Help! from pond to clear to cloudy OH MY!!

Hi everyone,
This is my 1st post and my first year opening my pool(installed last year). I've been reading your boards for over a year now w/o any water problems(:D) and have found great information here....but now I'm stumped! I'll try to give you the whole sordid story as quickly as possible:

stats: IG fiberglass pool, 16x40, 30K gals, cartridge filter, in floor cleaning system, live in massachussetts.

1. A few weeks ago when cover was removed the pool looked like a POND...green, nasty...maybe even some wildlife!

2.patio was being installed which introduced LOTS of pebbles and other concrete by-products(lived a year with 2ft concrete locking ring). Added some shock (HTH Sock It) because pool company wasn't scheduled for another week(I guess I'm lazy but you get free open & close when you buy a new pool). Green went away overnight.

3. Pool company opened pool (except heater which was a winter home to a family of mice...who chewed all the wires!). I add Tri-clor pucks to auto feeder(I know you guys don't like them).

4. after several days pool still not clear...I realized my skimmer & floor jets were not working....Called pool company back....they cleaned filter cartridges and removed some other debris that was clogging things up....VOILA! CRYSTAL clear water the next day(still to cold to swim...59...gotta love New England). I remove remaining pebbles etc, I add Baking Soda per info on this board to balance PH/Alk.

5. 1 week later it's 93 (yes degrees),pool is 70 water still CRYSTAL! Kids are jumping for joy, patched up the heater wires and fired up the heater(my kids are spoiled...don't like cold water)after a few hours get temp to 80. Friends & family all come over for "opening day" 12-15 in the pool mostly kids...swim all day & night.

6. :eek: next day I wake up pool is so cloudy I can't see the bottom! Add Sock It....filter has been running 24/7 since opening....wait another day still no change....here are my numbers (from 3 different kits):

3 "pad" test strip:

FCL - 0
ALK - 40
PH - 7.2

5 "pad" test strip:

FCL 0
Total clorine between 0-1
ALK - 40
PH - 7.2
hardness 250

"drop" kit

CL - .6/1.2
PH - 7.2

I've usually had no problem keeping my CL between 1-2. Sorry for the long post...but from reading these boards it seems like the more info the better. I would appreciate any help you all could give.....I'm the mom of 3 girls & (including 5yr/old twins), a pool & a DH(child #4;)). Thanks again & Happy Swimming....Kim.

Welcome to the forum. We're going to need some more numbers to be able to help. We need to know your cya reading. Instead of using HTH Sock-It, just use plain, unscented bleach to chlorinate with. It will not cloud your water. Also, we don't trust test strips. Get a drops based kit and repost with current readings. Then, somebody here should be able to help you.

Your alkalintiy is low, and your ph is on the low side. You will need to add about 40 lbs of baking soda, or you can use alkalinity up according to the directions on the bucket. Your alkalinity should be at 80 to 120. Ph at 7.2 is good since you are going to have to shock the pool - you will want to add about 6 gallons of bleach to your water to get it up to shock, which if you have no cya will be about 12ppms. you will have to invest in a good test kit so you will be able to test that high. You have to know how much cya you have so that you can see how much bleach you have to add to really do the job according to the "best guess chart" sticky at the top of the chlorine forum. If you have higher cya, you will need to get your level higher to get to shock. You really do have to know the numbers on your chemicals, this way you will be able to tell us, and we can help you understand how to keep your pool clear.:D

Thank you guys! I've been looking around all weekend for a kit that can test CYA....but no luck locally. I am ordering a kit online because the ones I have are not suitable for this task(I understand what you all mean about the numbers!) and I may try to get my water tested at the local pool store(at the risk of them trying to sell me every chemical under the sun). I bought some CYA in case I need it. thanks again for spoon feeding me....I'll post when I can get all the numbers...Kim