help! were new to this and have no clue!

We have a 13x39 quick set above ground pool (the one with the ring you blow up then it stands as it fills). it holds 3380 gallons of water. We bought the test strips by aqua chem. The first reading after filling and finally getting a new pump (the one that came with it was broken and it took a week to get a new one!) said that we needed algecide, 3lbs of shock and chlorine tablets. We put all that in, let the pump run for 24hrs and checked it again, it said we needed ph down. put that in and now the water is so cloudy you cant see the bottom of the pool. it now reads that the stabilizer and alkalinty are low and the ph needs adjusted and the hardness is low. I feel like the aqua chem website is a little crazy because its telling me i need 67 lbs of alkalinity increaser, 10 lbs of stabilizer and 13 lbs of hardness increaser and more ph down. ive done a TON of reading about baking soda being the answer for a lot of the issues im describing. Will it help with a lot of this clarity and ph/alkalinity issue or are we just pouring more and more $$ into chemicals for a pool that is never going to be usuable? i have take that cover off the pool and leaving the pump running 24/7 hoping that will help a little bit. Help! and Thanks!

Slow down! Don't put anything else in right now until we get some readings.

First off, you need a test kit. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 but since it only available online, you need something to use while you wait for it. Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

It's much easier to answer your questions, when we know something about your pool. We often 'waste' the first few posts back and forth collecting information. So, please complete our new Pool Chart form -- it takes about 30 seconds, but will save much more than that.

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

Also, while you are at Walmart, get several jugs of plain, unscented bleach and a box of 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle) to keep on hand.

Hope this helps a little. Fill in the chart, get a kit, post some numbers and somebody can help you go from there.

Welcome to the Pool Forum, by the way!

Hi Rn;

I know you're probably eager to swim . . . and aren't making much progress. Here's a possible quick (re)start for you:

1. Dump 1/2 gallon of plain 6% household bleach into your pool, to keep it from getting nasty.
2. Get some dichlor (chlorine with stabilizer included). If you have access to a Sams Club, get their 24# box of 1lb bags of PoolBrand dichlor shock. Otherwise, order this:

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs @ Amazon

(Walmart, Kmart, Costco and many pool store 'dichlor' products are diluted, and sometimes blended with stuff you do NOT want in your pool.)
3. Also, get 3 - 4 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax from Walmart.
4. And, get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) testkit, if you haven't been able to get the HTH kit. (Yes, you'll need the K2006 eventually, but you can start here.)
5. Once you have all that, drain your pool (Intex filters take FOREVER to clean a mess like that) and refill.
6. Pour in 1/4 gallon of plain 6% bleach each evening, while you fill.
7. Start the pump and filter as soon as the water reaches the inlet.
8. Once you've got the pump running well, switch to the dichlor: dose with 1/2 cup (plastic cup!!) of dichlor each evening for a week, and 1/8 cup every time somebody get's in. -- Do NOT skip a day!! That will put you back where you are now --
9. Meanwhile, test with your OTO / phenol red kit, and let us know what you find.

Intex pools are great, but once they are messed up, they are very hard to clean up. Swapping the Intex cartridges for high grade Unicel cartridges will help, but with only 3,000 gallons, it's easier to dump and refill.

By using dichlor, you can operate your pool with NOTHING but dichlor and borax (to raise the pH). Operating this way, you do NOT need ANY other chemicals . . . so long as you don't let the pool get messed up with algae. (Or, have the bad luck to be filling with well water with metals in it, and it doesn't sound like you have that problem!)

Eventually, your stabilizer will get high, and you'll have to switch to bleach . . . but by that time you'll either have the HTH 6-way or the K-2006, and will know what's going on.