buy and use any more pool store chemicals.

When you report the test results, also tell us what chemicals you have been using to treat your pool. And, we need to know what type of pool (vinyl, concrete, etc) and filter (DE, sand, cartridge) you have. Also, if you have a fountain or anything that aerates the water, let us know about that, too.

Finally, you'll need to purchase a drops based testkit with the FAS-DPD chlorine test. The Taylor K2006 is the least expensive option, and the most available. You can use the Amazon link below in my signature. Be careful NOT to confuse the K2005 DPD color match kit with the FAS-DPD K2006.

Good luck!

Ben, great post! The basics of it ought be stickied (if they haven't been already) -- I'm sure you could get one of the Super Mods to do this ;)

Thanks. Super shocked the pool with all the rain we have had and will try the borax tomorrow. I have not used les-iron since buying the house/pool 6 weeks ago so I wonder if the flow thru the pool heater is increasing acidity and reducing ph?

Question--and I realize I am being a cautious newbie--can borax damage or interact with any chemicals in a bad way?

Asking about chemical interactions is being a smart newbie: but, borax is one of the few (only?) pool chemicals that has no bad interactions that I know about. (Chlorine reacts with a LOT of things, which is one of the reasons we try to keep everything else OUT, that doesn't have to be IN. Keeping it simple, minimizes interactions.)

The only thing that's been confirmed is that, if you have high-ish levels of borates (50+ ppm) and your dog drinks a LOT of pool water every day (2+? liters for a 50# dog), by the end of the summer his -- the dog's -- testicles might have shrunk. (There are dog breeders for whom this is a concern.)

For everybody else, I'm not aware of any negative side effects.

Regarding "les-iron", I have no idea what that is, so I can't comment.