Smallish pool Huge question

Hi y'all, we have a relatively small pool and I pray you don't feel I'm wasting your time because our pool is still a huge part of our daily lives. I have two small children so I feel safe with the two foot of water and twelve foot diameter.

I read about the BBB method at the beginning of this year and before we ever even presented with any problems, i started adding a half container of bleach every other night at dark. The pool has a small filter we run daily while we swim and about an hour after. Every morning before the kids get in, I vacuum the pool and the water has been beyond perfect all summer thus far because of me acting proactively. We recently went on a week long vacation and upon returning, instead of our pool, came home to a small pond, completely full of tadpoles, algae, and mosquito eggs.

My question is now I've put the shock and awe on the pond credits with two containers of bleach, then drained,a quarter of the water, added more and ate so cloudy. I don't want to do a thing until i know what might be the cause as i realize so many reasons could cause the cloudiness, i was hoping with my course of action taken, i could possibly get some advice. Thank You

12' pool w/ 2' of water => 1,700 gallons of water.

1. Read the Super Simple Recipe => http://pool9.net/ssr/
2. Get some new cartridges, preferably Unicels (see SSR, above)
3. Drain the pool COMPLETELY, and restart using the SSR

The small soft-side pools are extremely difficult to clear: their filter systems are barely large enough for ideal conditions, and simply take forever to clear the water once something goes wrong. With the very small pools like yours, it's easier and cheaper to start over than to try to clean things up. And it's MUCH faster.

Thank you very much. I will def do using your advice. I was so pleased at how clear it stayed as long as i was proactive but one week away turned her around. Have a wonderful day.

Our first pool was very similar to yours for exactly the same reason. We had so much fun in that little pool. I call 'em gateway pools - you're going to buy a bigger one.

PoolDoc gave you great advice, I'm glad you're going to follow it. I'll add that you should order the K-2006 test kit sooner rather than later especially with a little pool - they are very unforgiving.

Have fun!

That is so funny you mention the pool as a gateway pool, because we have been discussing how by next summer this one will be to the hips of our shortest child when filled completely. A couple questions i have after reading three link sent earlier by the pooldr, and if you have some experience using polyquat. That was the only thing i read that i keep mulling over in my head. Also, what do y'all think of this...just curious, my husband says he can rig up another similar small filter to the pool this year so the pool will be using two of the smaller filters. Riveting how y'all feel about that or if it still wouldn't be enough. Thanks for all the feedback and please know i love learning from other experience.

Rig 'em up in parallel or series? Series won't do much as the first filter will catch almost everything that will be caught. The better filter cartridges from the SSR page will help with water clarity but the pump will still only move so much water.
Polyquat might help but won't let you go a week. If you're going away for a weekend put in as much bleach as you'd use if you were home. Covering the pool with an opaque cover will help a lot.

He tried rigging them up side by side but, and I thought I'd never say this, bit pump already attached was of a superior quality than the second add pump and when i saw that, i pulled the plug literally and figuratively, haha. Starting over with all vacations out of the way. I guess i was mostly lucky for keeping my water so incredibly clear all year until that point. I had no idea so much could go wrong. Next year when we do upgrade, any suggestions on a good ag pool to bridge the gap between what we have this year and a five to six foot ag pool? Next door neighbor's ag pool split open after ten years of use by kids and grand kids and she has three pumps total. Not sure which pump but we are getting one of them so that should surely be better than any pump coming with a prefabbed pool kit, eh? So thank you so much for all feedback and I'd surely love suggestions on a midway pool. Meagan

The Intex Ultra pools run to 52" (3' 9" of water) and seem to last 5+ years with care. Some of them are available with sand filters, like this one

Intex 24-Foot by 12-Foot by 52-Inch Rectangular Ultra Frame Pool

Plus, if you upgrade further within a year or two, you can probably Craigslist the pool for 1/2 of what you pay!

So pool doc, you are awesome. Got two unicels that we wash and alternate out. W run the pump less, use less bleach, and the pool is amazing. I've always vacuumed like a hound but that isn't a bad thing. Thank you again for your help.

Wookybear: I don't see anywhere where you are actually TESTING your water. It may well be that what you REALLY need to do is properly test and maintain your water. I had an early Intex and, when I learned the BBB system (wasn't called that then) I never had a problem with the water again, despite the 1/6hp filter and cheesy cartridges. But consistent, regular testing was key to it.

Carl, you are actually dead on about me not testing the water. I found early on if i vacuum daily (which i love doing) and consistently put a half bottle of bleach every one to two days depending on how slimy the toys feel, my water is crystal clear. It didn't take me long to read other posts in the forum and posts on how to findout what kind of water i have before filling a pool to realize my success is dumb luck. We happen to simply have great water i guess that needs little maintenance. I did have to refill the pool the one time i started the post but other then that, staying on top of things has gone my way. Next year i have full intentions to test and take the pool further but for my first year in my 2 ft pool, I'm pleased. Thank you all for the feedback and taking me seriously for my small pool. Some people on this site have some seriously awesome pools going. :)