Recirculate?

I am looking to get things started and I need to shock to get rid of my algae, yet I don't want to vacuum yet. Will running my pool pump on recirc with shock level bleach be ok? I am afraid of filtering because of all the gunk?

Is there a lot of debris in your pool? If you can, scoop out stuff with a net. You can recirculate with shock level, however, it will not get rid of the algae. It will kill it, but it will remain in your pool. You're going to have to filter it out.

I can second that! Last year was first year after winterizing and my pool guy said to open early to avoid mineral deposits. So I opened early and waited a month and a half before predicted temps reached the point where it was swimmable - but my water was clear! This year we waited until Wednesday, 5/2, to pull off the cover - and wow, was it yellow-green!!! 4 gallons of bleach and 24 hours later (4 hrs pump time) and it was clear, but a little cloudy. Adding more bleach got better, but I probably have to up my CYA since that went to zero last winter (and I haven't had time to do the full tests yet). BBB, it works! (Then I get my SWG going and don't worry the rest of the year except for muriatic acid!)